Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S U M M E R 2 0 1 8 82 It all came crashing down on October 9, 2011. Eduardo endured twenty one surgeries over two years. To add insult to injury, during his hospitalization Eduardo learned he had testicular cancer. So in addition to plastic surgery and everything else he had to go through chemotherapy. During his time in the ICU, Jenny Jane stayed by his side. ey were longtime friends and former lovers, having met on one of the yachts. ey'd been through hard times in their relationship includ- ing cheating, lying and mistrust. Eduardo is now engaged and Jenny recently married, but they remain extremely close. "Love and care can be expressed in so many ways" Eduardo told me. "Our relationship now is built on admiration and genuine care and friendship." And on building a food brand. Jenny told me "I was visiting my parents in England when Edu- ardo was injured. I booked a flight right away, but in (London's) Heathrow Airport I talked to Eduardo for what could have been the last time." Jenny sat on the plane for eight hours with no way to get any news, wondering if he would survive. She decided on that flight, if he did survive, to keep filming him. Once at the hospital, Jenny realized he needed her. Jenny had survived her own trauma at three-years-old. "I had toxic shock syndrome—basically extreme blood poisoning—and was in ICU for a couple of months. I remember everything. Most people don't recall much from that age." She recalls her mother, Corrine, being there and how very comforting that was. For Eduardo to have Jenny there when he was so severely injured was similarly comfort- ing. "You wake up in hospital with wounds all over your body, not knowing if you will survive. Imagine how scared you would be." Jenny started filming Eduardo in the hospital. She knew there could be a story there, but she also realized filming was a great way to advocate for him in hospital. "He was on seven kinds of painkill- ers and major decisions were being made by him or others, such as amputating his hand. I filmed as much as I could so he would know later what happened." Jenny told me it was no problem to stay by his side in the hospital for 48 days. She is from England, and during university was the only woman in her section (eight people) of the UK Infantry. "We did field exercises all over Europe and Africa. It was cold, with bugs crawling on you, sleeping in a hole you dug—sleeping in a chair in a warm room does not compare with freezing cold sleeping out on Salisbury Plain." Jenny is a force of nature herself, with a budding career as a stand-up comic and artist as well as working with Eduardo build- ing the Montana Mex brand and starting a cooking show. Inspired by Jenny, Eduardo decided while he was in the ICU that his job was to heal and provide a positive attitude, to help the people that were helping him. "Everything is a chance to grow stronger. Here was my chance." He credits his successful healing—he is cancer free—with a healthy, active lifestyle and positive outlook. Eduardo bicycles, surfs, goes hiking, rides skateboards, and skis and snowboards. He has also resumed bow hunting. He likes to challenge people on hikes. "Every time I think I'm pretty tough I get out-hiked by someone else and five days later I will out-hike them." Eduardo has a bionic hook. He was fitted at one time with a bionic hand but found he worked better with the hook. "I have superpowers" he says. "My hand never gets cut or burned, which can be an advantage for a chef." Eduardo Garcia has more going on that most people could keep up with. In addition to running the Montana Mex brand with Jen, he is a motivational speaker, both live and via podcast, an outdoors- man and adventurer, and now works with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, mostly on triathlons and half or full marathons. "I work with people of all ages, challenges, and abilities." And, to come full circle, Eduardo and Jenny have finally launched a cooking show. Now known as the Bionic Chef, Eduardo has cre- ated, with Jenny, a show called "A Hungry Life." Five episodes have been bought by Yeti Coolers and will show this summer on Yeti Presents. ey are shopping the show to larger networks . He has not backed off one iota from his kick-ass attitude. "I want to be healthy and strong and I want to be challenged. I want to give max effort as often as I can so that when I need max output it's not the first time I've tried to do it." People are often intensely affected by the Charged documentary and by Eduardo's ongoing motivational speeches. "I hear from 20 people a day" he says. One individual wrote to him "I recently watched Charged and your TEDx talk ( January 2018) and your story changed the way I think about life. I have always suffered from depression and find it hard to appreciate life. You have given Inspired by Jenny, Eduardo decided while he was in the ICU that his job was to heal and provide a positive attitude, to help the people that were helping him. Jenny and Eduardo PHILLIP BARIBEAU

• Cover