“I got the boys from school. We went straight home. I could feel your presence had been there. I went into your closet and your guns were missing. Two hours later, there was a knock on our door. I looked out the peep hole and there was a man dressed nicely with a manila envelope.”
‘You were sending me strange text messages. I returned home to you acting even stranger. The paranoia set in. You accused me of infidelity. I did not recognize this man screaming at me.’
‘I told her, ‘I’m looking for a ‘suit.’ He’s an ex-felon, an addict, covered in ink, going through a divorce, currently unemployed. Yeah, No!’ We married just 3 months later.’
“I clicked into his profile. ‘Hi.’ His response was, ‘Who is this?’ He would disappear for long periods of time – sometimes years – and no one knew if he was alive or dead. Just 6 days after meeting him, I was on pins and needles. I finally called. When he answered, I could hear the difference in his voice. I’m telling you, he was magic.”
‘Two men in uniform showed up at her door. ‘They’re coming. The Marines are coming.’ I looked at my mom. ‘I have to go,’ I said, and hung up immediately.’
“‘Paul didn’t show up to work today. This isn’t good Mom. I need you to pray,’ I said. I hadn’t spoken to my husband in 48 hours and was really worried. Every text sent went unanswered. I called a fellow Marine. He asked me, ‘What do you know?’”
‘He thought I was drunk, but after hearing me slam my head several times due to seizing, he approached the stall and witnessed me convulsing on the floor.’
“I was rushed to the hospital with several Marines holding me down. My consciousness was fading. The first 4 hospitals turned me away. I awoke to a half-paralyzed body.”
‘It stopped my heart. I landed on a glass I was carrying, and a chunk of it punctured my jugular. A voice came to me and told me I was dying. Oh God no! I didn’t want to die.’
“I suddenly felt nauseous. I was standing at the kitchen counter – and my next memory is opening my eyes, and I’m lying on something red. I felt shattered glass falling from my face. I ran my hand down my chin, where I felt something snag my finger.”
‘I’ve been hiding our family’s ‘secret’ for years. I have been silent. Masking our smiles. Faking OK. A complete nightmare. I am so sick of living in fear.’
“The officer had actually committed suicide and faked his own murder. This brought out things in Ty I had never seen before. Our family has been in nonstop crisis.”
‘It was love at first sight. 3 days later, we were engaged. His symptoms of PTSD began to show. I would wear makeup to cover the bruises on my cheek.’
“His grandmother grabbed me and said, ‘You marry that boy. You don’t worry about anything anyone else has to say. They will get over it. Make him happy.’”
‘Oh God. I am about to puke.’ All of a sudden, I see a white van and someone whispers, ‘There he is.’
“I couldn’t wait any longer so I drove myself to the hospital. They told me there was nothing they could do to stop this baby from coming today. Alex was set to leave for deployment in 17 days.”
‘She walked in. The world stopped turning. I fell in love before I knew her name. I was married, she had a boyfriend. Life had different plans for us.’ Veteran recounts ‘whirlwind romance’
“Every time she entered the room, my heart leapt out of my chest. I tried my hardest to hide my feelings, but I was doing a HORRIBLE job. One night, after drinking with my buddies, I figured I’d tell her. I just had to get this off my chest! To my surprise, she wrote me back.”
‘As the contractions grew closer together, with each ring I was nervous his Wi-Fi had gone out.’
“My first pregnancy ended in an induction that lasted 3 days. I was terrified that was going to happen again. I knew John would not be able to sit at his computer for 3 days, and the longer labor was, the less likely he would be able to stay by the computer.”
