COLUMBUS (WCMH) — US Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Matheson enlisted for service and began basic training shortly after 9/11. Following nearly a decade in the Army, he’s back home but fighting new battles.

Memory problems, nerve damage and pieces of shrapnel still lodged in his body from explosions are just part of the struggle.

“It’s gotten easier, but every day was a struggle,” Matheson said of his return home. “When you first come out of it, finding a purpose is a real struggle.”

He’s progressing – but today, a new hope to move forward comes in the form of a new home for Staff Sgt. Matheson, his wife Brandy and their two children.

“It’s not really set in. You usually only see something like this on TV,” says Brandy of the family’s new home, built by Building Homes For Heroes and featuring special accommodations to help Matheson with his post-battle injuries.

The home is a step forward, but he says he wouldn’t be able to set foot in it today if not for Brandy and his teenage children, Daniel Jr. and Hailey.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my wife and kids … She’s the strongest person I know,” says Matheson of his wife. “I used to think I was the strongest and smartest, but now I know otherwise.”

The Mathesons’ new home is the first Building Homes For Heroes house built in Ohio and the 101^st built across the nation.