Our Wounded and Their Families
By Peggy Baker
Mother of a Soldier
President of Operation First Response
www.operationfirstresponse.org
Operation First Response has been involved with many wounded Heroes and their families; many are experiencing this familiar story.
Your son, daughter, or spouse has elected to join one of our Armed Forces to defend our Country’s people and their freedoms. Many have joined based upon the events of 9-11, knowing that there was every possibility that they would have to take up arms and defend our liberties on another shore far from home and all those they love. They also knew that one day because of their decision to defend us they may lose their lives or be changed forever because of wounds they received from the battles they have endured.
So imagine yourself as a parent or spouse of one of these brave Heroes. Your loved one is seriously wounded and you rush to their side at a major medical facility. Depending on their injuries they could face a year or more at this facility recovering and adjusting to their disability. If your child or spouse lost a limb or limbs, or any other number of serious injuries that our Heroes are facing, you would want to be with them, they are often frightened and in excruciating pain and the comfort and encouragement that a family member can give them is immeasurable to their recovery.
Most American families are surviving on two incomes and in order for someone to be with our wounded the family will now have to change their daily lives and routines completely. The loss of an income in most cases can devastate the family. I can not image having to choose between being with my son during a time when he may need me more than ever before and paying our bills. We have families who have had to spend their life savings on being near their loved ones during their recoveries.
I recently talked with the mother of a wounded soldier at Walter Reed Medical Center. He is an amputee and will be there for quite some time. This family will have to make hard decisions and even more sacrifices before this chapter in their lives will come to an end. I sat and listened to this Mom talk about how she knew she needed to be here for her son and yet all the uncertainty of how their family would make it through the financial crisis they would soon face was a growing fear. For this family and many others, one income is gone now and yet all their family’s expenses will continue to grow. She would need extra money during her stay at the hospital. How do they compensate for loss of income and increase of expenses?
For most families they have now entered down a road that will quickly come to a dead end. She has turned to others for help who say that she should take money from her son’s pay to help the family with these new expenses. Is this really fair to this young man? In many cases our young men and women were saving their pay so that they can build a life for themselves when they return to civilian life. Now these family’s lives are changed forever, not just by the injuries they sustained but also by the financial hardship that they are now experiencing. Should the small amount of savings that this young man was able to accumulate be spent on keeping his family with him in a time of need?
I have seen communities come together for a family in need and now we are needed to come together as a nation. These families gave a part of themselves that we might rest peacefully tonight, that our children and grandchildren will continue to live in a country that is free. They stood by the gates and waved goodbye and cried as those planes disappeared across the sky with our troops and now there are many who are standing next to hospital beds wondering how they will make ends meet.
Operation First Response (OFR) believes that we need to be there for these families. With cash donations to OFR, you can be sure that these Heroes that have given so much can take the time to mend their bodies and not feel as if they are a burden to their families. They deserve to be held in a place of honor.
We believe at OFR that our government is doing all they can during a very trying time and that we as the People of this great Nation for which, our Military defends, need to also do our part. It is not a time of finger pointing and discussion on whose responsibility it is to protect our own, but rather the real question is…. Can I say that I am doing my part? When each of us can answer “YES” to that question then in my heart I believe each of our families will have their needs met.
We are a great Nation that is so often the first on the scene to lend a helping hand to a neighboring country in a time of crisis, so we ask you to remember our own neighbors, our military families in their time of crisis and in some way lighten their load.
By Peggy Baker
Mother of a Soldier
President of Operation First Response
www.operationfirstresponse.org
Operation First Response has been involved with many wounded Heroes and their families; many are experiencing this familiar story.
Your son, daughter, or spouse has elected to join one of our Armed Forces to defend our Country’s people and their freedoms. Many have joined based upon the events of 9-11, knowing that there was every possibility that they would have to take up arms and defend our liberties on another shore far from home and all those they love. They also knew that one day because of their decision to defend us they may lose their lives or be changed forever because of wounds they received from the battles they have endured.
So imagine yourself as a parent or spouse of one of these brave Heroes. Your loved one is seriously wounded and you rush to their side at a major medical facility. Depending on their injuries they could face a year or more at this facility recovering and adjusting to their disability. If your child or spouse lost a limb or limbs, or any other number of serious injuries that our Heroes are facing, you would want to be with them, they are often frightened and in excruciating pain and the comfort and encouragement that a family member can give them is immeasurable to their recovery.
Most American families are surviving on two incomes and in order for someone to be with our wounded the family will now have to change their daily lives and routines completely. The loss of an income in most cases can devastate the family. I can not image having to choose between being with my son during a time when he may need me more than ever before and paying our bills. We have families who have had to spend their life savings on being near their loved ones during their recoveries.
I recently talked with the mother of a wounded soldier at Walter Reed Medical Center. He is an amputee and will be there for quite some time. This family will have to make hard decisions and even more sacrifices before this chapter in their lives will come to an end. I sat and listened to this Mom talk about how she knew she needed to be here for her son and yet all the uncertainty of how their family would make it through the financial crisis they would soon face was a growing fear. For this family and many others, one income is gone now and yet all their family’s expenses will continue to grow. She would need extra money during her stay at the hospital. How do they compensate for loss of income and increase of expenses?
For most families they have now entered down a road that will quickly come to a dead end. She has turned to others for help who say that she should take money from her son’s pay to help the family with these new expenses. Is this really fair to this young man? In many cases our young men and women were saving their pay so that they can build a life for themselves when they return to civilian life. Now these family’s lives are changed forever, not just by the injuries they sustained but also by the financial hardship that they are now experiencing. Should the small amount of savings that this young man was able to accumulate be spent on keeping his family with him in a time of need?
I have seen communities come together for a family in need and now we are needed to come together as a nation. These families gave a part of themselves that we might rest peacefully tonight, that our children and grandchildren will continue to live in a country that is free. They stood by the gates and waved goodbye and cried as those planes disappeared across the sky with our troops and now there are many who are standing next to hospital beds wondering how they will make ends meet.
Operation First Response (OFR) believes that we need to be there for these families. With cash donations to OFR, you can be sure that these Heroes that have given so much can take the time to mend their bodies and not feel as if they are a burden to their families. They deserve to be held in a place of honor.
We believe at OFR that our government is doing all they can during a very trying time and that we as the People of this great Nation for which, our Military defends, need to also do our part. It is not a time of finger pointing and discussion on whose responsibility it is to protect our own, but rather the real question is…. Can I say that I am doing my part? When each of us can answer “YES” to that question then in my heart I believe each of our families will have their needs met.
We are a great Nation that is so often the first on the scene to lend a helping hand to a neighboring country in a time of crisis, so we ask you to remember our own neighbors, our military families in their time of crisis and in some way lighten their load.
All Content © Operation First Response, Inc. 2006