Andrew “Andy” Robinson is described as “always having been a fighter.” His current battles affirm that description. Robinson enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was twice deployed to Iraq.
On June 20, 2006, a roadside bomb detonated against his vehicle convoy. Three Marines in the truck died on impact. Robinson was thrown hundreds of yards and sustained “severe injuries to his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.” As reported, “He refused to let the fight end there.”
Robinson was hospitalized seven months and then did a lot of rehab. “I kind of rebuilt my life from that day.”
Robinson ascribes to an “unwavering belief in controlling only the things you have control over and letting fate do the rest.” Robinson elaborates: “If you cannot control it, let it go. Because you can’t do anything about it. Look for the positive things that you can continue to be grateful for. So I was that way before I got injured. And I certainly had a lot to be grateful for after the incident, just continuing to wake up every day.”
As reported, Robinson says he was “blessed to have his mind and his ability to communicate. With these things alone, he was able to think through his next steps.”
Robinson exhibits a universal perspective. “I can go back to school, I can play sports, I can make friends with other people that are going through similar experiences, I can invest in my marriage, I can build a family, I can do just one thing at a time.”
Disability drives Robinson. He coaches his son’s baseball teams and plays wheelchair rugby. Robinson attributes his athletic accomplishments and mental support to the Semper Fi & America’s Fund. The Fund is “dedicated to helping injured veterans.” Robinson says the fund “has made the impossible possible for him and his family and provided him with a sense of community.”
Through the fund, he was able to get a specialized track chair so that he could navigate different terrains like the baseball field and the beach. He says being able to have core memories like these with his kids is invaluable.
Robinson never thought his life would be like this, “but now that he’s been able to accomplish and experience so much, it has changed his outlook entirely.” Robinson exclaims: “Now I know that our lives can be everything that we want them to be. The only thing that’s stopping us is really our imagination and our willingness to follow that. I mean, it sounds corny, but you can be whatever you want.”
Remarkably, Robinson “says he has no regrets.” Robinson adds: “Everything that I’ve been through and experienced has brought me to where I’m at right now, and I’m pretty happy with where that is going and excited for what’s next.”
