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Fighting Blind

A Green Beret's Story of Extraordinary Courage

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Fighting was a practiced routine for Lieutenant Ivan Castro. But when a mortar round struck the rooftop of his sniper's post in Iraq, he found himself in a battle more difficult than even he could have imagined. The direct hit killed two other soldiers and nearly claimed Castro's life as well. Mangled by shrapnel and badly burned, Castro was medevac'd to Germany more dead than alive. His lungs were collapsed. He couldn't hear. One eye had been blown out, the nerve to the other severed.
In the weeks and months that followed, Castro would find that physical darkness was nothing compared to the emotional darkness of loss and despair. Desperate for a reason to live, he eventually fought his way back to health through exercise and a single-minded goal: running a marathon. Once he set his course, there was no stopping him. Stubborn to a point that at times bordered on insanity, he managed not only to recover but to return to active duty. Since 2007, he has run over two dozen marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2013, where he was one of the runners diverted when the bombs exploded.
Today, Castro helps prepare soldiers for combat, working exactly as if he were "sighted." Fighting Blind, this frankly told account of his struggle through adversity, the highs and lows and the always bumpy road in between, is a story of hope and perseverance against the odds: an Unbroken for the present generation.

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    • Booklist

      November 1, 2016
      When Castro led a sniper-scout team on an army mission in Iraq in 2006, a mortar round exploded near him. He suffered traumatic head injuries, a collapsed lung, and a fractured right arm. His right eye was enucleated (literally blown out of its socket) and his left eye was severely damaged. Permanently blinded, Castro was thrust into a world of darkness, literally and figuratively. He emotionally recounts his difficult journey from being wounded to recovery to learning how to live as a blind man. He confesses to the heavy emotional toll on his personal life. While he strove for self-reliance, there was no escaping the need to lean on others. Helplessness and despair were replaced by perseverance and competitiveness as Castro found solace and ultimately salvation in exercise. Running became his identity the blind marathoner as he completed more than 50 marathons, including the Boston Marathon. He has bicycled throughout America and skied to the South Pole. He even found a way to continue his career in military service. Readers will marvel at Castro's courage and fortitude.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

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