(KSDK) - In their recent marriage vows, they promised to love one another in sickness and in health. For Tyler and Renee Ziegel somehow that pledge seems a bit superfluous.
They started dating after Ty, a Marine, got home from boot camp.
"He had a great personality. We got along really well," said Renee.
But then Ty was off to Iraq.
"I'm a combat engineer," he said. "We do construction and demolition."
He was there in the spring of 2003, when the war began and when he returned home safely several months later, he was determined to make Renee his bride.
"He called the local florist and had them deliver two roses every hour for three hours," Renee remembered. "And then he had six more delivered right after that. Then he came over got down on one knee and opened a little ring box and said, 'I owe you one engagement ring.'"
They were looking toward the future when Ty's unit was redeployed.
Then one day in December 2004, Ty was on a truck as part of a convoy patrolling in Iraq's Anbar province when they were targeted by a suicide bomber.
"I just remember not seeing and felt like getting hit in the face with a baseball bat," said Ty. "The next thing I remember is just sitting down just yelling in pain."
Renee knew something was up when she got a call to come to his parents house.
"So then I'm in tears" said Renee. "I don't know why. I'm just bawling for no reason because I didn't know if he was hurt or surprising me."
Ty was hurt, badly. The blast engulfed him in flames and riddled his brain with shrapnel.
He was stabilized and transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Renee went there too and doctors told her Ty was clinging to life.
"If he makes it through today, it's a good day. If he makes it through tonight, it's a good night. We got told that every single day," said Renee.
Ty fought hard and did make it but he was disfigured beyond recognition. He lost sight in his right eye and doctors had to remove most of his left arm and some of his right hand.
But through 50 plus surgeries, 19 months of painful rehabilitation and disfiguring scars, Renee stood by him.
"I didn't marry him because he was a good looking guy, I married him because of who he was," said Renee.
The Ziegels are now back home in Washington, Ill.
Ty, who used to love to repair and rebuild engines, has a new truck and may still one day want to open his own shop.
He admits people do stare but he doesn't really mind.
"If I were you and you me, I would look at you," he said. "I would check you out and I'd be like, 'Hey, what's going on with this guy here?"
And last month, Ty and Renee kept their promise to each other and finally got married.
"It was a party. I had a bunch of Marine buddies there and everybody, and we owned that place for a while," said Ty.
Their bond has already passed an ultimate test.
Ty and Renee Ziegel see love not with their eyes but with their heart.
"If you love somebody," said Renee, "you're going to do what you have to do, no matter what."
