Aaron Hale is no stranger to struggle. Six years after a roadside bomb blinded him and just two years after a case of meningitis rendered him deaf, Hale has a new challenge to conquer: The 2017 Boston Marathon.

"He's one story that needs to be shared. Not only is it essentially miraculous what function he has now, but it's miraculous of his spirit. It's miraculous the power of the mind over the human body," his doctor, Nicholas DeFlumeri, told the Boston Herald. 

Hale enlisted in the Navy when he was 21. He served for eight years as a culinary specialist before joining the Army in 2007 as a member of an Explosive Ordinance Disposal team, one of the most dangerous jobs in the military.

Hale was on his second tour in Afghanistan in 2011 when his team got a call about a roadside improvised explosive device. Hale diffused the explosive successfully, and as he was sweeping the surrounding area, he found a second bomb. It detonated, blinding him and breaking every bone in Hale's face.

"In the first days after the blast I was in the bed at Walter Reed feeling sorry for myself," Hale told the Boston Herald. "The why me's and what if's flooded my thoughts. It was the love and support of my family that kept me from getting swept away in that downward spiral."

Hale began, including a summit of 18,000 feet in Peru. He also took up long-distance running as part of his training. In 2015, he ran the Boston Marathon. Then he contracted bacterial meningitis, which left him completely deaf. After mastering running blind, this was a new challenge.

Hale will run in this year's Boston Marathon accompanied by a guide. 

"I've been running on five years of bonus days since that IED found me in 2011," Hale said. "I already see each day as a gift, but couple that with the facts that life was nearly stolen from me a couple times and how amazing my life is today ... It is very easy to lace up each morning and attack the day."

About Mackenzie Wolf

Mackenzie Wolf is an editorial intern for Military Times.

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