DALLAS -- A Fort Hood soldier who survived the shooting spree is in his new home with his new bride.
Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler was featured on Sunday night's episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." He was surprised with a new house and a new life with his long-time fiancee.
It's been a long road home for Patrick Zeigler.
Three-thousand volunteers built his new home on donated land.
And "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" gave him a new foundation — a military wedding and his bride in a designer gown.
"My wedding day was a culmination of the entire year that we had just gone through together," Zeigler said on the nationally-televised broadcast. "When I saw Jessica, it took the breath out of my chest. I couldn't believe I was about to marry this woman."
News 8 introduced you to Sgt. Zeigler more than a year ago. He was The last survivor of the Fort Hood shootings to leave the hospital.
Zeigler had been shot four times. One bullet entered his skull; his left hand and left foot were virtually useless.
We've followed his progress through rehabilitation, when even the smallest movement was considered a huge step to recovery.
He defied doctors' predictions and he walked.
At the end of those first steps, he proposed to his girlfriend, Jessica Hansen.
"What he actually said was, 'Will you still marry me, even though I got shot?' And I said, 'Of course, Patrick. This has not changed anything other than now I realize just how much I love you,'" Hansen said on the ABC program.
Sgt. Zeigler is now back on post, working at Fort Hood and serving his country.
He knows there is an army of volunteers ready to help him, and he has a wife to make his new house a home.
"Looking back, I realize I have to cherish every moment of my life, because, life is very fragile, and I have an entire new life to look forward to now," Zeigler said on the ABC show.
E-mail cnorton@wfaa.com
