Daniel Lyon

From never knowing if I’d get married, to heading out for an epic honeymoon! Life is pretty amazing when you just let it happen. Feeling grateful!

Back from our 5 day honeymoon in the middle-of-nowhere Montana! Spent an epic 95 miles on the river with only the things we could fit in our raft. Incredible views, great company, and memories that will last us a lifetime 🤙🏼 #montana #getoutside #honeymoon #livelifetothefullest

August 19, 2015. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of all of you and wish that you were still here. Rest easy my brothers. We will meet again one day. Tom Z.- 20, was born and raised in the Methow Valley. Tom loved his family and his friends, and was happy and enjoyed life. He was kind and big-hearted, and saw value in every person that he met. He always stuck up for the underdog. He always had kind words for everyone. Andrew Z.- 26, graduated from Downers Grove North High School and attended Case Western Reserve University where he played football and discovered a new passion for the field of ecology. This eventually led him to University of South Dakota where he earned a Master’s Degree in biology. While there, he met and fell in love with Jennifer. They hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada to Mexico in the summer of 2013 and were married in November 2014 at an outdoor ceremony in the Gila National Forest. Rick W.- 31, was born and raised in South Haven, Michigan. He married his wife, Celeste, in December 2012. They moved to Wenatchee in April 2014 to pursue Rick’s fire career. Fighting fires was in his blood. He was a fourth generation firefighter. He caught the fire bug in his early twenties shortly after leaving Americorps. Rick held many seasonal fire positions with the U.S. Forest Service. For several years he worked for the Tatanka Hotshots of South Dakota. In between seasons, Rick would return to Michigan to attend Grand Valley State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Management in the spring of 2013. #wildlandfirefighter #twispriverfire

Hit the road and headed for the hills over the weekend. Nothing replenishes the mind, body, and soul better than Montana. Big mountains, clear lakes, and views for days. 🏕️ #montana #getoutside Who else went camping this weekend?

Tonight, as I wrap up 34 trips around the sun, I am focusing on just one thing: being content and appreciative for where I’m at😃

I promise this will be my last sappy post that I share with you guys for a while, but this is too good not to share! I hope our story gives whoever reads this hope through a dark time, and a belief that happiness and love is out there for everyone. You just gotta never give up. When I woke up out of my coma and was able to start slowly speaking again, my mom told me there was this woman who had came and visited me several times. She didn’t know her name and so I asked her to describe her to me. When she did, I immediately knew who it was as we had been friends for a couple of years already. At this point, love was the last thing for me to even think about as I was fighting just to stay alive, but through it all, I still found it. As the days passed, I wanted to reach out to her but couldn’t speak nor type. Finally, someone gifted me an iPad so I could send texts and confirm it was her. And to my relief… it was! We would text for hours throughout my day in the hospital and provided me with hope and goals to look forward to. Once I got released from the hospital, I had to move back in with my parents out of state and slightly lost hope that we could ever make anything work. By this point, I realized being in any type of relationship would damn near be impossible. I was devastated with how I looked, didn’t have the strength to even open a door for a lady, nor could I even drive. But for some reason, on my very first trip back to Seattle to have my first reconstructive surgery, she still wanted that date. Even though I was bandaged up like a mummy with a body that looked like it had gone through hell and back, we took each other up on that date and never looked back. Through the years she has never missed a surgery of mine, we’ve gone on countless adventures, and we have finally begun building a life together that we love. And now she’s my wife❤️ 📸: @kayliesirek (the best photographer around)

A new chapter of my life has just begun!! #blessed

When people ask me how I went from not being able to barely walk, then to running…. “That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town.” Who can name that movie?👇🏼

A few years ago I wouldn’t have been able to walk to the end of the hall let alone the top of a mountain. But I’ve learned that a little determination can go a long ways. If you are contemplating whether you should OR shouldn’t climb to the top of whatever challenge is in front of you…… I am telling you right now to just do it. In the end, at least you won’t die wondering what could have been. #explore #experience #motivate #thegreatoutdoors #mindset #motivationmindset

“I don’t want to f****** die in this” Officer Brittan Morgan from the @spokanecountyso getting it done! He put it all on the line that day to help evacuate several residents only to then have to evacuate himself. His mental fortitude got it done that day 👊🏼 Nice work officer, glad you are here. Shared from: @policefitnessnutrition #thinblueline #mentalstrength #police #spokanecounty #wildfire #wildfireseason #washington

This time of year I get a lot of people asking me how they can help wildland firefighters and my answer is always the same… Support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation @wffoundation They are a non-profit organization that I owe so much of my life to. They were some of the first folks there next to my hospital bed and always there when I needed them the most. When I needed counseling….They were there. When insurance wouldn’t cover a bill….They were there. When I felt like there was no hope….They were there. So when I got asked if I could share my testimony to a local news station about how the Wildland Firefighter Foundation helped me, I didn’t hesitate. Check out the video above and be sure to share with everyone you know the information about this foundation. It might just change a firefighter’s life.

Aug 20. My decision day. It would have been an easy choice to quit and there were a lot of moments I wanted to. My finger tips were cut off, blackened skin covered my body and death was knocking at my door. In that moment I made a decision. Fast forward all these years later, an I’m glad I made the decision to push on. Even after dozens of surgeries, countless hours of pain and misery, it was all worth it. LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT and it’s worth living Everyday we wake up, it’s decision day👊🏼 what’s going to be yours? #firefighter #burnsurvivor #warrior #wildlandfirefighter #wildlandfire #forgedbyfire