Transcript
One of my triggers was my family.
My nephew, when I came back from my second deployment,
about six or seven years old.
His dad is Hispanic.
He was the age of an Iraqi boy
that we had during a mass casualty who,
it was the only time that we had to use the third OR.
I remember this kid.
He was on a bus that was going to elections and an IED went off
and blew up the bus and he had shrapnel to the abdomen.
The kid walked in, wasn't crying, wasn't screaming
and literally walked in.
He removed both hands and you could see straight
into his stomach and see his liver.
When I saw my nephew, I saw that Iraqi boy and it made it hard.
It makes it hard to want to relate to my family.
It was hard to be around him because every time I looked
at him I would see that Iraqi boy.
Now, after being home and seeing my nephew,
I have to take a step back and I have to not look at my nephew
through the eyes of being in the military or being on deployment.
It's good having my service animal with me when he's
around because I didn't have my dog with me when I was deployed.
I see my nephew and I try to equate it to other things
that are going on, so that
when I see my nephew I don't see Iraq,
I see my nephew and I see soccer.
I see my nephew and I see doing different fun things
like taking the kid to Baskin-Robbins
and getting him all sugared up, giving him Mountain Dew
and then giving him to his mom.
You have to think of the positives that's related to him
and connect it with something positive like a sugar-high
and going back to mom.
It's a great joy.
And you have to look at the positives that's associated
with him and not negatives.