Source: www.detroitnews.com

Livonia — A retired U.S. Army medic and Purple Heart recipient injured in Afghanistan got the keys to a donated home and moved in Saturday in Livonia.

Citizens Bank partnered with the Texas-based Military Warriors Support Foundation to donate the recently-renovated brick ranch to 30-year-old John Blizinski, of Royal Oak.

Neighbors and Citizens employees, who helped rehab the home, watched from the street Saturday afternoon as Blizinski and his wife Nicole toured the 1,400 square foot, three-bedroom home for the first time. Nicole Blizinski wiped away tears as they walked through the living room, with hardwood floors, renovated kitchen and a finished basement.

“This is literally just life changing,” John Blizinski said. “It is just unreal. It is literally one of those things that seems too good to be true.”

The couple and their 2-year-old son had been living with John Blizinski’s parents in Royal Oak after he took a medical retirement from the Army in January.

Blizinski served in the Army for nearly seven years and was injured in 2011 while in Afghanistan when the truck he was traveling in hit an improvised explosive device, he said. He received the Purple Heart in 2012, along with a Combat Medic Badge, two Army Commendation Medals and two Army Achievement Medals. His wife also received the Order of Saint Joan d’Arc award for her work mentoring Army spouses.

The couple not only got the keys to their new home Saturday but as a surprise, Citizens Bank partnered with White Star Movers, to transport all their furniture from storage a day early.

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