Our best support is each other

John:

Find what's important to you. If it's your family, whatever it is, that's your reason, that's your reason to go on. Find that. For me, it was my kids. I knew, “Who, who, was going to be there for my kids if I wasn't?” So, I had to stop the reckless behavior. Not perfect. I still do a lot of crazy things and some things I don't even know I'm doing until my kids tell me, but they're my reason. They're my reason for going.

My battle buddy is, he’s my anchor, my support. If I need help, I give him a call. And the VA, I go there for when I, they’re there. They’re there to help us, and so I need to take advantage of it. And that’s my suggestion to someone, don’t think that it’s being weak. It’s being weak not to, not to reach out. It’s being weak, because it’s easy, I could lay there in bed, cry, scream, I could think, “Poor me,” and how easy it is just to do the ultimate escape. That’s easy. Reaching out for the help, telling someone else how you’re feeling, telling someone else, worried that when you tell them how crazy things that you’re doing, that they are going to say you’re crazy. Half the time we find out, “Hey, this guy does the same stuff I do,” that’s the great thing about talking to another Vet, is that’s what you find out is that no, you’re not crazy. This is normal for us and find out how they got through it and they can help you. Our best support is each other. That’s what I love about going to the VA is that if I get confused or lost in the hospital, there’s another Vet that will come up and ask me if I need help, and I do the same thing. The Vets help each other.