Military & Veterans
Brian and Natalie Vines found great purpose serving in the military. But after Natalie could no longer perform her duties as professionally as she always had because of several TBIs and associated symptoms, she requested a medical discharge. Later, Brian also retired to become Natalie's full-time caregiver.
Their purpose has changed but their love for one another has not wavered. 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.
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The reason we both got out of the military is Natalie suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in Iraq. It was during her first tour, she probably suffered a traumatic brain injury, but it went undiagnosed. And then during her second tour, she had a traumatic brain injury resulting in seizures and headaches and severe migraines and a whole host of other issues.
The main reason I couldn’t stay in was seizures. And with the cognitive disorder, I just wasn’t able to perform - I was still performing at 100 percent, but it was taking me a lot more to perform at that level and it was hard, it was very difficult. And it was very, very difficult to ask for help in regards to that. And then other things popped up as I was doing it, vision problems and other things that I wasn’t aware of.
Because of her injuries and inability to continue on at the level of performance that she wanted, she went through the Med Board and then she was medically retired from the army. And me noticing that she needed a fulltime caregiver, I went ahead and retired and been taking care of her 24 X 7 ever since.
It was the hardest thing for me to hear to say hey, I’m going to get out because I want to take care of you. But at the same time, it was a blessing because I knew I wasn’t alone. So I went through that. And it was a difficult time, but at the same time Brian was at my side the whole time. And I couldn’t have done it without him. The difficulties of short-term memory, not being able to remember things that I could remember all at the spur of the moment. I’d be saying something and then I couldn’t spit out the right word or finish the sentence and those things like that and he was right there with me. I’d leave the stove on and here he is coming right up behind me. I wouldn’t ask for help, but he was there right there with me. And at first it was frustrating because here he is tagging along or answering my questions or filling in the blanks. And I was like - don't do that, you know, I’m trying to still get it out. And then as time went on, I was able to be more receptive to that. And he would give me more patience to find the words, to find the sentences, to find what I was trying to say. And then if I couldn’t, then I would be able to ask him a little bit more easier. It’s hard to be able to have to be medically discharged and I knew there was going to be no purpose in my life anymore and finding that purpose is very difficult. I think sometimes now I’m still trying to find that purpose, but my purpose right now is being with him and being the best wife I can.
She does a great job.
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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.
