Last updated at 7:36 AM on 11th October 2011
Comments (22) Add to My Stories Share Tyler Southern, 22, is perpetually positive.
'I'm chronically happy,' he said. 'It's kinda hard to get me off the happy horse.'
Mr Southern's optimism continues in spite of the massive injuries he received while serving as a lance corporal Marine in Afghanistan.
A triple: That's the way Tyler Southern refers to triple amputees like himself, after he lost both his legs and right arm from an IED explosion
Both of his legs and his right arm were blown off by an improvised explosive device, making Mr Southern a triple amputee.
'I didn't feel that me crying about it would help the situation at all and I know it won't. Crying ain't gonna grow anything back,' he said in an interview with The Huffington Post.
Training: Mr Southern is in physical rehabilitation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland
He is still undergoing physical rehabilitation, and works out much of the day, though his injuries are not the only focus of his life.
In July, he married Ashley Statti, a friend from high school and the wedding was filmed by a local Jacksonville, Florida television station.
Mr Southern's injuries are not putting a stop to his military career either.
He plans to work in the public affairs office of the Marines, and will not be quitting any time soon.
'I plan on doing 16 more years,' Mr Southern said in an interview with The Huffington Post.
'I told my dad I'd do 20, I'm not going to let something like this stop me.'
For the next 18 months, however, much of his time will be spent at Walter Reed for his physical therapy. With the prosthetic legs and arm that doctors have given him, he needs to exercise his other muscles and build up strength in his torso.
'I've got the world at my prosthetic feet,' Mr Southern said.
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