Dog Days of Summer

I am so sorry I have been a way for a while. Seemed like so much exploded at one time, that I didn't know if I was coming or going anymore! To get back into the swing of things, as many of you emailed stating you were sending out search parties, I am still alive and trying to play catch up! Hahah! I would first like to say a huge THANK YOU to "Brittany" who created my badge you all can copy and for my new header at the top of my site. She has also reconnected my FB page and resource feed, in which many have told me my old one was not working. I think it looks great! So what's been going on? Waaay too much. Since my last post, I told you we had a Recovery Care Coordinator who has worked sincerely hard to get my husband where he needed to be. So far, we now officially have two Line of Duty injury forms and awaiting more to be approved.

I just cried when the Commander of my husband's unit called last week and said he had received, signed and sent them back. It was a little bit of closure for my husband and of course, much more closure for me. I have been fighting so long, I am not sure what else to do now as most of our issues are being addressed by several people. I know fighting will still be part of the whole process, but I am in unfamiliar territory and that part scares me some. I keep hanging on to the thread that the big man upstairs has plans for me, and is guiding me. I questioned it yesterday on a trip to town while combating the rambling thoughts that entered my mind as I drove. Then I passed a sign that said "There are no such things as coincidences, only God being anonymous". I am not overly religious but do believe there are signs that appear when we need them most and possibly this is one of them. Corny sounding I know...but hey, it just made sense that sign was there yesterday when I have made that same drive and never saw it before.

So other than waiting in a standoff with the military over pretty much everything, The mistress has had some health problems. I probably should be, in all honesty, be the poster child of "Stress Kills" and my heart has been acting a little goofy. I haven't been feeling good for a long time and just haven't been able to get to the doctor and when I did...seemed like they would only treat the symptoms, not the root of the problems. I am trying to disregard the building worry that's buried inside my stomach, as it may be nothing but tons of stress. I did find out that I would have to have surgery on my left leg this year, and follow in my husband's footsteps by getting a C-Pap machine. Nothing is sexier in the bedroom than matching bedside C-paps! I told my husband now we can bump Darth Vadar masks together at night and he can make fun of me for a change! Won't know much until I have all these heart tests done and of course, I am having to wait. I learned quite a while back that the military and the VA system has totally burned the patience bridge many years ago. Between all the testing, the military, the VA and dealing with family...it's been all over the map for me as of late! So under orders of rest, relax, calm down and keep the legs elevated. Under more medications, but that's ok and I have an awesome Cardiologist!

So now on to some AWESOME news, and one I haven't shared with many people as of yet due to concerns over jinxing our plans if we spoke too soon (yes, this has happened-call me Mrs. Gun Shy). We had previously applied through Puppies Behind Bars program for a service dog last year as many may recall only to get denied due to my husband not being a "strong enough candidate". We bombarded them with tons of reference letters speaking on our behalf and had all of our paperwork in place, but just didn't work out. So after January when the bottom fell out on my husband, I realized maybe we should try again but didn't know where to start. Through a fellow blogger, Gina Hill, I was put in touch with Penny's From Heaven Foundation and man oh man...knew I was speaking to some genuine caring individuals who put the warrior's concerns and health first, than concentrating on finding out what they did in Iraq or Afghanistan.

After a few weeks of talking, an application which wasn't scary and many many phone calls with the director of the TADSAW program (Train a Dog Save a Warrior) they had us approved and choosing the perfect "battle buddy" for my husband. The TADSAW program saves dogs from shelters and off the streets, and trains them to help others in many different ways. I was first drawn to Penny's from Heaven because of this ideal method of getting animals into service work as we have many many animals in shelters across the US simply thrown away. We adopted "Taco" our Chihuahua from someone who was going to take him to the pound if she couldn't find a home for him, and he turned out to be the best thing in the world for me! So after some choices on which dog would be best for my husband, the strong silent type.....it was decided that we would be getting.....

Gunny

Gunny, like Uncle Sam's Mistress and my husband, has an interesting story and is a fighter. I don't believe that anyone in the world could have paired up a more perfect animal with a family, than PSFH did. This particularly handsome devil had an expiration date with the euthanization chamber and was rescued by Patsy Swendson, founder of the foundation. After a bit, he became very ill with distemper and after tons of love, prayers and a whopping vet bill, Gunny was cleared 100% for the duty of love, work and play! He is a fighter like we are, and I have to tell you dear readers....when we first got the pictures of Gunny (Or Gunny Sarge as my children lovingly refer to him as), it was like "Oh there you are! Yep...that is definitely you!". My husband was ready to go to TX months ago, but they still had some training for Gunny to do.

I don't know much about service dogs for PTSD or for any type of mental or physical handicaps. This is one area that I had to admit, the Mistress is just now diving in to looking up information. I do know some soldiers who have one, some veterans that swear by them, and spouses who wholeheartedly agree with all of it. I do know that animals have a keen sense of intuition and my beloved Sam, whom we lost this year, was proof to the healing powers that animals have. "Gunny" will be joining our family on August 12th, in which we are very excited about! More importantly, its been a HUGE difference here at home with my husband. He has been talking about trying this place or that, and well......just has hope. We leave for San Antonio, TX for three weeks to train with my husband's service dog. I will be writing much about this because there are several reasons other than just saving an animal to help save a warrior. The thing that caught Uncle Sam's Mistress's attention, was the fact they took the time to get to know us as a family, each as individuals, our personalities, our faults, our mistakes, our victories and what we have learned, and well...just took the time to find out how we were doing. I know applications are important, but how can you really really learn about someone in a few questions and some paragraphs? 

 I really like the fact that they have bent over backwards for us and was able to help secure funding for travel, food, and anything else they could think of. More importantly, they have become a part of our family and that's what makes them stand out in my opinion. While there are many service dog organizations out there, I think I have to say I am biased because they took such great care in not only planning, choosing, and making sure we were a good choice to be awarded a service dog but making sure they knew who we were.

I know I can be often long winded, and detailed...so today due to time constraints and three bickering kids, I will let you connect to the link and check it out. I promise if you are in need of some hope, some help, and have the will and drive to work with a service animal.....five dollars says there is a dog waiting for you somewhere. You can check out Penny's From Heaven and all that they have done here. They are open to any and ALL Veterans so no need to worry about applying my Vietnam and Gulf War Brothers!

I will write more later but wanted to thank everyone who sent concerned emails about my absence. We just have had so much to get done before I leave with my husband next week, and the time is just slipping away! I will try to be a little more attentive to my blog as I know I have been slacking a little with it. Hey, never said I was super woman although some days I sure could use the flying cape!

Until Another Day, 

Crazy Being Home

I have always maintained that music surrounds our existence in these times and for every moment in life, there is a special song creating your very own soundtrack to your life. Normally, I don't advertise or promote anything unless a. I believe in it. b. it actually works and c. it's something I think my readers will find interesting. This particular post is going to be all three of these. I also have a personal take on this very subject, which makes it proof that such things are out there to help our Veterans and families. Anything that creates and pushes an awareness of PTSD and TBI gets the Mistress excited!

Mark Wills

In partnership with the non-profit organization USA Cares, Country music singer Mark Wills has stepped up and together, they are creating an awareness campaign for Post Traumatic Stress disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. Together, they would like to push an awareness of the hardships and struggles our men and women in uniform deal with when coming home. Issues that we know, as Veterans and families, is becoming epidemic in proportions in our generation. When the news was released that on average, there are 18 suicides a day among our veterans, it saddened me to think that was their only way out and the military and VA systems are failing ALL of our Veterans. It made that bottomless pit and hollow feeling in my stomach because as you know, my husband wanted to commit suicide and tried.

I was intrigued about the email I received in regards to this PTSD and TBI campaign, but was more impressed over the phone call discussing the whole thing. I have to say that Jessica, at Lotus Nile (Music/Entertainment firm) treated me with kindness, respect and a genuine concern and belief in what they were trying to do. I find that most intriguing as I have seen some organizations or individuals who use the wounded to collect money, but you never really see what the money is going to. Several things piqued this girl's interest with this whole campaign. First, I love Mark Wills! Yes, the Mistress has to admit that I love his music, his looks and the fact he just seems down to earth. I adore the fact he has made more than seven trips to the Middle East to see our troops and perform, which there are only a hand full out of the entire music community who has done this. The "Crazy Being Home" campaign is dedicated to those who risked their lives for this country's freedom. I like the fact that Mark Wills genuinely cares and is concerned for our many military members coming home with such problems. I also, after speaking with Jessica, didn't get the feeling that this was for promotional purposes...it wasn't about money, it was about the awareness and helping an organization he believed in.

Second, my family was a recipient of one of the programs under the USA Cares mission; the Warrior Treatment Today program. This program helps give the Veteran the financial help they need to cover the costs of bills, rent, mortgage etc while they are in an inpatient program for these types of wounds. The biggest obstacle many military personnel have is being able to get the time off and usually unless they just have tons of time they can take, this is done without pay. No pay, means financial distress and can increase the symptoms of PTSD. My husband lost his job as you remember when the bottom fell out from underneath him and we had to have him hospitalized. We were still struggling to get our heads above water, and to be honest with you....this was the main reason he didn't seek out help in an inpatient program two years ago. We just couldn't afford to take the time out with no pay. USA Cares was and is a great program that I would highly recommend to anyone and have, along with writing about it.

This program is essential I think with those that are National Guard and Reserve Components who suddenly get shoved out of the ACU's and back into the civilian work force. Some of those, made more money while serving and depends desperately on those paychecks. Heck, who doesn't depend on any paychecks these days! I do recommend to check out the USA Cares program and if you do decide that this is something you want to apply for, apply in advance. There has been an increase in traffic for all non-profits these days due to the amount of so many military hardships coming back. Don't wait til your bills are close to being due because it can take a while.

Thirdly, the song "Crazy Being Home" is really really good! I like it, it's got soul...it speaks to you. I let my husband listen to it and he agreed that it really seemed to capture the feelings of those that have returned and trying to fit back in to society. We have experienced the whole finger flipping young adults, who seem to have no care in the world who they are flipping off. So it's not just a song...its a story. 

If you would like to listen to Mark Wills' new single  "Crazy being Home", you can listen here. Also, if you go to the website, Crazy Being Home, you can find up in the top of the site, a player. This player you can listen to the song and download the new single for free. The promo code that you will enter is home 2011. Enter your email and promo, then it will take you to download here. Also, what I have learned most of all from living with PTSD and TBI is we all have stories. Stories that are sad, full of loss and some anger but at the same time, full of courage, strength and love. If you would like to share your story, here is how you do it!

1. Top hand right side of the screen, you will see About, Contact and Journal. You will click on Journal   which will take you to that link.

2.There you will find in the box, Post Your Story Here which you will click on.

3. Fill out your information and share your story. Click Submit.

4. Now that you have submitted your journal entry, it is time to share your story. The goal is to
raise awareness and you can do that with your own personal link. In order to receive your
personal URL, follow the steps below. Your unique URL can be posted anywhere. You can email
it to your friends and family, or simply update your status on Facebook and Twitter.

Steps to get your own unique URL
1) After you have submitted your journal entry you will be brought back to the “Crazy
Being Home” Awareness Campaign page.
2) Scroll down to the bottom and enter your email address in the blue box
3) Press “get your link”
4) Check your email
5) You will receive an email with your own personal link.
6) Copy the link and post it for all of your friends and family to see
7) Throughout the campaign Mark Wills and USA Cares will be offering incentives to
encourage you in sharing your link and stories. Make sure to check back often!

I appreciate Mark Wills doing this and so glad that I am able to assist in such a worthy campaign. Please show your support by copying this URL link and pass it on to friends and family. You can also use this link to post on Facebook and Twitter or anywhere! Wishing all the best and special thanks to all who are involved and to those who get involved with this endeavor! Your stepping up means a ton to families across the board and I know in my heart, that with that first step..others will follow. The more awareness we can create, the more resources will come out of it to help our Veterans and their families.

Still Singing to the Song,