EAGLE, Idaho — For many of us, home is a place where we feel comfortable. and a place where we don't have to worry about the simple things - like how to freely move from room to room.
One local veteran, Jesse Cottle, finally has a true place to call home.
Cottle, a retired Marine who lost both his legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan 10 years ago, drew national attention in 2013 when a photo of his wife carrying him on her back went viral.
For a decade, Cottle and his family lived in homes that weren't made for someone in a wheelchair.
But thanks to the Gary Sinise Foundation, they got their first look Monday at the adaptive house built just for them in Eagle.
"Walking in the first time and seeing the finished product was quite an experience," Cottle said. "I think you always kinda have an idea what its gonna look like but it blew us away."
The adaptive technology in the home was installed with Cottle in mind, according to Scott Schaeperkoetter, the director of the R.I.S.E. program.
"Through the smart technology that we've put in the home, he can be sitting on the couch laying in bed and turn lights off in different parts of the home," Schaeperkoetter said. "He can lock doors without getting out of his chair."
Cottle was able to get around his old two-story home on his prosthetics - but he's excited about being able to finally maneuver his home in a wheelchair.
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"Probably most excited about a hundred things it's really hard it's gonna take a lot of time to really grasp what's happened and all the different things that are adaptive," he said. "[I] can't wait to use the kitchen, can't wait to do things out on the property, on the land, the bathroom is going to be so convenient finally."
His wife Kelly Cottle agreed.
"I think Jesse, since he's been injured, has pushed himself to all his limits," she said. "Ten years later now, this home is going to give him the ability to go so much further than he would have without it."
A look inside veteran Jesse Cottle's new Eagle home
Cottle says it's difficult to adequately express his gratitude for the gift.
"I spent a long time trying to put into words how this whole thing makes us feel - going to all the different places that we've lived over the past ten years since I was injured and now into this amazing home and how many people came together to help the Gary Sinise Foundation do what they do and how the community here and the Eagle and Boise area have done so much," he said.
"In the end, I couldn't really put it into words," he continued. "It's just incredible."