Veterans Day

Last Friday we celebrated Veterans Day and soon we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. On Veterans Day I took Victor to dinner and we had a wonderful day. I thanked him for ALL he has done specially all his sacrifices. I feel Victor sacrificed his health for the Freedom of this Great Nation and I love when he tells me, he will do it all over again in a heart bit. Sometimes, things that we take for granted are taken from us. I am glad I never took my husband for granted because I always ppreciated all he was and now all he is.

Veterans day for me it is everyday. The appreciation I have for all their sacrifice is always there. I am grateful for a Nation that values and recognizes their veterans. We, the spouses of military play a vital role in their performance and their well being. We, the spouses are what I call the backbone of the family, because we keep it all together while they are gone; so I am also thankful for all those military spouses that chose the sacrifice of living a life different than others.

Reflecting in last week's celebration I was reassured in how blessed Victor and I are. We are still together when he could have died, he walks, he talks, he sees and well, we have a long list of blessings that we enjoy every day. Sometimes I see how people are ready to be completely devastated because of unexpected circumstances in their lives. I chose to look the other way and started counting all the great things that I still have. My husband has his days, some better than others. The bad days he can be blunt and don't even notice or he makes bad judgements or he cannot make simple decisions. Those days are becoming more uncommon each year and it is getting better.

I am THANKFUL because the day my husband was wounded he wasn't KIA, that despite his brain injury he is full of hope and keeps improving every day. Victor may not be the same person he was but he is a wonderful new version ;) If you reflect in your life, there are always things to be thankful for. I am thankful you are reading this blog and it is my hope that if you are in my shoes that you don't feel lonely and if you are not in my shoes then even better :) I want to share my experiences because some caregivers feel they are alone when in reality they are not.

In this blog I always try to bring some positive spin to all life circumstances. There are days that are better than others and there are days that the smile is wider than others but one thing is for sure; "keep smiling because situations should not define our state of being but our state of being defines how we will overcome those

situations".

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 5, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    Roxana, you write very eloquently about your husband, his circumstance and your new life. I know the path you're walking -- not military related but TBI. My husband fell from a ladder doing routine maintenance at our home 7 years ago and is now in a wheelchair. Caregiver days are never easy but they can be rewarding. And you're right: at least our husbands are HERE. I'm thankful for you that your husband is physically able to walk because that truly IS a blessing! I, too, am glad to have consistency in every day, even though it's a challenge I wouldn't wish on anyone. I wish you every good thing possible! Jo-Lynn (my blog is at accessibleview.wordpress.com)

    ReplyDelete
  2. HeatherDecember 13, 2011 at 11:56 AM

    Please email me! I have a question about your blog :)
    HeatherVonsj@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. TBI Army WifeJanuary 10, 2012 at 9:53 PM

    Dear Accessqueen, thank you for your kind words and for your positive attitute. Most of all, thank you for supporting and loving your husband. You are a champion and I admire your strength :) I am here if you ever need to talk!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A New Beginning All Over Again

Image
It was a bright and warm morning in early May 2009. Many families gathered in an hangar at Fort Bliss, TX, for the farewell of the 1st Armored Division Soldiers getting ready for a new deployment to Iraq. One of these Soldiers was my wonderful and loving husband, at the time staff sergeant (SSG) Victor Medina. Before leaving, he ran to me three times for a last hug and kiss. I will never forget that memory and how it felt.  Some weeks later on May 29th we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. Victor always made me feel so special and important in his life, and this time was no different. It was the fourth time we celebrated our anniversary apart and as always, he didn’t forget and planned ahead to make sure it was special. Little did we know we were a month away from experiencing a life detour, the biggest test of our love and lives, all in a click of a button. On June 29, 2009 during a patrol mission, Victor’s MRAP was hit by an explosive formed projectile, one of the d...
Read more

Marriage after a Brain Injury

Image
Today was a beautiful day in El Paso, TX. The Sun was shining and a blue sky make my eyes appreciate how spectacular is to live day by day. I do not worry about tomorrow, the enjoy the blessings of today. Life after a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can be challenging not only for the patient but for the family. My husband sustained a TBI and I also suffered the consequences that comes with it. That may be just me but I don't believe so, the more I hear spouses the more I realize that this injury although unknown by many, it is well lived by others. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the incidence of brain injury is approximately 1.7 million a year (http://www.cdc.gov/TraumaticBrainInjury/). That means that every day 46,575 people sustained a TBI. This statistic excludes TBI in Soldiers, so the incidence is even higher. The short and long term consequences of a TBI are(http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/outcomes.html): •Thinking (i.e., memory and rea...
Read more

Marriage and Intimacy

I was asked to write about marriage and intimacy. What a topic of so much divergence and complicated to the human nature. When I see marriages that survived WWII, Korea and Vietnam I can’t avoid thinking “wow, how they made that happened”, but the more I speak with more experienced couples the more I see a common theme among them, values and commitment. I remember seeing my grandparents’ growing old and still saying “I love you” like it was part of their daily language. “What have we forgotten or when did we disconnect?” “There is no intimacy, there is no marriage”. These question and statement are so common and have been brought to my attention by spouses of wounded warriors. One afternoon I am sitting at home and I am reflecting in all the comments that I have heard and the pain and sorrow that these situations bring to these spouses. Are you the spouse of a wounded warrior? Life is not over, like my husband will say, “It is a new beginning”. The problem is that sometimes we are y...
Read more