A month before his 21st birthday, Ray Hennagir's life changed forever. While serving as a Marine corporal serving in Iraq, Hennagir stepped on an IED, losing both of his legs and much of his left hand.
15 years later, and despite the loss of his limbs, Hennagir has not lost his Marine Corps fighting spirit.
For the past several months, Ray Hennagir has been training at UT Arlington in preparation for the upcoming Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where he will compete for the gold in wheelchair rugby.
Hennagir told WFAA, "You can get away and think about something other than life for a little bit. Because life is a hard thing to deal with," Hennagir said. "I like the fact that we can hit. I like the physicalness. It's a lot more fun to me."
In preparation for the games, Hennagir has been training at UT Arlington, who is nationally renowned for its wheelchair basketball team.
Covered in tattoos, all of which have very specific and special meanings to Hennagir, one in particular stands out, an image of a wheelchair with the words "disability is a state of mind" on his left forearm.
"Even though you have a disability doesn't mean you're disabled. Like you can still do things you can accomplish goals. Like the world is still your oyster," he says.
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