CLEARWATER, Fla. — There is a myriad of ways people describe Josh Cooley. If you ask his mom, Christine, the most obvious one would probably be hero.

What You Need To Know

  •  Josh Cooley joined the marines on 9/11/01 after seeing the terrorist attacks on TV

  •  Prior to that, he was a member of Pasco County's SWAT team

  •  In 2005, while serving overseas, Josh suffered a traumatic brain injury that took years for him to recover

  • This past weekend, 18 years after that injury, Josh died with his mother, who's been his caretaker for nearly two decades, by his side

“Josh devoted his life to the community and for the country,” she said. “He was very patriotic.”

Josh spent 10 years as a deputy SWAT sniper for Pasco County until Sept. 11, 2001, when he decided to join the Marines after seeing the terrorist attacks on TV.

“He joined the Marine Corps because he had to do it,” she said. 

He always had conviction and purpose even after suffering a traumatic brain injury from an explosion while serving overseas in 2005.

“It was a piece of shrapnel the size of a credit card went in the right side, blinded him, took out the whole frontal lobe,” Christine said.

It may have changed both Josh and Christine’s lives but Christine never saw life caretaking for her son as a chore or a job. For her, it was a gift to see how incredible her son was.

“He had joy in life,” Christine said. “He just he sprinkles fairy dust all over everybody.”

Christine cared for Josh for the next 18 years, staying with him at his house in Brooksville and never left his side.

To her, and people that knew him, aside from calling him a hero, many would consider him a miracle.

“We just continued the therapy at home and at the end I couldn't walk as fast as Josh,” she said.

She stayed at his side even when he suffered a seizure last week, which caused her to call an ambulance and send him to the hospital.

She was there with Josh this past weekend when Christine says they had to intubate him when he developed pneumonia.

“It just got worse and worse and worse,” she said. “Josh was just, it just kept going downhill.”

And Christine was there when her son said his last words to her, which she says fully encapsulates Josh more than anything else.

“I said to him, ‘I'm so proud of you,’” she recalled, “because he was still able to whisper talk. And he smiled and I said, ‘I love you.’ And he said, ‘I love you, too.’ And I said, ‘Thank you.’ And he said, ‘if you believe that, I'll tell you another one.’ That's who Josh was, he was never down.”

Josh died Sunday morning. On Tuesday, Christine had her son cremated with loved ones by her side.

As of right now, the future for Christine is somewhat uncertain because Josh’s benefits that helped him and Christine stay in his house are finished. With just her social security, she doesn’t think she’d be able to afford the home.

But if you think she’d change any of the last 18 years. you didn’t know Josh Cooley.

“I enjoyed his home and my life with him,” Christine said. “And I would like, I know it's probably impossible, but it's so important for me.”

While there are numerous ways to describe Josh Cooley, when you speak with his mother, the one that rings true above all else is that he was and always will be her son.

As of right now, there isn’t any sort of fundraiser to help Christine stay in Josh’s home.

One of Christine’s friends who was with her this morning for Josh’s cremation in Clearwater hopes that Christine would be able to properly grieve before potentially having to walk away from her and Josh’s home.