Survivor: Officer Survives Wounds On Battlefield And At Home

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Every law enforcement officer who makes it home from work each day is a survivor and Eddie Alba is no exception.

But it's what he's lived through, both on the job and on the battlefield, that make him an inspiration to those around him.

Officer Alba's entire adult life has been centered around service to country and service to community.

"I enjoy being able to help people who need it," Alba said.

The 31-year-old has been a police officer in Miami Beach for 8 and a half years.

But before that, he served two tours in Iraq as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.

He was at the battle at Abu Ghraib on April 2, 2005.

"I was serving in the Al Anbar province in western Iraq. I had two to three weeks left in my tour. The unit I was serving with, we got under attack. Several marines were injured, me included. It was a life threatening injury I sustained," he explained. "I suffered two grenade explosions at close impact."

Officer Alba underwent at least ten surgeries and endured more than a year of recovery and rehabilitation.

He received a Purple Heart, and years later, was given the Navy and Marine Corps. Achievement Medal in a special ceremony at the Miami Beach Police Department.

It's hard to believe, but Alba says his near death experience wasn't the most challenging.

He describes the year 2015 as the most unforgettable of his life, a year filled with incredible highs and heartbreaking lows.

"Last year, 2015 was one lesson after another for me," he said.

In April of last year, Officer Alba was conducting a traffic stop on Ocean Drive when the driver took off, dragging Alba about a street length, roughly 300 feet.

"It ended faster than I can even understand what was going on," he said. "The adrenaline pumped into the body. I think I went into shock."

Alba fell unconscious at the scene and was rushed to the hospital.

He suffered a concussion, and road rash, and returned to work a short time later.

Despite all he's been through physically, he says his emotional scars from one particular day on duty are the deepest.

Officer Alba heard the call of a baby missing from a boat last October.

After a few minutes of searching, he found the body of the 17-month-old boy who had drowned in the water off the Macarthur Causeway.

"I see the kid floating, mouth toward the sky, in his pamper. Not that I panicked, but I lost it," he said.

"I asked the detective, 'I'd like to know the kid's name'. You see my name. Not too many Alba's out there. I asked the detective, he said, 'Hey the kids last name is Alba'."

The very next day, the officer's own baby Alba was born, his third son, giving this father yet another reason to keep on surviving.

"A cat has nine lives," he said. "I can say of the nine lives, I think I used up one in Iraq, the other was in Miami Beach last year. And another three of those lives are walking around this earth. If that's 5 out of my 9 lives, yeah I'm a survivor."

And a selfless survivor, to boot.

Officer Alba actually spends his free time giving back to the community.

Just last month, he went, while off duty, to make a little boy's birthday wish come true.

The boy had undergone open heart surgery and really wanted a police officer at his birthday party.

Officer Alba was happy to oblige.