A Hero’s Promise - with Israel Del Toro

25:37Because you're on fire, you're blown up, and you're thinking about your dad and your son and other people, and then when you wake up, you're thinking about your wife's birthday. Were you always like this? Yeah, I guess I've always have been. You know, I always, you know, again, I truly believe in those words my dad told me. Take care of family. And that requires me sometimes to sacrifice things, which, you know, in my young years, I didn't say anything about, but I gave up a full academic scholarship at the University of Illinois after my sophomore year when my grandma got cancer. My grandfather already had a stroke my freshman year.

26:14I was like, you know what? I gotta help my brothers and sisters and my grandparents because they can't do it. But so I've always thought that way because I really do live by those words of my dad. It's amazing, brother. You're burning to death essentially in this river at the time you could have died and you're thinking about your brothers on your team. I mean, I think it's just amazing to me. So, gosh, so it's her birthday. you're thinking about what a terrible birthday gift they gave. Yeah, you know, terrible birthday gift I gave. But I had already always prepped her. I always told her, you know, if you get a phone call, something probably had happened.

26:54But if you get teammates showing up there with the priest, then I'm with my parents. But when I wake up, but like I said, she was prepared. She knew, okay, what's happened, they tell her. And of course, she comes by my side. But when I wake up, you know, they start telling me, Yeah, yes, Sergeant of Toro, we only gave you a 15 % chance to live. 15. 15. 80 % of your body has 30 degree burns. You almost died on those three times. And yeah, now you're awake, you still got a long recovery. You're gonna be in here for another year and a half. Whew. You may not walk again. You're gonna be on a respirator for the rest of your life and your military career is pretty much over.

27:42and they're waiting to see what I'm gonna say. And I couldn't talk, because I had a trach in my throat to help me breathe. And I'm looking around, I'm noticing, okay, why can't I move? I was like, why am I looking like I'm missing body parts now? Because when I went to sleep, I had everything. And then, like I said, they're waiting to see what I'm gonna say. And I really can't, I really don't want to repeat the colorful words I wanted to say. You can repeat it. But I told him he can go to fucking hell. Yeah. I was like, I'm not going to accept that. I've never accepted what other people say should be my diagnosis.

28:28I didn't accept it when, you know, when I was younger, when I was a kid growing up, you know, outside of Chicago without parents. You know, I should have been a gangbanger drug dealer. Right. But I was neither. You know, graduating high school, you know, same thing. It's like, oh, you know, maybe you should try junior college. No. Full academic scholarship to University of Illinois. So why am I now going to accept these doctors diagnosed with me? So after that, every day, I freaking pushed every single day. Where you want to ask you, when the first, when the incident happened, you described that situation.

29:06You said there was adrenaline. When the adrenaline went off, was the pain incredible? And secondly, what was the pain like physically when you woke up? When the adrenaline started going away, I didn't feel too much pain. It was more, I was having a hard time breathing and I was tired. When I woke up, that's when I felt the pain. I mean, when you're severely burned, what kills the burn patients isn't the burns, it's an infection. so what they have to do so you don't get any infections is that you literally get skinned alive and after you get skinned alive they got to keep the room at a 97 degree at all time and anyone that comes in there has to be covered from head to toe i went from a 200 pound muscle head to 115 pounds i couldn't lift my arms uh so i had a i do i did have down days but But luckily I had friends there.

30:07I had my family there. Because no one can do it on their own. They can't. You have to have help. No matter how strong you are, you think you are. You always need help. And the day you're talking about, my darkest day. Because people ask me, did you ever wish you wanted to die? And I was like, no. Not once, except for this day. And like you said, I do call it my darkest hour. When you're severely burned, they cover the mirrors. because they want to ease you into your transition, what you look like now. And I knew I didn't look the same. Obviously, I could look at my body. I was like, okay, I'm missing fingers, you know, stuff like that.

30:41But I'm thinking, well, maybe my face may kind of look the same because, again, I didn't see what the burns did. I was like, you know, I'll probably have singed stuff. But I think I kind of look the same. So the day I saw myself, I was going to a restroom, and my wife was helping me and Gary, my therapist, who I call my guardian angel, this six foot six, bold white dude. I mean, it was amazing. And they were helping me and I slipped and I was about to fall and they grabbed me. But as they grabbed me, I don't know who grabbed the towel off the mirror, falls off and I see myself and I break down.

31:27and I tell him I should have died. You guys should have let me die out there. I should be buried with my teammates, you know, the ones that have passed before me. I was like, why did you let me live? And it wasn't a vanity thing, it wasn't that at all. It was, man, if I'm a 30-year-old man at the time, and if I think I'm a monster, you know, what's my 30-year-old son gonna think? You know, he was my everything. He was my strength. You know, he was my spark. So the thought of him being terrified of me and not gonna be around me, crushed me. And I told him, I should have died out there. I should have died.

32:16And of course, Gary and my wife, they're trying to console me. He's like, DT, you can't give up, dude. you don't know how many people you inspire, how you just don't give up. Every day you tell people to get you up, get you stretched, and going through some of the most intense pain a human can go through. It's like, you don't just inspire the staff, but you inspire all these other wounded guys in the hospital. And I was like, I don't care. I wanna die. And like for 40 something minutes, I was just in the bathroom sitting, I mean, just wishing I was dying. I wish I died. And I was like, tell still, you know, it's been freaking a couple of years, but it's still thinking of it.

33:02Sure. Hits me. But then Gary says like, because he knew why I wanted to die, you know, because I was like, my son's gonna be terrified of me. And he says, DT, all your son wants is dad back, dude. That's all he wants, trust me. I was like, no, he's gonna be terrified of me. And it took another 10, 15 minutes to be able to, okay, get back on the horse, but that thought was always in the back of my head, it's like, the first time I see him, is he gonna be terrified of me? Yeah, so. What was it, I appreciate you telling everybody that too. What was it like when he first saw you? So, like I said earlier, I woke up March of 06, and after those grim diagnosis of how we help you here for another year and a half, not walk again, be on the rest of my life.

34:03Two months later, I left that hospital. Oh my gosh, it was two months later. Yeah, two months later, I left that hospital. Dude, you're such a frickin' badass. So you had one hour of that moment, basically. in the entire time and it's a dramatic moment still here we go many years later it affects you in that moment why do you think by the way that it makes you emotional like this right now do you think it's because of you going back to what you felt then how scary it is to think that you thought those thoughts it was going back to that moment the fear of that you know my son it was all still about family for you yeah being terrified of me so was he well two months later so you get out of there a year you're out of there a year and four months sooner than they told you you basically would be.

34:49I walk into the house and when I walk in, you know, I could walk, but I couldn't walk distance because what was hurting me was my conditioning. You know, I can maybe walk a hundred feet, but then I'll be exhausted. I have to sit down, you know, get going again. So I walk in and I look like a freaking mummy because I have bandages over it. All you see is my face and I had a ball cap on. And I remember friends being there, teammates of mine, a lot of my family. Then my wife calls out to my son. That says, that's his nickname. It's like, you know, Papi's here. And he comes right now and I hear his little feet hitting the floor.

35:35And he sees me and stops. And I'm like, oh shit. He's scared of me. Everything that I felt was coming. I was like, what am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? Then he just, he looks at me, tilts his head to the side, and says, Boppy? I'm like, yeah, buddy. And comes up and gives me the most amazing hug I ever had. The most amazing feeling I ever had, besides seeing him born. But Gary was right. All my boy whining was his dad back. That's all he whining was his dad back. He didn't care what I looked like. He knew that I was dad and he just wanted me back. Brother, that's such, yeah. I've never done an interview where I don't know what to say.

36:22Like I literally, I don't know what to say. I think that's just amazing. I think just amazing moment. Thank God, right? Thank God. Kids are resilient, dude. They really are. We kind of think they're not, but they really are. You know, they just try to adapt things to what they know. Yeah. Certain men are resilient, too. Certain men are resilient.

37:10140 beverage ingredients. Visit goodtoknowfacts.org. Abercrombie Kids knows how to make outfitting easy. Mix and match sets are their ultimate outfit hack for fall. Their sweatshirts and sweatpants are super cozy, and they always have the cutest colors and patterns. Shop fall's easiest outfit at Abercrombie Kids in the app, online, and in stores.

37:45By the way, he's drinking Jack and Coke, just so you guys know, if you're wondering what he's drinking. That's what real men drink, whiskey. I drank tequila before the show, but he went Jack and Coke. So some men are real resilient. And we don't, we, I think, you know, I know what's happening in the world right now listening to this, and I know how people are responding. but even with how deep we've gone this is not just so you're listening to this in an hour this was every minute of every second of this man's life he was going through this pain and mentally emotionally and um i can't i can't help but think back to what your dad said to you i can't help but think back that that had some divine intervention involved and that it was preparing you for um i mean very few children go through their entire life by losing their parents at such a precious age like you did.

38:37And then what happened? I didn't know about what happened in college with your grandparents. And then this. So I want to know, I think people would be interested to know,

38:49first off, what about now physical pain? The only real physical pain I have is this hand. It's more like nerve pain that I get. So if it wasn't for this, I probably wouldn't be taking any pain with it at all. Okay. Because I wanted to, because I don't take any of the heavy pain meds. I'll take gabapentin and tramadol. They're not big, you know, addictive pain meds like, you know, Dilaudid, Percocet, all that. You know, I wanted to get off that right away. I was like, I don't want to be on this. I was like, I'll tolerate the pain, so I don't have to be on it. But this is only the real pain. I mean, is it correct?

39:30I think everyone needs to hear this. You've had over 100 surgeries. Yeah. I've had around 130 plus now, something like that. Everybody just process this, right? And so you're, just accept this. You're a legitimate, real-time, big-time hero. And I consider you, even though we kid around each other, with each other quite a bit already, I consider you the most heroic person I've ever met. And by the way, also because it's just beginning. In other words, I just feel like we're at this particular chapter of your life. I have to ask you about some important things, though. So because, guys, he didn't just like, OK, I survived this.

40:12My son loves me. There's a lot more to this, too. So what's it like? Just tell us for a minute. What's it like winning a Purple Heart? You know, it's here he goes. Watch it. It's an award that one doesn't want to receive because it means that you got hit. Yeah, you got hurt. You know, you're out of the fight maybe for a little bit or for me, you know, since that incident. You know, I'm not out there with my teammates anymore. So it's a tough one to receive. But it's also the oldest medal that the military had. It was created by George Washington. So it has that esteem, that kind of honor. but still you still have that it's like man i got this but now i'm not out with my teammates anymore but i think everybody needs to know this he's also everybody the first 100 disabled person to re-enter the military and is currently as of the time of this recording active duty military with 100 disability right or wrong yeah okay so please give yourself some daggum credit right so in the history of the military first dude ever to re-enter active duty in the military with 100 % disability.

41:26So you get the Purple Heart and you're back in the military. So let's just be giving you credit for that. Okay, look at him, put his head down. So this is true. Who gave it to you? Was it Bush? My Purple Heart, I don't remember it. Okay. President Bush. Okay, President Bush. He came to the hospital. You know, he, when he comes with the guys, he truly loves his guys. Yeah. He doesn't want cameras. He doesn't want anything. He just wants to be there with a teammate. And when he came to visit me, it was in December, the only reason I was because my wife told me, you know, he talks to her in Spanish, you know, he's like, you know, being there for her, and then he wants to come see me.

42:10And the doctors wanted to cover my face, put a mask, and my wife's like, no, I want him to see, you know, my husband, you know. and there's a picture out there of me and him, you know, when he meets me. And like I said, when you're in there, it's 90 something degrees, and you gotta be covered from head to toe. He went in there, gave my Purple Heart, and stood there for 20 minutes just talking to me. Great, great. He was, my wife told me he was in there longer than some of your family members ever were when they came to visit you. Wow. He just stayed in there. and then when I finally you know when I woke up and I was like hey DT you got a purple heart I'm like well when did this happen I was like yeah President Bush gave me to you I was like oh that's cool I was like well you know I wish I remembered it so in June of 2006 they presented me my purple heart and an army accommodation medal.

43:13Awesome. So you met him again then? No the chief of staff of the Air Force at times. Did you ever meet Bush post that? Some reason I thought I saw a picture of you. After that? Yeah. Yeah, I've met him a couple more times after that. That's kind of a big deal. Did you meet President Obama ever after that? I never got to meet President Obama. I got to meet Michelle a lot. You know, she went to a lot of the competitions, like the Invictus Games with Prince Harry, and she was there for a lot of stuff like that. So let's talk about that for a second. So now this guy, you segue, you're good at this, by the way.

43:43You're good at this. You're segueing me right into my next question. So this guy goes through everything that he's gone through, and then he ends up becoming, wins the silver medal at the Invictus Games for powerlifting in 2014, right? Is that correct? That is correct. I think so, 2014. You want a silver medal, you should know what it is, brother. That's a big deal. This guy with these medals is no big deal, right? And then in 2016, though, Invictus Games, wins the gold medal in the shot put. So talk about that for a second. What's it like to go back and compete again, having gone through what you've gone through?

44:13I doubt when you're laying in that river, you know, or actually probably better when you wake up and they go, hey, here's your life. Trach, breathing deal, not going to walk again. 18 more months in here. Military's over. Congratulations. I doubt you're thinking, you know, I'm going to go win a gold medal at the Invictus Games here within a few years. This man also won the Pat Tillman Award at the ESPYs, which is where you first came on my radar. Stalker. It's one of the most incredible four-minute speeches you'll ever see in your life. What did you say? Stalker. Yeah, Stalker. Thank you. He keeps hammering me with stuff, you guys.

44:47Just so you know, off camera. He's constantly doing this to me. Right when we meet, he goes, dude, I thought you were a lot bigger. I meant height-wise, not muscle-wise. Muscle-wise, you still look big, but, you know. Height-wise, your videos are very deceiving. I was like, use Photoshop. What am I going to tell you? I'm thinking coming to here. I was like, I want to see this big freaking muscle-bound head. I was like, I'm not going to be able to mess with him because he'll beat my ass. Would you please let the audience know that I'm still a very big man. Everybody, just so you know what you see here.

45:18You are big. Yeah, thank you. Just not high one. Just stop it. Just stop it. Whatever. By the way, this guy said, let me tell you how I first said I'm going to interview him. Can I tell him the story? We probably shouldn't say who it was. Yeah, you can tell. So we're at the Super Bowl. This guy's sense of humor is just unreal. But we were at the Super Bowl and he was a big, huge room full of like a lot of really well-known people. I don't know how many people were in there. A thousand? Oh, God, yeah. Maybe a thousand people. That was huge. And this one, yeah, it was a huge pre-party, pre-superable party.

45:48Tailgate, yeah, tailgate. Yeah, it was the tailgate of the Super Bowl. And he comes up on the stage, Sage Steele, who's an amazing journalist for ESPN. She does a great job. But she introduces him, and she basically introduced you by saying, hey, you're blowing up right now, right? And tell him what you said in front of the entire crowd back to her. You know, I have no Sage for liking. She's on the board of the Pat Tillman thing. And so we've known each other for a couple of years now. She's amazing. Great, great one. And when she says everything in my head, did she just really just say that to me?

46:20I was like, well, I'm going to get her. And so when she says it, I'm like, Sage, that's kind of insensitive to say that to a guy that had blown up by a bomb. And I mean, the crowd lost it. The crowd lost it. The DJ was dying laughing. And Sage was like, oh, my gosh. I can't believe I just said that. The best moment. So tough stuff now. Couple tough ones. This is one of those interviews where if I could literally go 25 more hours, I would just keep going. But real simple question. Probably not easy to answer though. What did you learn through all this? Like what's the takeaway? About yourself, about life, about anything.

47:02What I took away from all what had happened to me is like that my team was there. My family was there for me. They didn't let me be by myself. They were there when I was having bad times. So I saw it after I finally got out, started to get stronger. I saw it as my mission now to be there for my teammates. that I do I miss being an operator being out there outside the wire you know calling airstrikes yes but I knew all these service members or anyone that's out there in the hospital they're my team now I had to be there for them how my team was there for me so I started going to the hospital talking to guys I'm the hey man I know this sucks right now I was there, trust me.

47:59But find your spark, find your fire inside you that will drive you. It can be anything, you know. You may not think you have, but you do. And just stay positive, man. I was like, I'm not gonna tell you I didn't have a bad day. Of course you're gonna have bad days, but don't let that keep you down. I was like, you got this. We'll be here for you. So I saw it now as a giving back. so a lot of what I took away from my whole experience like be there for your teammates wow be there for people that need it do you think you ever would have thought I think humans are capable of heroic things they don't think they're capable of so if I'd have asked you two days before this incident no could you I would have never thought this you know I still it's still dumbfounds me that people that this is my life yeah not that that i regret all i wish it's like it's that people see me in a in a different light that that i inspire and i motivate them and i'm like dude i'm no one special man i was like i just did what any other guy would have done in the same situation be there for my teammates trying to get him motivated get him going get to the, you know, the helicopter, you know.

49:22You know, people like to call me a hero, like to say I'm inspiring, that I'm motivating, but you know, like I said at the ESPYs, man, it's like, I'm just a dude that had a bad day at work. That's all I am, man. I'm no one special, man. The holidays have arrived at the Home Depot and we're here to help bring the excitement with decor for every part of your home. Check out our wide assortment of easy to assemble pre-lit trees so you can spend less time setting up and more time celebrating. And bring your holiday spirit outdoors with unique decor like one of our Santa inflatables. Whatever your style, find the right pieces at the right prices this holiday season at the Home Depot.

50:11Probably what makes you the most special is the fact that you don't know you are. because here's the truth. Not everybody, everyone's capable of doing what you've done, but not everybody would have. And that's the difficult thing in life. Everyone's capable of turning their life around, which would be, you know, I'd mess this whole thing up if I didn't let people. One thing I told you that I think you do is I think it gives people perspective. I'm not going to impact everyone. I know that. But those one or two, they're really having a hard time. They're really giving up. And I mean really giving up on life.

50:48And think they're at the darkest hour. And sometimes hear about me or hear my story or have heard me. And reach out like, hey, sir, I was about 10. Yeah. And I heard how you went through it and how you came out ahead. I was like, gives me strength. Yes. And that's when it really hits me. I'm like, whoa. Yeah. But then I'm thinking, you know what? all that pain all that suffering I went through was worth it because I I got to help that one person that really needed and coming back to just keeping to my dad's words take care of your family and you know sometimes people think I do what I do for just the military I don't when I do what I do is for anyone that needs it out there you know a civilian someone had a car accident someone that's going through marriage someone that had a business thing like you said you know take care of your family it's for anyone man yeah well that's what I want people to know sorry you just get me a little choked up not that choked up but what everybody to know is I think this man is on the precipice of becoming one of the greatest forces for good and change on the planet and you can bring him in I'm doing it you can bring him in to speak to your group to do an interview on the stage or to communicate with them and so you can if you need to reach through me to get to him, you can do that, but you can also go to Israel's Instagram or Twitter.

52:17So tell them how to find you on both of those. My Instagram is IDT21. Okay. And then my Twitter is IDT21. IDT21. Okay. So we'll put them both up on the screen on the YouTube. Those of you that are driving in your car, please make sure that you're following him because here's what's incredible in life. I consider you the most unforgettable person I've ever met. And ironically, it's interesting. But I want people to know, sometimes your biggest thing that you think is your detriment is also one of the things that makes you the most memorable. The truth of the matter is that your story is incredible, but also the visual impact, I think too.

52:53Like, I was going to be honest with you. We've been talking about the fact that you've been burned, but since we've been talking on the phone together, since we've known each other, since we're doing this interview, the only time I actually remember it is when you tell me. Isn't that interesting? I mean, I had someone else on my show Nick that I said the same thing to. It's like when someone's got such a big presence about them, you forget it. But what's the most incredible thing in life, everybody, is that our dreams end up almost always showing up and our tragedies in ways we can't picture them.

53:24And so when you got into the military, your hope was someday I could sit around with my grandkids and say, let me tell you about my story to remember. Here's what's so incredible. Your great grandchildren will be being told about you by your grandchildren without you even needing to be there. Your story is so incredible that 200 years from now, people in your family will be telling the story of their great-great-grandfather, DT, of Israel, of what he did. You won't even need to tell the story. Isn't that incredible? That's a fact. That's all cool, but all I want to be known as I was a good teammate a good husband and a good father is my son.

54:11That's all. And you took care of your family. That's all. Anything else is fluff. But listen to me. I think this is important, man. Because you only hear these things from someone like me. When your dad said, take care of your family, little did you know that that was going to be family members that you'll never meet. It's not just your son. So the ripple effects of the great things we accomplish in our lives, maybe it's even going to dawn on you right now. The ripple effects of the great things we do in our life can impact people in ways we can't even imagine. Who you're becoming and what you've done is going to take care of your family.

54:49And it's not just your wife. And it's not just your son. And it's not just your brothers and sisters. It's members of your family that may never even meet you, man. And so you've, to that extent, you've sowed this seed into your family. So when your dad was saying that, he may not even know that that's what he meant. yet this is so big and so incredible and you are that I just want you to understand that and you're terrible at accepting compliments so you're telling me I want to be the most famous del toro than benicio del toro I don't I can't tell you that you're going to be the most famous but I can tell you this you will have made the biggest impact of any del toro until your son comes along and does something even greater right until your great granddaughter comes along and does something even greater.

55:33But you've done something. You did what your dad said. You've taken care of your family and you've taken care of them in ways. There's a pride in your family, man, for generations now that they know they come from you. And that wouldn't have happened if you weren't the man you were and what you went through. And even though that's not easy for you to accept, millions of people right now that are listening to me are nodding their head in agreement. And all of you listening to this that are nodding your head, that are tearing up right now, you can change your family tree forever too. You can care for your family in your way and your quiet way going through.

56:04And what is amazing is that what you don't understand is the difficulty you're going through is the very thing that will build that story, that legend, that difference in your family about you. And I know we all have simple goals, but sometimes God chooses very simple people, man, to do extraordinary things in life. And I don't think this happened to you by accident. It was an accident that happened, but I think it was predestined to happen. I think when you were this little boy who lost his daddy at 12 years old and then lost his mom right after that, I think all of this was building up to this moment for you to be able to take care of your family in a way maybe even your dad never knew.

56:43And so I just want to tell you that as your friend, this dude retires, by the way, April 27th, 2019, which is coming up here soon. I'm honored that You've invited me to be there and I'm going to be there too. And I want to speak on behalf of millions of people and tell you thank you. And we're all proud of you and grateful for you. And I know that that matters most for you at home, but just know that that impacts reach beyond your home today. Thanks, I appreciate it, man. You're amazing, dude. Thanks brother. You're amazing. Thank you for being here today. I want to challenge you still stay strong and finish strong.

57:17Stay strong, finish strong. All right. Anything else you want to add to everybody? We cover what you want. No, you know, you know, Well, like I said, I'm very grateful that they gave me the opportunity to come, you know, tell this and hopefully help someone out there that may feel like they're having a bad day and they can hear what I went through and how I overcame, because that's the whole goal of this. To be able to continue the words of my dad, take care of my family. So like you said, everyone out there is my family. That's exactly right. Everyone that needs it, I'm there. That's right. We're all a little bit of your family now.

57:48And so thank you, brother. Hey, everyone. I don't need to tell you what you just heard here today. You'll come to your own conclusions. I know that you're right now thinking, who can I share this with that I love, that I care about? This incredible soul sitting to my left has made a difference in your life. And it's not a tactic or a strategy. It's who he is. It's his actual story, which is the biggest impact. I think you should be following him on Instagram and Twitter. And if you want to bring somebody into your organization, your company, your team that can inspire them, I'm telling you, there's nobody better that you could bring in than him.

58:18And then in terms of the max out universe, you guys all know this. Every single week, I try to bring you somebody who's maxed out their life. If this gentleman to my left isn't a personification of what maxing out means, I don't know anyone walking on the planet that is. And so I want to challenge you to share this program with people. It's the number one program in the world for a reason. And also remind you that I want to engage with you closer. So we're building a community. We're building the max out universe here. Israel's now a part of that group. And so every day on Instagram, I run the two minute drill.

58:46And the reason that I do that is so that I can engage closer with you. That means is every day on Instagram. When I make my post in the main feed within the first two minutes, if you just make a comment with the hashtag max out attached to it, every day I pick a winner. Every single day from the people that post within the first two minutes on my main feed, winners get coaching calls with someone like Israel. They get to meet him or myself. They get max out gear, my book, all kinds. We're going to do a private jet secret trip here soon on my jet with winners. So make a comment within the first two minutes and you're part of the community.

59:14I read all of them. It takes me a Meanwhile, I read all 2 ,000 of them every day. I can't comment to all of them. And then if you miss the first two minutes, make a comment every day on all my posts. At the end of the week, we add up people who just make a comment every day, no matter what time it is. We pick a winner from that group as well. So I appreciate your support, everybody. Max out. This is The Ed Myron Show.