Yesterday, April 30th, was my 50th birthday (yeah, I know that means I'm old). I was medically retired from the Army on Aug. 21, 2013 due to Chronic PTSD and mild Traumatic Brain Injury as a result of my 4 deployments to Iraq. I have been really depressed for a couple of months due to the PTSD and also because I was about to turn 50, so my wife decided to do something to make my Birthday extra special. Starting in February, she began emailing and phoning friends / contacts / anyone she thought could help her, in order to arrange things for my birthday.
HERE ARE EXAMPLES OF THE AWESOMENESS:
I got phone calls wishing me Happy Birthday from: Former Aggie Baseball Coach Mark Johnson, Former Aggie Baseball Player Terry "TnT" Taylor, Former Aggie Football Player Dat Nguyen, and Former Texas AGGIE Football Coach and legend Jackie Sherrill (who not only called, but also told me to stay in touch and that he would give me a call whenever he was in the Ft Hood area). I know that my good friend Jason Beasley was one of the people she contacted to help set all this in motion. Jason, in turn, contacted Gabe Bock, and then things took off. Thanks Jason, Thanks Gabe! She also reached out to a friend with connections to the PGA and I got a card and a Birdies For The Brave Putter cover autographed by Phil Mickelson AND complementary tickets to the Crowne Plaza Invitational At Colonial in Ft. Worth in May plus lodging.
In addition to all that, She reached out to several people I served with in the Army and got several of them to call and/or send me cards wishing me Happy Birthday. This list included my BN and BDE Commanders from my 2001 deployment to Kosovo, who are now a MG and a GEN respectively, plus my Sqd leader and 1SG from my 2003 deployment to Iraq, plus my Bn Cdr from my 2nd Iraq deployment in 2004, plus my BN XO from my 3rd Iraq deployment in 2005-2006, and last but not least, my 1SG from my 4th and
final Iraq deployment in 2008-2009.
Finally, she took me out for a very nice Italian dinner of Veal Parm and a birthday canoli to top it all off.

Needless to say, I’m no longer depressed! Pretty Damn Awesome, wouldn’t you agree?


AGGIE12B
JC '88
If you value the Freedom and Liberties you have in your life, be sure to Thank a Veteran everyday!

"Happy Birthday!" from a fellow quinquagenarian (50 year old).
Fighting Texas Aggie 12th Man Kickoff Team '84-'86.

Happy Birthday from another 12B (VN '65-66)!

RED ASS

I would like to Thank everyone for the overwhelming show of support to my post about the AWESOME birthday present my wife was able to give to me with help from some truly Great AGs!
The general consensus of everyone who commented was that I have An EXTRAORDINARY WIFE! I wholeheartedly agree. I definitely married up, and she is without a doubt a keeper! I hope everyone knows that I HAD TO tell this story show others could share in her AWESOMENESS.
For everyone who expressed concerns regarding my PTSD and TBI, I would like to say that your thoughts and prayers mean a lot. I attend several peer to peer support groups in the local area to help deal with the issues that I have. Most of the time, I am able to keep everything in check. I am a trained and certified peer to peer support specialist, and I have helped form 4 different support groups in the local area, and love to help other vets.
For those of you who aren’t very familiar with PTSD, having it is kind of like when a baseball player suddenly goes into a hitting slump. You don’t know what causes it to flare up, but once it does, it is easy for it to spiral out of control if you aren’t careful and every little thing that happens just seems to add to the burden. That is why it is SO VERY important to seek help. I am one of the lucky ones who has gotten treatment. I have been extremely fortunate to be able to go through a couple of OUTSTANDING programs while I was still on active duty at Ft. Hood. One was the STRONGSTAR program, which is a research program funded by the Army and UTSA. The Second is the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program at Ft. Hood. I was also fortunate enough to be able to attend the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed Navy and Marine Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., which is THE premier military brain trauma center in the Country. In spite of my injuries, I have no regrets about my time in the military (other than I wish I could have served in the Reagan era military). I have a GREAT WIFE who Loves me, good friends who care deeply about me, and I HAVE GOD TO GUIDE ME!
I Truly am Blessed!


AGGIE12B
JC '88
If you value the Freedom and Liberties you have in your life, be sure to Thank a Veteran everyday!

God bless Aggie 12B! Thanks so much for your service. I am currently going through a medical board for retirement myself in the Air Force. 21 years for me. I have some similar issues and appreciate ou sharing your story. God bless my friend. Prayers are being lifted for you and your family and for continued healing. I know all too well the feelings you are feeling.