Thomas Haire

When Thomas Haire was growing up in Pine Plains, New York, you could always find him outside. “I loved hanging out with friends, fishing, playing sports, and enjoying the outdoors. My favorite hobbies and activities were playing baseball, hockey, soccer, fishing, racing BMX bikes, skiing and snowboarding.” His family was full of veterans who had served in all branches of the military, but it was the attacks of September 11 that ultimately led him to enlist in the Army.

“I enlisted in early 2004 and went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. I loved absolutely everything about serving my country and truly had found my niche in life at that point.”

On February 13, 2005, Thomas was working a recruiting event at the Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, New York when tragedy struck. ”Approximately halfway through the day we heard multiple and continuing rapid gunshots coming from the Best Buy corridor of the mall. A large crowd of people were running away from that direction. Sgt Finch and I immediately ran towards the gunfire to stop the gunman and to help anyone who may have been injured. As we were making our way toward the gunman, he rounded the corner and shot me above my knee, shattering my femur and my femoral artery.”

Thomas was airlifted to Albany Medical Center where he endured over 20 surgeries. Though the doctors saved his leg, Thomas lived in endless pain and discomfort for 15 years before undergoing an above the knee amputation. “I had dealt with constant pain 24/7 with no relief. I had tried to live a normal life and not let it bother me for so long. Having no surgical options to fix my knee or alleviate pain and pain medication not being a route I was willing to take, I pursued the elective amputation and it was the best decision that I ever made for myself and my children. It saved my life.”

Since his amputation, Thomas and his family have been living in non-handicapped accessible apartments and houses. “It’s proven to be quite challenging and sometimes very dangerous. My bathroom situation really seems to be the most difficult to navigate safely. I have fallen multiple times getting in and out of the shower and transitioning from my wheelchair to the toilet. Narrow doorways make it impossible to navigate around where I live in my wheelchair. Not having a ramp to get in and out of my house when I’m not able to wear my prosthesis can be very frustrating.”

He looks forward to everything a Gary Sinise Foundation specially adapted, smart-technology home will bring him. “There are no words to describe what it would mean to me and my family to have a home that was adapted to help me have the ability to do daily activities of living a normal safe life at home.”

Thomas adds, “My family and our amazing children collectively are what drive me every single day to be the best man and father I can be. They have always stayed by my side and have never given up on me through the hardest of times. I want them to be proud to say I’m their dad and that I did everything in my power to give them the best life I possibly could.”