Life changed dramatically for Sarahi Chavez in 2013.
That’s when her Marine Corps husband, Luis, a 10-year veteran and explosive ordinance disposal technician, returned home from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
From all outward appearances, he had come back unchanged. But on the inside, she said, the person with whom she had shared her life for more than 14 years was terribly wounded.
“He woke up constantly with nightmares. Loud sounds put him on guard quickly and sounds of helicopters or aircraft made him tense,” Chavez said.
“I knew he needed help, but I didn’t know how to help him. He was still functioning. He was still going to work. But socially and in the family environment, he wasn’t able to function as we had known him.”
Eventually, her husband was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and tinnitus. And as his condition deteriorated, she said she struggled to figure out how to help him—and to keep their family of seven functioning. Two of Chavez’s five children have special needs. Her eldest son has autism spectrum disorder. Her youngest daughter has a global developmental delay.
In the five years since he left the Marine Corps, the medical issues linked to her husband’s military service have worsened and his employment has suffered, said Chavez, who has assumed full responsibility for the family and for maintaining her husband’s treatment and care.
When his medication seemed to be working, at one point Luis was able to get a position with the Secret Service in Washington because of his explosive ordinance disposal experience.
He was still in training when things fell apart.
Chavez was at her mother’s home in El Paso, prepping to move the family to Silver Spring, Maryland, when her husband passed out during a phone call.
“He was saying I don’t feel good. I have some tingling in my head,” she said.
Then there was silence.
“When he didn’t come back to the phone, I got my mother’s phone and called 911 in Maryland,” said Sarahi.
That was when Luis’s seizures were diagnosed, she said. Apparently, they had been happening for a long time before being noticed.
The family still moved to Silver Spring. Chavez works with the Child Development Center at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in nearby Bethesda. Her only college experience has been a few classes and she said the Pillars of Strength scholarship will change her life.
“I literally screamed when they called me,” she said. “I told them ‘I have to scream,’ and they said, ‘Go ahead!’ I was so excited. I was thankful for everything.”
Chavez said she wants to get a bachelor’s degree in social science with the goal of helping military families.
“I know other people’s stories that are even harder than mine,” she said.
The Pillars of Strength scholarship program is supported and managed by the foundation in partnership with the National Military Family Association and in association with UMGC.
“The partnering with the Pillars of Strength is a tremendous opportunity for caregivers who are often forgotten in the mix of things,” said Besa Pinchotti, communications director of the National Military Family Association. “They are there supporting their families, being the strength of their families, but they need support, too.”
Post-9/11 military and veteran caregivers fall into a unique category. The VA provides specialized education and training programs for caregivers as well as family support services to assist with the individual needs of the Post-9/11 combat-related disabilities. Daily tasks include regular transportation needs, meals and food preparation, assistance with hygiene and dressing, medication, financial management, and facilitating paperwork. This is in addition to providing emotional and mental support.
Although most caregivers are immediate family members, many are not.
A 2014 RAND study found there are 5.5 million service members in the nation being assisted by a caregiver. Out of that number, 1.1 million are service members or veterans receiving caregivers’ assistance as a direct result of Post-9/11 combat-related injuries.
The deadline to apply for the 2021-2022 Pillars of Strength Scholarship Program if approaching soon on March 31, 2021. Start your application process today at www.umgc.edu/pillars.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com
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