A Hero's Honeymoon: Give HOPE for the Holidays

Captain Juan Guerrero, USA (Ret.)  applied for A Warrior’s Wish® with hopes of finally taking his wife on a long over-do honeymoon that never happened while he was on the road to recovery. A few years, a son and a baby later his dreams of a honeymoon turned into a "family-moon" and they explored the magic of Walt Disney World together. 

CPT Guerrero immigrated to the United States as a teenager and joined the United States Marine Corps. He deployed to Iraq in Operation Desert Storm as an automatic rifleman.  Four years later he enlisted in the Army and in 2003, he deployed to Iraq as part of the unit spearheading the initial invasion of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2005, he completed training to be an officer.  His third deployment to Iraq was as a 1^st Lt. EOD Security Escort. As a platoon leader, his Humvee was hit by an IED on July 26, 2007. 

After being medically evacuated to Baghdad for his initial surgeries, CPT Guerrero, USA (Ret.) was transferred to Germany, Walter Reed Naval Hospital, Alaska, and finally to Sam Houston Military Medical Center in San Antonio, TX.  He had spent three years trying to salvage his leg injuries before his physicians were forced to amputate below the knee on his right leg.

Upon his return home to the states as a wounded warrior, he met and shortly after married his wife. Due to the challenges of his medical complications, the two were not able to celebrate their union with a honeymoon. CPT Guerrero, USA (Ret.) remains an active participant in his recovery through physical therapy and mental health treatment for PTSD and anxiety.  Since his amputation, he has had motivation and support from his family and rehabilitation team to participate in new sports and the Paralympic competitions in the San Antonio, TX area. 

The Guerrero family's Warrior’s Wish® was sponsored by Team Chris, a group of loyal supporters whose mission is to honor the life of Cpl Christopher G. Scherer, USMC

To learn more about a A Warrior’s Wish® or to help make A Warrior’s Wish® come true please visit Hope For The Warriors®.

Gifting HOPE this Season

Want to give meaning to your holiday season, as well as a loved one and service member like Juan? You can, by gifting HOPE! To give the gift of HOPE in honor of someone special, visit our Gift of HOPE page.

 

Do You Invest in HOPE?

Did you hear the news? For the 5^th year in a row, Hope For The Warriors® has earned a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator. This puts us in the top 5% of Charity Navigator rated nonprofits! It's an incredible honor and testament to our meticulous fiscal responsibility and accountability, letting our donors know their support for Hope For The Warriors® is an exceptional investment in the future of our military families.

Charity Navigator is an independent organization that evaluates fiscal responsibility and accountability of nonprofits.

Through the years, Hope For The Warriors® has grown in scope of programs and staff size but our fiscal responsibility has never changed, regardless of growth and economic challenges. The Hope For The Warriors® board of directors, staff, and volunteers work tirelessly to restore self, family, and hope to our military community. We have always, and will always, remain faithful to our mission and to our donors' intent.

Hope For The Warriors® would like to thank supporters like you for providing positive feedback on the many programs we provide military families nationwide. The integrity of our organization is paramount and therefore our representatives are as honorable and noble as our mission and the people we serve. This exceptional rating exemplifies our commitment to using donor dollars wisely—a privilege for which we have you to thank.

What I Continue to Learn from PTSD & TBI

By Colleen Saffron

When I started this article a couple weeks before Thanksgiving, I thought, "Ok, we are leveled out, things are pretty much settled and we have adjusted to life." Not! Two days after I wrote the initial draft we started dealing with a recurrence of PTSD. It has taken the past few weeks to find level ground once again, but the theme of my article resonates more with me as I hear so many of my fellow caregivers talk about this subject.

Caregiver Colleen Saffron

When my husband was wounded, we had been married for nearly 15 years. We felt we had reached a point in our life where we were doing quite well. Our children were growing and we were comfortable in the life we created for ourselves. As a couple, we had gone through the early years with money struggles, personal adjustments, arguments over childrearing, and all those ridiculous things we fight over in marriage. Then, on May 5, 2004, the IED exploded and within seconds everything changed.


It’s amazing how much you learn about yourself and your relationship when your world is turned upside down. After all, we always say the explosion included our whole family and way of life, not just my husband in Iraq. But that bomb went off in the lives of many families all over the nation by taking the lives of loved ones, forever challenging everything they ever believed or felt. Those other families, who were also impacted by that very same blast, have walked out feeling grief, hurt, anger, and confusion. They also had to accept the terrible consequences of that explosion in their lives.

It took years for my husband to actually be diagnosed with a TBI and PTSD, but that doesn’t mean we were not living with it every day. We just didn’t have a name for it yet. When you live with someone who is changed that much and that swiftly, you learn a lot about yourself, too. 


Many people do not know that I am legally deaf. I wear hearing aids, use assistive devices, and had a hearing service dog. Often, I cannot hear what is being said to me and depend on reading lips to fully understand others. My husband's treatment in the hospital for severe jaw and tongue injuries created quite a communication barrier in our lives. The challenge we faced was that my husband’s nerve controlling half of his mouth was gone, that half of his mouth drooped and did not move, which impacted the other half. When he tried to talk to me I could see his frustration as he struggled to speak and felt my own as I strained to follow what he said.

Brain injuries and PTSD can change the way people process information and how they communicate. This dramatically changes the dynamics of a relationship. Because of this, I feel I have had to adapt and learn some new communication skills as well. I have learned I don’t have to be able to hear to be able to listen. I am learning that listening isn’t about sounds as much as it is about respect and feelings. Listening means we take the time to concentrate on what someone is trying to communicate to us and the emotions that go with that. 

Sometimes I think I am lucky because in order to actually hear what someone is saying I have to be very attentive to them. I have to look at them and pay close attention to not only what they say but also their body language and facial expressions. This has taught me to observe them and pay attention to their words. When dealing with someone that has PTSD or TBI, this is a valuable tool in understanding what their needs may be and better help meet those needs. Learning to be a better listener has been a benefit in all of my relationships both professionally and personally, not just my marriage.

I seldom say, "I know how you feel" to anyone anymore. I really do not know how others feel, even if I myself have gone through a similar experience in my life. I realize how I deal with a situation and processing the emotions is not necessarily how another will deal with that same scenario. I cannot know how other people feel but what I can say instead is, “I don’t know how you feel, but I do understand you are in a difficult situation, so what can I do to help?”

I have learned that I could always speak, but now I am learning to truly communicate. When dealing with someone who has injuries that so greatly influence a person’s ability to understand emotional cues, body language, and inference, you have to be sure what you are saying is simple enough and clear enough that they will comprehend it. This is not something most of us do in our day to day communication. It is a skill that must be practiced, but one that will enrich your relationships with everyone around you.

It is too easy as a caregiver to fall into the pit of despair every time our warrior faces a difficult time. Using the skills and tools I have learned through professionals, books, caregiver training programs and workshops, and trial and error, has made it so we do not both go into that mode at the same time. Then, I can better sit back and assess what is really going on and then create a plan to address it and bring things back to our normal.

I encourage you to seek out ways to see the lessons you learn through the tough times and how they can positively impact your life and benefit your relationships. I have a solid faith in the divine process of character being developed. I believe that every time one overcomes an obstacle they become equipped to reach out to others who come behind them and struggle with similar things. The effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes steady and middle ground, but they never disappear. The communication and relationship skills I am learning while living this out are some of the hidden gifts of caregiving. I am better able, each day, to not allow stress to eat away at my confidence and hope in the future. 

Giving HOPE on #GivingTuesday

Today is #GivingTuesday, a single day that’s all about giving. Hope For The Warriors® is proud to take part in the day’s spirit of generosity, but what about the other 364 days of the year? This #GivingTuesday, Hope For The Warriors® recognizes the stories of our inspirational community of supporters, who creatively give HOPE to our military community every day of the year. 

This is one such story.

On July 1, 2015, Air Force Veteran Michael Nehlsen, and his friend, Jeff Molesko, began a cross-country motorcycle trip called Riding For Warriors to raise funds and awareness for Hope For The Warriors®. Michael and Jeff, New York and New Jersey natives respectively, began their journey in Seattle, Washington and ended eleven days later in Union, New Jersey. The duo logged over 4,344 miles and traveled through 14 states, gathering support for military families on their way. 

“As a young man, I had the privilege to serve my country. During this time, I saw and experienced intimately the sacrifices service members and their families were expected to make,” said Michael. “I continue to deeply appreciate the struggles faced by our service members and am committed to helping them achieve their goals.”

Michael (Left) and Jeff (Right)

Together, Michael and Jeff raised over $40,000 to support three Wishes as part of A Warrior’s Wish®, a Hope For The Warriors® program that turns the dreams of severely wounded service members, veterans and their families into reality. Riding For Warriors gave three veterans and their families the well-deserved opportunity to improve their lives and accomplish new goals. 

Thanks to the generosity of friends like Michael and Jeff, the cycle of giving goes well beyond one Wish, one supporter, and one day of the year. To learn more about the impact Riding For Warriors had on one Wish recipient and his community, read our blog.

#GivingTuesday
Join Hope For The Warriors® for #GivingTuesday. To highlight our ten-year anniversary in 2016, our #GivingTuesday campaign slogan this year is #Give10for10—donate $10 for 10 years of HOPE. Please share our campaign on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #Give10for10.

Gifts may be made online, by phone at 877-246-7349 or by mail to 5101C Backlick Road, Annandale, VA 22003. Text the word WARRIORS to 20222 to donate. 

Thank you! Your support today will help us restore self, family, and hope to military families who need it most this holiday season and throughout the year.

P.S. Did you know you can support Hope For The Warriors® by shopping at smile.amazon.com? You can use your existing account – and there’s no cost to you. Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to HOPE. Just select Hope For The Warriors® as your designated charitable organization and start shopping!