Tyler McGibbon suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while deployed to the Middle East more than a decade ago. But with the help of his spouse and a pair of canines, he’s now looking at the bright side of life. He is one of many U.S. military veterans who have benefited from the national nonprofit America’s VetDogs, which provides service dogs to veterans and first responders with disabilities, free of charge, and raising awareness about the critical role they play in supporting individuals living with TBI. McGibbon, 31, of New Jersey, served for four years and six months in the U.S. Army. On Dec. 21, 2014, the sergeant and his colleagues were retraining Iraqi soldiers and traveling back and forth from Iraq to Kuwait in a Humvee. He didn’t know at the time, but that day his life would change forever. “We were heading back to base and my line of duty report is blacked out,” McGibbon told Military.com. “What I'm told is the Humvee rolled over, and I got thrown about 35 to 40 feet.”
Tyler McGibbon, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2014, is pictured with his first service dog, Trooper. (Tyler McGibbon)
He broke and fractured his entire skull, broke and fractured his whole face, broke and dislocated his jaw, suffered cervical fractures, breaks to the top six vertebrae in his neck (C1 to C6), a broken right clavicle, and a broken and fractured lumbar spine from his L4 down my tailbone. And that wasn’t all. He suffered two brain injuries, a severe TBI, and a very sphere Diffuse Axonal Injury, or DAI, that occurs upon rapid brain shifts or twists that tear nerve fibers. McGibbon said he “died seven times” and was in a coma for three months. He required emergency brain surgery.
