My Nonprofit Reviews

Wounded Warrior Project is AMAZING! I adore this organization and their consistent support of wounded veteran’s and their families.

I am the spouse of a wounded warrior and the benefits given to me are incredibly thoughtful and heartily welcomed. It’s not often that entities encompass the veteran as a whole. However, the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) not only supports a veteran for the long-term, but extends much the same kindness to anyone who is caring for the brave and selfless warrior.

When my husband was injured in Afghanistan, he was immediately flown from his tiny outpost to a larger one. Once there, he was examined and told that he needed to go to Germany for treatment. So, my husband had no choice but to leave everything he owned in Afghanistan and continued his journey on to Europe. He was met at the hospital by a fellow wounded warrior and given a backpack overflowing with all the essentials that my husband needed, but no longer had. If it had not been for them, by husband would’ve worn a hospital gown throughout his recovery instead of the warm track suit and t-shirts.

They came to his need when he was alone. Something even I couldn’t do.

This past weekend, I (the spouse) was also given an incredible gift, one that will forever remain enveloped in extreme gratitude.

Various outings are scheduled throughout the States, but it’s not often that something of this magnitude affects little ‘ol me. WWP planned a weekend away for spouses and an opportunity to explore their writing skills, while having a mentor ‘coach’ them. Um – whaaaat?! Let’s talk about the warm-and-fuzzies ‘cause I certainly had them and they stuck around for the entire event. That’s how cool it was.

We flew to Colorado and stayed at a beautiful conference center, where we were given our own rooms (HGTV was turned on from waking to bedtime!) and all meals were taken care of. Silent sleep and not having to cook? They had me at silent…

The next two days were spent with published writers from various outlets. Screen-writers, journalists, playwrights, poets, novelists, and the like – all volunteering their time to mentor 40 women and offering the tools needed to effectively communicate via written word.

This was my dream.

Having started writing after my first cancer in 2009, I’ve been mulling over the idea of writing a memoir. But, a memoir is incredibly difficult to prepare when I have so much I want to say. I don’t want to write just about my cancer’s, but also about life as a military spouse; the challenges of finding self after recovery from alcohol addiction; life as a mom of very active and bright (read: annoying, at times) boys; amongst other insanely relevant, yet crazy topics.

I met a lot of women there who are the main caretaker of their spouse… many, if not most of these veteran warriors, are missing limbs and/or are paralyzed. PTSD is a common theme and between all of us, we could tell you things that you would make you stop in your tracks, want to look a soldier in the eye, and thank them deeply for their life of sacrifice and pain on behalf of the freedom our country still has. That freedom is because of the men and women on the front-line, fighting for you and me.

If you only knew the lives these soldiers and their families now lead, you‘d understand the magnitude of their bravery. While these warriors have been injured both internal and externally, the families also have their own set of hurdles. Imagine having a husband who has such severe brain trauma, that he will stand at the door for the entire day and wait for you to come home from work, unless you were to tell him to go sit down before you left. Imagine a life where Child Protective Services is called because your spouse is having a flashback so horrific, that neighbors are terrified of the screams.

Wounded Warrior Project does its best to support the soldier and his/her family. I even get an email from a WWP person around the time of my birthday, just to wish me a happy day and also to make sure we aren’t in need of anything.

This weekend was for me…the wife and caregiver of a wounded warrior. Just amazing. Not only that, but we are slated to return to Colorado in May and have a follow-up time of mentoring. During the six-months in between the conferences, we are also being coached on whatever it is that we want to write about. The event itself was amazing, but the fact that it continues on to help us pursue a dream is something that my words cannot express fully.

So, thank you Wounded Warrior Project. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being an organization who really cares… and giving me back the excitement I needed to continue to pursue with passion, the telling of my journey.