Th Warrior Goes Home! Or Is Half Way There.

All the reports (psychiatric, therapeutic, physical, spiritual... ALL of them!)  were good, and by last Saturday night, it was determined that the warrior would go home... or at least half way anyway.  He could go to his sisters home for a while and take the next steps to make it all the way back home. Everyone cautiously had to admit he was ready.

What surprised me today was the Psychiatrist report: It was lengthy and expressed in great detail how this man's turn came after he "met with the Chaplain."  Something happened to him that could not be denied.  2 1/2 years of nightmares had stopped completely.  Anxiety dropped dramatically.  Combativeness was no where to be found.  He could now forgive himself for letting his young Marine, whom he was to keep alive, die. He could walk his way out of the survivor guilt. He could now work on forgiving his wife and anyone else against whom he held a grudge.  He had learned through his encounter with Jesus the power of forgiveness, and he had learned that the forgiveness was as much (maybe more) for him as it was anyone else.

I was so surprised to see he was released this early that I gave him a call.  Folks don't show that much improvement that quickly when they are suffering from PTSD.  Do they? But he clearly has improved enough to walk his way back out of the darkness toward his wife and his children.  He now has the light to see a way out of the blinding pain that war caused him after 3 long tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.  He told me he still has not had a nightmare, and he still is moving ahead.

I thank God for the medical team, the psychiatric team, the therapeutic team, the pharmacy and all the others that took time out to help a Marine who could not possibly have begun his recovery so quickly.  AND I thank God that we are not limited to what "usually happens"  when someone can really surrender to God.  Can people really begin to walk their way out of PTSD so quickly?  The Marine Warrior will answer with a transformational mind changing verse I gave him... "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me."   Yup!  All things indeed.

Be Blessed 2day... Especially 2day.

Al