![]() I would do it again if I could,” he said. I grew up wanting to do what I did, and I don’t regret doing any of it. It’s one, he says, he’ll continue to fight for. Navy, but it’s one he’s grateful for every day. It’s not the life Stevenson had envisioned before entering the U.S. “No one ever knows how to respond to, ‘I got shot through the head,’” he laughed. And when he’s out in public and someone sees his head or his robotic leg and has questions, he wants them to ask him about it. When reflecting on what it means to be a veteran, Stevenson said he purposely cuts his hair so people will see his scars. “Everything means more now, everything,” he said. He says he cherishes all the little moments that he may not have had before, like walking his dog in the morning, cooking breakfast with his daughters, or simply climbing the stairs. He’s now married to his wife, Sarah, and has three beautiful children. Steven’s injury on that cold December night in Afghanistan has given him a new outlook on life. “I fought for them, so I hope they leave with pride, and these are the kind of men and women that are fighting for us, that are standing behind me that are willing to protect me.” Maybe I can reach out to him if I’m struggling through something, too.’”Īlong with teaching the next generation about resilience, Stevenson also hopes to share a message about service and sacrifice. “I want to be an example to them - ‘Well, Jordan did it. “It takes a couple minutes for it to really sink in, like what I’ve been through, because I bring my helmet that has the bullet holes in it and I share that with them,” Stevenson said. He’s also been a guest on several podcasts and recently began speaking to local youth groups. “If they (fellow veterans) see me or hear me on a podcast, or see me on the TV, and I’m sharing my story and that encourages them to share theirs and that saves their life, then that’s value, that’s something I cherish.”Īfter moving to Spanish Fork last year, Stevenson began sharing his journey on Instagram as Head Shot Jordan. I realized I really need to be more of a voice to people like him,” Stevenson said. “I feel like that really put me on overdrive. While Stevenson has always considered himself a fighter, a year ago, he lost a close Navy officer to suicide and decided he could do more. “There are absolutely days where I don’t want to get up, I won’t want to put my stupid leg back on, I just want to get dressed and go.” For years, he’s battled the physical injuries, and the mental ones, too. I wanted to be the best dad I could possibly be.” “So then, I had to find a new self-image of who I was going to be, and that was dad. That was me, that’s how I saw myself, that was my value - the protector,” Stevenson said. “My persona, who I saw myself, was this big, tough military guy. Stevenson, who was once a collegiate track athlete, was at a point in his life when he had to reinvent himself. “I really wanted to play with my son and do those things with my son I was struggling with, so if that was a way to get to it, I was willing to do it,” he said. With no feeling in that leg, he asked a surgeon to take it off so he could have more mobility with a prosthetic. It became a cycle that limited his progress. “I was going to give it everything I had until I couldn’t.”Īs Stevenson began therapy and rehabilitation, he repeatedly broke his right ankle. He was angry but determined to prove them wrong. ![]() Stevenson was paralyzed on the right side of his body, and because of where the bullet entered his brain, doctors were worried he would never talk again. In a small way, it motivated me to prove him wrong.” I was devastated, but at the same time, because of the mentality I have, it motivated me also. “I will never forget having the doctors come in and talk to me and tell me that I was paralyzed and I was never going to walk again. What he learned in those critical moments after waking up would completely change the course of his life. “Because I was just in a gunfight, to my memory, and I have tubes coming out of neck, out of my arms, and I’m in a hospital bed, but it’s pitch black, I don’t know that I’m in a hospital because I’ve been asleep for that long.” ![]() “Waking up from that was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said. “If you could feel my forehead, you could feel kind of where the indent is and where the metal plate is now, where the bullet hit me,” he said. Stevenson was shot through the front of his head, near his forehead, and the bullet traveled through his brain and out through the back of his helmet. The whole helicopter flight, he never let go of my head. “He held onto my head from the ground to the surgeon. Stevenson credits one of his teammates that night with saving his life. ![]()
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