A Phoenix veteran is fighting for his life back after a serious crash in Ontario, Canada.
His wife, Chante Fox, tells 12 News her husband, Cody Howard, was snowmobiling with his brothers and soon-to-be brother-in-law when they crashed into a tree about two weeks ago.
"Immediately broke down, playing all the worst case scenarios in my head," she says.
Fox said she got the call that her husband had ruptured his aorta and was being rushed into a risky 9-hour heart surgery, with a 20% chance of surviving.
"Just the longest 9 hours of my entire life, just sitting there," she tells. "Not being able to do anything. Having to put my faith in these surgeons."
But Howard is all about fighting the odds. He went from surgery into a medically-induced coma, before waking up.
"The fact that he even made it was a miracle," Fox says.
2 weeks after surgery, Fox says Cody is still healing. His kidneys aren't working and the ruptured aorta led to paralysis from the legs down. But that's not the only hurdle in Howard's comeback.
As a Marine veteran, Fox says her husband typically gets insurance through the VA. But because he's being treated out of the country, his family says those benefits won't kick in unless he's back in the U.S. and the medical bills are already adding up.
"We’re just tying to get him healthy and home," Fox says.
One thing to soothe the troubled waters: Cody's 11-month-old son River, joining him at a the hospital a few days ago.
"It definitely brings him alive and makes him happy," Fox tells. "He just loves starting at him."
And River is one of Howard's biggest motivations in making a full recovery.
"He said to me, 'give me one year and I’ll be walking again,'" she says. "And I believe him."
Before he can walk, he has to get back to Phoenix first. Fox says they're waiting until he's stable enough to be airlifted back home.
In the meantime, if you want to help, you can visit the family's gofundme site here.
