For The Love of a Veteran
America has been involved in far more military actions and conflicts than any one person alive today has ever witnessed. From every single one of these involvements, soldiers have come home; sometimes wounded, sometimes with disabilities. Others have not even made it to the site of the military actions or conflicts, having been wounded or disabled during training. Citizens of this nation – family members, friends, and those who love us, have been there for veterans along the way.
One of the people I am writing about today is Wendy, my wife; she is a Nurse. Some people speak of those who study and then pursue the medical profession as having received a form of, 'call,' to the profession – my own father did no less. My father is also a veteran; did he receive a, 'call,' to serve our nation too? Wendy may very well have received another form of that call, one that has found her providing love and comfort to more than one veteran.
Wendy's first husband was Jim; he served in Korea more than just honorably. Jim received a letter from the President of the United States of America in relation to his service, something I have not. When he came home as a veteran of the armed forces, he became an HVAC technician, providing for two daughters and Wendy. You might be wondering why Wendy is no longer with Jim.
One day, Jim was driving down the freeway here in Colorado Springs when he had a heart attack. He died, and Wendy raced to the hospital. All she could do was refuse to be refused access to him; she kissed him goodbye, and walked away in tears. To this day, the hospital where he was brought is a place that carries a certain level of trauma associated with it for her. She spent quite a period of time recovering from his death, and as a part of her recovery she spread his ashes in a certain lake they enjoyed fishing at.
A few years later she met me. There are a lot of men in the world Wendy could have chosen to pursue a relationship with and many of them have not served in the armed forces to any level whatsoever. As I mentioned, I am nowhere near as decorated as Jim was. Which one of us risked our lives to a greater degree in our service to America? It is hard for me to say. Understand that Korea where Jim served was, and still is, and unquestionably hostile place. During the Korean War it was a place of imminent danger. Jim risked everything he was on a consistent basis in Korea.
As it says on my profile at Disabled World Community:
“Disability, it seems, is something that God meant to be a part of my life. At age eighteen I went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma and experienced a heat stroke that left me with Epilepsy for the remainder of my life. No Gulf War for me. I had been living in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years and was not prepared for the 100+ degree and dry weather Oklahoma presented me with. I guess God had other plans for me. I never saw Fort Benning, Georgia where I was supposed to become a Radio Operator. I received an honorable discharge, a disability rating, and a seizure disorder with, ‘idiopathic gran-mal and petit mal seizures,’ for my service to America. When I got back to the Northwest after Fort Sill, I spent a number of years getting the seizures under control.”
Another heat stroke at Fort Sill may very well have killed me, and I was somewhat aware of this fact. I did not drop everything as was suggested to me more than once. Instead, I completed my training. Why did I do this, given every opportunity and reason not to? I was proud of my nation and the team I had become a part of. My service to America meant more to me than my very life and well-being.
Wendy loves me just as much as she did Jim and her respect for the veterans of this nation is stunning as far as I am concerned. A professional, Medical-Surgical Nurse like her could have chosen nearly any guy in America she pleased. She could have chosen a man to love who lived safely in the private sector. Instead, she has chosen to love – veterans.
One of the pieces of, 'fallout,' from the epilepsy I have in association with my service to America happens to be PTSD. Please understand that experiencing seizures on the city bus, street corners, college campuses, and nearly anywhere imaginable – to the point where I have nearly lost my life on more than one occasion, has led to increased disability. The Veterans Administration (VA) does not recognize the fact that a portion of the PTSD I experience is connected to the service-connected disability, epilepsy, they do recognize.
Nurse Wendy does recognize this fact, even while the VA does not. The VA does; however, provide access to a counselor. The VA is growing in the awareness of PTSD issues where the veterans of America are concerned. There is certainly no shame in reaching for services through the VA; soldiers, the VA has some of the best counselors and medical personnel in the world.
America – there are millions of people just like Wendy in this nation. We love the veterans who have served this nation. The veterans of America often continue to serve this nation in so many ways. We keep on giving to the nation we love. People like Wendy keep on loving us as we do. Thank You, family members, friends, and those who love the veterans of America.
America has been involved in far more military actions and conflicts than any one person alive today has ever witnessed. From every single one of these involvements, soldiers have come home; sometimes wounded, sometimes with disabilities. Others have not even made it to the site of the military actions or conflicts, having been wounded or disabled during training. Citizens of this nation – family members, friends, and those who love us, have been there for veterans along the way.
One of the people I am writing about today is Wendy, my wife; she is a Nurse. Some people speak of those who study and then pursue the medical profession as having received a form of, 'call,' to the profession – my own father did no less. My father is also a veteran; did he receive a, 'call,' to serve our nation too? Wendy may very well have received another form of that call, one that has found her providing love and comfort to more than one veteran.
Wendy's first husband was Jim; he served in Korea more than just honorably. Jim received a letter from the President of the United States of America in relation to his service, something I have not. When he came home as a veteran of the armed forces, he became an HVAC technician, providing for two daughters and Wendy. You might be wondering why Wendy is no longer with Jim.
One day, Jim was driving down the freeway here in Colorado Springs when he had a heart attack. He died, and Wendy raced to the hospital. All she could do was refuse to be refused access to him; she kissed him goodbye, and walked away in tears. To this day, the hospital where he was brought is a place that carries a certain level of trauma associated with it for her. She spent quite a period of time recovering from his death, and as a part of her recovery she spread his ashes in a certain lake they enjoyed fishing at.
A few years later she met me. There are a lot of men in the world Wendy could have chosen to pursue a relationship with and many of them have not served in the armed forces to any level whatsoever. As I mentioned, I am nowhere near as decorated as Jim was. Which one of us risked our lives to a greater degree in our service to America? It is hard for me to say. Understand that Korea where Jim served was, and still is, an unquestionably hostile place. During the Korean War it was a place of imminent danger. Jim risked everything he was on a consistent basis in Korea.
As it says in a post on my profile at Disabled World Community:
“Disability, it seems, is something that God meant to be a part of my life. At age eighteen I went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma and experienced a heat stroke that left me with Epilepsy for the remainder of my life. No Gulf War for me. I had been living in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years and was not prepared for the 100+ degree and dry weather Oklahoma presented me with. I guess God had other plans for me. I never saw Fort Benning, Georgia where I was supposed to become a Radio Operator. I received an honorable discharge, a disability rating, and a seizure disorder with, ‘idiopathic gran-mal and petit mal seizures,’ for my service to America. When I got back to the Northwest after Fort Sill, I spent a number of years getting the seizures under control.”
Another heat stroke at Fort Sill may very well have killed me, and I was somewhat aware of this fact. I did not drop everything as was suggested to me more than once. Instead, I completed my training. Why did I do this, given every opportunity and reason not to? I was proud of my nation and the team I had become a part of. My service to America meant more to me than my very life and well-being.
Wendy loves me just as much as she did Jim and her respect for the veterans of this nation is stunning as far as I am concerned. A professional, Medical-Surgical Nurse like her could have chosen nearly any guy in America she pleased. She could have chosen a man to love who lived safely in the private sector. Instead, she has chosen to love – veterans.
One of the pieces of, 'fallout,' from the epilepsy I have in association with my service to America happens to be PTSD. Please understand that experiencing seizures on the city bus, street corners, college campuses, and nearly anywhere imaginable – to the point where I have nearly lost my life on more than one occasion, has led to increased disability. The Veterans Administration (VA) does not recognize the fact that a portion of the PTSD I experience is connected to the service-connected disability, epilepsy, they do recognize.
Nurse Wendy does recognize this fact, even while the VA does not. The VA does; however, provide access to a counselor. The VA is growing in the awareness of PTSD issues where the veterans of America are concerned. There is certainly no shame in reaching for services through the VA; soldiers, the VA has some of the best counselors and medical personnel in the world.
America – there are millions of people just like Wendy in this nation. We love the veterans who have served this nation. The veterans of America often continue to serve this nation in so many ways. We keep on giving to the nation we love. People like Wendy keep on loving us as we do. Thank You, family members, friends, and those who love the veterans of America. Most of all - Thank You, Veterans, for your service to America.
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- $.50 is donated to Disabled American Veterans every time you fill a prescription
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- Available to everyone and it’s COMPLETELY FREE!
Comments
Look closely at the picture...
The picture of the soldiers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma includes me. There is; however, an empty space in the bottom row. The space is empty because the soldier that should have taken that place had a learning disability that found him, despite every effort on the part of more than one Sergeant to teach him how, to march. A soldier that cannot march; sigh.
He was so frustrated with himself he wanted to scream. I tried to help him as well, to no avail. He just couldn't stick his foot out with the opposite arm. He was nearly in tears he was so ashamed, and I told him he should not be, that he had done more just by attempting to serve his nation than many others had.
People with Disabilities want to be a part of the Americans who serve this nation. If you do not believe that people with disabilities and disabled veterans are capable, I would like you to read the following article please: Cpl. Bradford - Disabled Marine Re-Enlists. We are highly-capable in many different ways of serving this nation, and that so proudly.
Tom Weiss, A.K.A. 'Disability Writer'