Combat veteran takes to the outdoors for peace of mind

Dan Daru
·2 min read
2

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (KDVR) — Oct. 3, 2011, is the day combat veteran Ryan Garza calls his “stay alive day.”

“’Stay alive day’ is the day I got blown up, which eventually led to me losing my leg,” said Garza.

After four combat tours in Afghanistan, Garza said it was a pretty fair trade since he can still get outdoors and do what he loves to do, thanks in part to the national nonprofit Helping a Hero.

“I was so excited because Tate [Stevens] was the one who asked me,“ said Garza.

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“We get to love and do what we love, like the outside. Being in the outdoors hunting and fishing, Ryan gave a lot. Man, I will tell you what, there is so many men like Ryan Garza,” said Stevens, a Helping a Hero national ambassador.

Helping a Hero helped coordinate a turkey hunt for Garza with a little help from Sterling Ranch, which Garza calls home.

Of course, you need a little piece of land on which to do that hunting. That’s where the Highlands Ranch Back Country Wilderness Area comes in.

“It is unique because it is 13 square miles, really, in the middle of suburbia. Highways on each side of it. It is managed by a community association,“ said Mark Giebel, Back Country Wilderness Area director.

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Giebel said deer, elk and turkey hunting are allowed on the property.

Being outdoors with friends and chasing turkeys is good medicine, said Garza.

“Absolutely. You don’t think about the bills, you don’t think about PTSD, you don’t think about your brain injury, you just think about one step in front of the other or take a seat and let’s get this turkey,“ said Garza.

Oct. 3, 2011, may be Garza’s “stay alive day,” but April 30, 2024, was, well, a pretty good day.

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