There is always a way, when you have to. Thriving after being shot 27 times. [NQM021]

“It is good to occasionally do things that scare you, if it scares you that just means it is a bit past what your comfort level is, and that is what builds resiliency.” – Mike Day

Mike Day is a retired SEAL who was shot 27 times by AK-47 wielding insurgents, with most rounds coming from within 10 feet, while running point clearing a room during a house raid in Iraq’s Anbar Province. In addition to the gunshot wounds, he was also wounded by grenade fragments. Although badly wounded, he engaged and killed three insurgents. Before the gunfight was over, a fellow SEAL operator (SO2 Joseph “Clark” Schwedler) and a fellow Iraqi soldier, were killed after being shot in the neck. Miraculously, Mike Day walked to the MedEvac helicopter under his own power.

He spent the next two years recovering from his wounds, losing over 55 pounds in the process. Although he suffered from lingering pains, he returned as a Freefall and SEAL instructor. Mike continues to serve out of uniform as well, helping veterans and civilians alike overcome Traumatic Brain Injuries by raising funds for the Brain Treatment Foundation. In April of 2015, Mike Day competed in the 70.3 Florida Half Ironman triathlon, finishing the 1.2 Mile swim, the 56 Mile Bike, and the 13.1 Mile run in 7:04:56. That is FAST for having been shot 27 times just 8 years prior. He ended up raising over $88,000 during that Half Ironman campaign.

Incidentally, his story in triathlon magazine was the first time I was drawn to triathlon as something I wanted to do. Mike inspired me and I signed up for my first triathlon pretty much the next day, an Olympic distance event a few short months later in July of 2015. I didn’t even have a bike at the time I signed up!

Mike wrote a memoir about his experiences and offers many valuable lessons learned. It is on presale now and will be released on 09 June 2020.

Mike’s Silver Star citation reads as follows:

Despite multiple gunshot wounds, he continued to engage the enemy, transitioning to his pistol after the loss of his primary weapon, eliminating three enemy personnel without injury to the women and children in close proximity to the enemy personnel. Additionally, his decisive leadership and mental clarity in the face of his injuries ensured the success of the mission which resulted in the destruction of four enemy personnel and the recovery of sensitive United States military equipment and valuable intelligence concerning enemy activity in the area.

Mike has been on a number of podcasts, including the Team Never Quit podcast, where he shared his experiences for all of us to learn from.

On a Character Building Day:  Where I had been laying, there was silhouette of bullet holes up against the wall. 27 rounds hit you. 16 to the body, 11 to the body armor. 1 went clean through my left eye, 1 that went through my scrotum. One went in my lower right leg, and came out of my upper right thigh, it didn’t hit the femur or popped the femoral. These were AK-47 rounds inside of 10 feet. Got hit in my stomach right underneath my body armor, that went through my bladder. I lost about a foot of intestine and had a colostomy bag for about a year. One went through my rectum. Four rights in my upper left arm, all bicep, it didn’t hit bone. My left thumb was amputated at the middle joint. Three in my upper right arm. I had 2 go through my scapula. Pretty nasty exit wound out of my right armpit. Got shot twice in the ass. Quiet honestly, the ones that hit the body armor hurt worse. I broke ribs, I had a contusion on my right lung.

Challenging yourself WILL make you better: We say never quit all the time because the situations we find ourselves in are tough. The lessons come through that, it is going to be tough, but the lessons and rewards can come throughout the whole thing. The more willing you are to put yourself out and stand in those situations, the more times they sharpen you. We are all blades and everything and everyone around you is a stone. They are either going to sharpen you or dull you out. There is a level of pain and trauma that you survived, and that represents what you are capable of handling in the future, and everything else fall underneath it

There is always a way, when you have to: We all have that freak out point, the point when everything falls apart. And we have that point when everything is fine, and we are calm. The trick is putting the distance between the two of those. And the only way we can do that is through life experiences. A lot of people see a situation or an accomplishment and say, there is no way. There is a way, that person did it because they had to.

On leaning on past experience to pull yourself through: I got lucky. I only had two bones hit. It was just a hindrance to me, it just slowed me down. I grew up in a very violent house, my dad was medically retired from the military with schizophrenia.

On going back as a Freefall/SEAL instructor, and healing: I was suicidal three months prior, and then I started training again, jumping out of airplanes, going back to the thing that got me hurt. The fact I can still do it was amazing. I was turning 14, 15 hour days with body armor on doing 10, 12 miles. The best thing is getting back around the guys.