Wounded veteran receives mortgage-free home in Maricopa [Video]

MARICOPA, AZ (AZFamily) — An Arizona wounded veteran received a life-changing gift on Tuesday.

Christopher Hayden, who was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, received the keys to a mortgage-free home in Maricopa during a morning ceremony.

Hayden was deployed to Iraq in 2004, and in April 2005, a vehicle carrying an improvised explosive device slammed into the back of a Humvee parked next to his vehicle. Burning pieces of shrapnel hit him. He suffered a traumatic brain injury because of it.

Hayden was awarded a Purple Heart medal for the incident.

He completed his deployment and was medically discharged in 2008, which was later upgraded to a medical retirement in 2022.

Now nearly 20 years later, Hayden still deals with the challenges of that injury along with post-traumatic stress and survivor’s guilt. But he says this home will make a big difference in his journey to rehabilitate and get his life on …