What do I have to be thankful for? I am thankful to be alive.
This Thanksgiving is like most, I had to have surgery, this time on my kidney. It
seems like I’m always having surgery around the holidays. Being in the hospital
really stresses me out, and that kind of stress is really a trigger for a PTSD
panic attack. I’m also extremely
thankful for my wife. She can really read me, she knows how I’m feeling just by
my facial expressions, she is truly the best caregiver for me. My wife made
sure that my nurses were giving me my medications on time, and stayed next to
me the whole stay to comfort me if I had a nightmare. I also was so thankful having
family around. That usually relieves some of the stress I face daily. I have
spent so many holidays training or deployed, being close to the ones I love the
most makes the holidays so much more special. Hearing my own children and niece
laugh really helped make the pain go away.
When I was
released from the hospital and was on the way home I could take some time to
really realize how much I do have to be thankful for. My life, my family, the
roof over my head, my freedom to enjoy the things that I like and to dislike
the things that I don’t like (like being in the hospital).
The thankfulness
continued when I found out my daughter had flown home for Thanksgiving. She is
active duty serving in the U.S Army, she makes me so proud and grateful that
she chose to serve our country.
As we ate dinner, engaged in conversation,
laughed, and talked about everything, I could connect with my family. Something
that has not been possible for quite some time, and slowly but surely I am
making the progress to be healthier and happier for my family.
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