A serious thread from me, for once..
- Thread starter Texas Cop
- Start date
Drew- When you said you left blood on a foreign continent, I had a huge burst of pride for you, because, like Todd, I didn't realize you saw combat...
We're all "brothers" here to one extent or another, so I'm glad to be here, and all of us are proud to be here for a soldier, as patriots in some way or another- all politics aside, of course.
It's easy for someone to tell another to focus on the present, take each day as it comes, one day at a time, etc. But sometimes we get into a funk, maybe caused by a clinical diagnosis like depression or PTSD... The cause is only important as far as it goes, for hormonal or prescriptive treament, right?
But I'm a big believer in thinking things through, and opening up. Sometimes it feels strange (feminine? don't want to offend anyone) to talk and write about what's goin' on inside, but sometimes it's really the best way to work through a shitty time in life.
We've all been there, although it sounds like your (wartime?) injuries put you in a pretty dark place, understandably.
My point, in short, is that we're all here for you, if nothing else just to listen. Feel free to post your "Parts 2, 3, 4..." as long as it takes to start turning around... The most helpful thing for me, especially after 9/11, was to do as much as possible whatever made me smile- literally smile... Spend time with my kids in my backyard, see comedies, spend time out with my wife, go drinking (not too heavily) with some really close, reliable buds.
We're all "brothers" here to one extent or another, so I'm glad to be here, and all of us are proud to be here for a soldier, as patriots in some way or another- all politics aside, of course.
It's easy for someone to tell another to focus on the present, take each day as it comes, one day at a time, etc. But sometimes we get into a funk, maybe caused by a clinical diagnosis like depression or PTSD... The cause is only important as far as it goes, for hormonal or prescriptive treament, right?
But I'm a big believer in thinking things through, and opening up. Sometimes it feels strange (feminine? don't want to offend anyone) to talk and write about what's goin' on inside, but sometimes it's really the best way to work through a shitty time in life.
We've all been there, although it sounds like your (wartime?) injuries put you in a pretty dark place, understandably.
My point, in short, is that we're all here for you, if nothing else just to listen. Feel free to post your "Parts 2, 3, 4..." as long as it takes to start turning around... The most helpful thing for me, especially after 9/11, was to do as much as possible whatever made me smile- literally smile... Spend time with my kids in my backyard, see comedies, spend time out with my wife, go drinking (not too heavily) with some really close, reliable buds.
Texas Cop
Cavalry Scout
Actually, believe it or not, my combat injuries were not what got me sent back stateside...they did some xrays to monitor my progress, and found a completely (well, mostly) unrelated problem with my kidneys, said it was caused by something in the water..So now I sit in MedHold, waiting to see whether I can even stay in the Army or not *shrugs* gets a guy to thinking...
drew
drew
Texas Cop
Cavalry Scout
I hear ya man... Get well, TRY not to think too much, but we're here when you need us.
I'm not sure what MedHold is, but I assume it's a status, not an actual place, if they let you smoke stogies there???
I'm not sure what MedHold is, but I assume it's a status, not an actual place, if they let you smoke stogies there???
Texas Cop
Cavalry Scout
Yup...that's pretty much it Todd...MedHold is both a status, and a place...I'm in a MEDical HOLDing unit at the hospital here in San Antone....They tend to get us jobs around the hospital doing busy work, so we don't get to down, but they haven't found one for me yet, so I've got waaaay to much time on my hands :hammersma I've been smokin up a storm, but I need to slow down a bit, to convserve my stash until I can replinish, hopefully towards the end of the year..Anyways, I will stay in MedHold until they figure out what to do with me, either find me Fit for Duty and send me on my way to another line unit somewhere, which is what I am hoping for (though the prospect gets slimmer each day), or they will find me fit for limited duty, and they will give me a list of new Army jobs I can reclassify into (this seems to be the most likely outcome, not totally undesirable), or they can put me before a MEB (Medical Evaluation Board) and 'board' me out of the Army..
drew
drew
Texas Cop
Cavalry Scout
I can't say that I have any right to be giving advice but I have always been comforted by this:
I live for those who love me,
For those who know me true,
For the heaven that bends above me
And the good that I can do.
The the wrongs that need resistance,
For the cause that lacks assistance,
For the future in the distance
And the good that I can do.
- Thomas Guthrie (I think)
My interpretation has been that there is good that I can do, both now (for causes and wrongs, for those who love me) and in the future. None of us can possibly know what the future may bring but to know that I am here now (suffering, perhaps, learning...living) so that I can do good in the future, is comforting. To have purpose gives me hope.
be well,
Katie
I live for those who love me,
For those who know me true,
For the heaven that bends above me
And the good that I can do.
The the wrongs that need resistance,
For the cause that lacks assistance,
For the future in the distance
And the good that I can do.
- Thomas Guthrie (I think)
My interpretation has been that there is good that I can do, both now (for causes and wrongs, for those who love me) and in the future. None of us can possibly know what the future may bring but to know that I am here now (suffering, perhaps, learning...living) so that I can do good in the future, is comforting. To have purpose gives me hope.
be well,
Katie
Its true that happiness & self worth is a journey and not a destination. Reads like you might be in limbo and are not a (true) direct participent in the decisions that control your future. This sucks and would upset anyone.
I don't personally believe in the "why am I here?" question. I was given the great gift of life and will live it to the fullest for whatever it means. Fate is often confused with god's will, but fate binds us while god's will can set us free.
You should be proud to have affected so many young people. Your honor will outlast your body, I assure you.
Keep typing & good luck!
Michael
I don't personally believe in the "why am I here?" question. I was given the great gift of life and will live it to the fullest for whatever it means. Fate is often confused with god's will, but fate binds us while god's will can set us free.
You should be proud to have affected so many young people. Your honor will outlast your body, I assure you.
Keep typing & good luck!
Michael
caudio51
BoM Nov '05; Mar '06
Hang in there Drew. You've served your country (not something a lot of people can say). To say you want to make an impact on mankind is huge (another thing most people will not do). Remember we are here to listen to anything that might be on your mind.
You should live for today, plan for tomorrow and never forget you might not be here tomorrow.
You should live for today, plan for tomorrow and never forget you might not be here tomorrow.
Very hard thing to admit... You know that we are here....
everyday is a blessing in and of itself, you know this... after being overseas you know that at any time your life could pass you by... and you cannot live for tomorrow or yesterday, today is a gift and live it for everything you can and everything that it is worth....
everyday is a blessing in and of itself, you know this... after being overseas you know that at any time your life could pass you by... and you cannot live for tomorrow or yesterday, today is a gift and live it for everything you can and everything that it is worth....
The Gulf war was 15 years ago, and it STILL fucks with me. Nightmares are a bitch, but it is other things that will drive you crazy.
August 2000 I was working in downtown Sacramento on the last friday of the month.
That was the first time I had been in Sacramento on the last friday of the month.
I was working on a construction site in the middle of downtown, and all of a sudden, air raid sirens went off.
My hard hat turned into Kevlar, my tool belt and suspenders turned into LBE and gas mask carrier, and I ran 15 yards in a bout 5 seconds. When I hit the bottom of the ditch and couldn't find my gas mask in my damn tool pouch, I freaked.
After about a minute, I looked up out of the ditch I was hiding in and heard a couple of people laughing their asses off. The last Friday of the month, the city sounds the sirens that warn of a levee breach.
That kind of instinctive reaction will be with you for the rest of your damn life. My boss was the only person on the entire jobsite that had any idea what the hell happened. Everyone else thought I was just nuts.
This is something you have to learn how to deal with, and it will be something you will have to deal with the rest of your life.
August 2000 I was working in downtown Sacramento on the last friday of the month.
That was the first time I had been in Sacramento on the last friday of the month.
I was working on a construction site in the middle of downtown, and all of a sudden, air raid sirens went off.
My hard hat turned into Kevlar, my tool belt and suspenders turned into LBE and gas mask carrier, and I ran 15 yards in a bout 5 seconds. When I hit the bottom of the ditch and couldn't find my gas mask in my damn tool pouch, I freaked.
After about a minute, I looked up out of the ditch I was hiding in and heard a couple of people laughing their asses off. The last Friday of the month, the city sounds the sirens that warn of a levee breach.
That kind of instinctive reaction will be with you for the rest of your damn life. My boss was the only person on the entire jobsite that had any idea what the hell happened. Everyone else thought I was just nuts.
This is something you have to learn how to deal with, and it will be something you will have to deal with the rest of your life.
Wasch_24
2005 BoY
How are those stones Drew? I know you have gone through hell and back dealing with them.
Wasch_24
2005 BoY
I have never been in combat but I was in the Army. I can easily see how you could be struggling with this.
Folks I was in with that had been to the Gulf in the early nineties used to talk all the time about how donning your pro-mask in the alloted time was never a problem in the real world.
Texas Cop
Cavalry Scout
The stones are almost done with....4 surgeries later, I can finally pee freely ;-)...I can only imagine how much being around the Gulf the first time sucked with the suspected precense of NBC weapons, and the threat of their use..That is my main concern about any action with Iran...They have them, and they have used them...JW pm is in the works headed your way...
drew
drew