I’ve always been plagued with depression. I grew up in a very dysfunctional home. I managed to survive though. And finally found true love with my second husband whom I’ve been married to for almost 30 years!! Everyone says we have such a unique relationship, we just say it’s love. He was active Army when we met, finished his time and went Army National Guard. On June 14, 2005 he was hit by a road side bomb in Iraq. He had multiple injuries/burns and only given a 20% chance of life. Once they got him back to the states and removed the breathing tube, they found he didn’t inhale any fuel or fire so they said he should recover minus dealing with the injuries. We have 2 children, at the time our boy was 15 and our girl was 10. I made the choice to leave them in MN while I went to TX to take care of my husband. I thought leaving them in a routine with family and friends was the best. Years later I would find out just what a mistake it had been. 6 months after Mike was injured my mom called me in TX to tell me she had Liver cancer…that was in Oct. She died the following March. Mike wasn’t ready to return home for good yet and under extreme pressure from family I was the one told I needed to stay with our father. We had to arrange with Mike’s family someone to go and take care of him in TX. All total we/he was there for a year. Durning that time there my children suffered in school for which I would get daily calls from the school telling me my son was not doing his homework. Our daughter became so needy, she was calling me every night crying and complaining about the littlest things. At the same time I’m still dealing with all the house hold bills and such and having to learn how to take care of Mike, dealing with multiple doctors who are not like civilian ones, trust me!!!!  Once Mike was cleared to come home, our son managed to graduate high school and began in trade school. Our daughter however decided (in 9th grade) she wasn’t going to go anymore! She was teased and bullied and even though there had been a plan in place for her to see the counselor, half the time the 1 counselor they had wasn’t there so they would send her back to class. It came down to the courts putting her in a foster home or we take other drastic action. We moved her 2000 miles away to live with a relative. I’m proud to say it was the best thing we could have done for her!! Then 6 years and 20 days after my mom died, my papa died. And the family I grew up with, even as dysfunctional as we where, got UGLY. Papa’s been gone for 5 years now and it’s not any better. In fact, 2 years ago my oldest brother killed himself…on the same day I found out I had breast cancer. The following Nov. brother #3 died of cancer. There are only 3 of us left but as far as I’m concerned…I’m an orphan and was adopted. Shorty after my papa died, our son gets accused of a crime, I will not disclose what but it occurred while I was in TX with Mike. I don’t believe everything everything happened they way it was brought forth but to avoid an expensive and lengthy legal shit, he plea bargained. There is a very bright spot though…the girl he was dating at the time of all this believed in him! They got married and a year later gave us the most precious granddaughter!!!!  There is so much more I could have included in my story but just wanted to give you all a basic look into my life. As one last note…my husband is doing awesome (except for the month of June) he does a lot of mentoring to other Veterans which in turn helps him deal with his demons!!! I know without a doubt, without him in my life…I would have died along time ago!  Thank you for letting me share part of my story.