Read Stories > My Story, My Connection: A New Mission

As a combat nurse in Iraq, Linda witnessed the trauma of war up close but never sustained a physical injury. She was unaware that the mental and emotional impact of her experiences could be just as serious.

“I always felt that I was a strong person,” she says. “I didn’t think that someone who wasn’t physically injured could have problems, but the sleeping problems turned into nightmares and a little bit of isolation.”

Linda’s husband, Steve, and other members of her family noticed a change after her military service. “Her mother noticed it right off the bat when she returned [from Iraq],” says Steve.

Linda included Steve, a Navy Veteran, in her therapy process, and it helped them learn how to support each other. “That was the beginning of him seeing how I felt with the PTSD,” Linda says.

It’s a continual process of always getting better — of adjusting and finding other ways to experience life. Linda, U.S. Army and Air Force Veteran

As a civilian, Linda now has a new mission: supporting fellow Veterans as a psychiatric nurse at VA.

“I want to see people live their life to the fullest,” she says. “I want them to have a good life. I want them to be happy.”