Military & VeteransPeople often say that Brian and Natalie's story of injury, caregiving, and retirement from the military is a tragedy. But for them, Natalie's brain injuries, her medical retirement, and Brian's later retirement to become Natalie's full-time caregiver is more a story about love. Being together, and also having opportunities to share their story and support other veterans, has helped them heal in many ways, including facing the painful traumas that led to PTSD.
Shortly after Brian and Natalie Vines met in the military in 1998, their unit deployed to Kuwait. Fueled by assignments on nearby bases, common interests, and shared military experiences, their friendship grew into a romantic relationship that eventually led them to the alter. Brian and Natalie loved their careers in the U.S. Army — Brian served for 28 years and Natalie for 21.
After several sustaining several TBIs and living with PTSD, Natalie retired from the Army. And in 2012, Brian, who lives with PTSD as well, decided to retire to take care of his wife. Since then, both Brian and Natalie also found significant growth and healing through their participation in the WWP Independence Program. Brian volunteers as a peer mentor helping his fellow veterans on WWP Project Odyssey® events.
For information about treatments for TBI and PTSD, please visit The Treatment Hub.
Some people would look at our situation and say “Oh, what a tragedy. You know, she’s wounded and he’s given up his career to take care of her.” And I would say no, I would say it’s more of a love story. Because of her injuries, it brought us together more closely from an emotional standpoint that I probably would have never gotten there and me having to be able to read what her triggers are and taking care of her emotionally.
And one of those things I put away that I didn’t deal with a lot was the PTSD part, losing soldiers that were under my command. I put that stuff away because I had to - at the time as leaders, we put that stuff away so we can continue the mission, so there’s not that stigma. And as I was going through these changes, I still put it away and I still deal with that. And I think just recently we’ve both started dealing with all those things that haunt us still today. And you know, those injuries we saw, those deaths we saw and those soldiers that we lost. We don't see it at the time because we push it away, but they really add up to the injuries we had. When you have those injuries and then you have PTSD on top of it, it all comes together and it just becomes a nightmare. Honestly, I had six suicidal attempts. The last one, I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t make that big change in my life. And it’s been since, what, 2017 and I have never looked back. And I won’t, because things have changed drastically, and I’ve made them change. Organizations have come to me and helped me out. And there’s not a day that I have looked back to that day. You know, the thoughts are sometimes there, but you know what? I’ve got people that I have support groups and people that love me, and I have this man right beside me that’s never going anywhere.
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About the author: Brian and Natalie Vines
Shortly after Brian and Natalie Vines met in the military in 1998, their unit deployed to Kuwait. Fueled by assignments on nearby bases, common interests, and shared military experiences, their friendship grew into a romantic relationship that eventually led them to the alter. Brian and Natalie loved their careers in the U.S. Army — Brian served for 28 years and Natalie for 21. After several sustaining several TBIs and living with PTSD, Natalie retired from the Army. And in 2012, Brian, who lives with PTSD as well, decided to retire to take care of his wife. Since then, both Brian and Natalie also found significant growth and healing through their participation in the Wounded Warrior Project® Independence Program. Brian volunteers as a peer mentor helping his fellow veterans on WWP Project Odyssey® events.
