Anthony's Story

After writing yesterday's blog post I contacted my son in law, Anthony to see if I could share his history with PTSD. It is a powerful story.  He graciously agreed to be today's guest blogger, and here his story.

During my first tour of overseas service with the US Army in 2006, the armored Humvee that I was operating was struck by an improvised exploding device.  The vehicle was nearly destroyed and luckily no one was killed.  I walked away from that experience with a mild herniated disc, and a mild concussion.Towards the end of that 12 month tour, my unit was extended for an additional 4 months and sent into one of the worst parts of the country where we were in constant danger.  I was officially treated for my back injury once I returned to the States and was diagnosed with mild depression.  Between my first and second tour of overseas duty I met my wife and married her just 6 months before re-deployment.  

During my second tour I saw increased combat.  In 2009 two of my best friends were killed in a baited ambush.  Injuries sustained during that time left me with 2 more concussions as well as a second back injury.  I was diagnosed upon my return with severe post-traumatic stress disorder with severe depression and anxiety as well as degenerative disc disease. I transferred into a Wounded Warrior Transition Unit where I began my process of being medically retired, and after seven years of service and two years of treatment and rehabilitation, I was finally retired from the military. 

Transitioning out of the military was far more difficult than I could have imagined.  I was 60 pounds overweight, unmotivated, and depressed, and now had to provide for my family with no “real world” skills.   I began to look at my future and focused on going to school for paramedic training.  Since I was in the infantry and knew first aid, it was a logical decision.  I excelled in my EMT program but my PTSD reared its head and I found that the stress of emergency situations aggravated it.  I left the program.

The rehabilitation of my spirit, mind, and body began when my second child was about to be born.  I lost 60 pounds, put my faith back into God and began to train my brain and body to learn and be healthy again.           

During my first summer session at Camden County College, my will to learn and to better myself started to excite me.  I enjoyed the class work.  The hard part in getting my life on track was learning to juggle family and schoolwork.  My wife works full-time so my job became school plus doing everything around the house; cleaning, cooking, food shopping, childcare, etc. 

While at first I found myself very stressed, that feeling soon passed as I began to get good grades.  There is no greater feeling than trying hard and getting an “A.” Hard work really does pay off.  The “C’s” that I had received when I first returned to school were due to not being able to balance home life and school life, before I had honed my time management skills.  As my children grow older, they allow me time to study more which certainly helps, because my classes are getting more difficult as I progress through my curriculum.  I am motivated to do well and it is exciting to move toward my goals.

My children are now 2 and 4 years old and I get to lead by example and show my oldest daughter the importance of studying.  My children observe me working hard at my school work and that will motivate them to do the same.  My life goal is to help people by providing purpose, direction and motivation when it comes to healing body, mind, and spirit.  I am a better person because of my struggles with PTSD.  I am motivated to finish school, to change people’s lives, to make a difference in my community, and to help people recover from whatever physical or mental illness they might have.  

I have an advantage over most people, and that advantage is that I know how to get out of the deep pit that life can toss you into.  I know the value of hard work and dedication.  I know that the only thing standing in a person’s way is themselves and if they can forgive, love and respect themselves, they can heal and be whom they were meant to be. I look forward to graduating as a  Physical Therapist and making a difference in the world.