At the risk of sounding ass-kissy here, I am posting yet ANOTHER blog that deals with my friend Carie. I know, I know. Bite me.
The more I get to know Carie, the more amazed I am that people like her truly exist outside novels and movies.
I mean, I KNOW there are good people out there, I should, as some of the best on this earth have been my friends for the past twenty years or so, but we had no choice in the matter.
Military life made us Über-chameleons (or nuts…or both), so we’re able to be extremely adaptive to many situations and can get along (or act like it), with all kinds of people.
BUT, and it’s a big but, (add jokes here), my friends and I have the hardest time liking or caring about typical civilians.
Small makes that easy. Not only is she a geek, an athlete, AND funny, but she truly does have a huge heart, and directs that compassion towards something near and dear to MY heart, the United States Armed Forces.
You see, Carie is a backer of a program called RWTT, or Rehabbing with the troops.
Rehabbing with The Troops is a nonprofit organization that helps wounded warriors not just physically but mentally readjust to life back in the USA and cope with their injuries by connecting with their favorite pro athletes.
Coming back from single or multiple tours of duty over in, as those in the Military call it, “The Sandbox”, is never easy at the best of times, fully healthy and surrounded by family and friends. Add the complication of being injured into the mix and it can be extremely daunting.
And that’s where Carie, and people like her, come in.
Carie, as you may or may not know, shattered her ankle and leg in an LFL practice, so, not only is she a pro athlete mentor to the troops she does RWTT with, she is also a fellow rehabber, as she is recovering from a bad injury as well.
Carie has been doing RWTT for about the last month or so, and, even though we are only just getting to know each other, even I can tell that the experience is having its impact on her. She has always thought of these men and women that protect our rights and persons as heroes, and rightly so, but I think she is actually starting to see the human and not just the hero sides of these brave souls, which, unless I completely miss my guess, makes them even more admirable as people than just as ideals.
I think the help might be going both ways.
I know getting the chance to realize people like Carie Small exist, and not just exist but actually care about them as a person, is a huge mental reinforcement and a great lift for those troops recovering from their injuries.
I can tell that it goes both ways though, and that, when she gets depressed about how much her injury has changed her life, all she has to do is talk to one of “Her” troops and it set things in a completely different perspective for her.
Rehabbing with the Troops is a great program to help those true heroes injured in the line of duty get back on their feet, not just physically, but emotionally as well. The men and women that serve our country are true heroes, and I know that I, for one, often take their being there for granted, even though, as having them in my nuclear and extended family,
I am too painfully aware of the problems faced with coming home from fighting an unpopular war to defend people who neither know nor care anything about their plight or the sacrifices they make for us every day.
And then, there are people like Carie, who, through programs like RWTT, renew my faith in people and give me hope for tomorrow.
For more info about RWTT, go to their facebook page here: RWTT
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