We were at Balboa Hospital for follow up appointments. We had also planned to meet our new counselor advocate. We met with him and he was very patient and pleasant. The three of us sat together and Travis and I told him about everything that we have been going through. He gave us his undivided attention and listened to everything that we had to say. He advised us of different ways to get help and offered us suggestions and advice. He mentioned a program called Computer/Electric Accommodations Program (CAP). Taken from their website, “CAP provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors, IT professionals, and Wounded Services Members. We buy it, we pay for it, we get it to the users, it’s just that simple.” Our Counselor advocate noticed Travis’s memory loss and felt that Travis would benefit by using a PDA. The counselor advocate, Mr. V told us that there were other devices that Travis may benefit by using. Mr. V sated that he would do his best to get Travis a PDA and informed us that he would contact us when he received the device.

After meeting with Mr. V we couldn’t believe that we had met this person who showed so much concern for what we were going through. Mr. V has a huge heart and we are so thankful that we were fortunate enough to meet him. We walked over to the pharmacy to wait him Travis’s prescription. While we were waiting Travis received a call from Mr. V. He said that he wanted to meet us in the pharmacy. Mr. V found us and asked us to fill out a one page application form for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. I filled out the application for Travis and Mr. V explained to us that this organization may be able to get us the same PDA that we discussed minutes ago but that this organization could possibly get it to us quicker. We sat and chatted with Mr. V for a while until Travis’s prescription was ready. Then we went home. This was on a Friday.

Monday morning Travis and I were on base at Travis’s unit doing some paper work for our upcoming Trip to Stanford. When we finished in his unit we got in Travis’s car, and then he got a phone call. It was from a lady named Sondria. She was calling from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. She introduced herself and asked Travis a little bit about himself and our family. He shared about the last two years; the surgeries, radiation, complications, our family, as well as my resignation from work. She asked Travis for his address and told him that she was sending him a check/grant as well as getting the PDA for him. Travis finished the call with Sondria and explained to me what had happened. Travis was in shock. He was not used to anyone doing anything for him. We went home and had dinner.

The next day we took Victoria to one of her medical appointments. On our way home we check the mail. There was an envelope from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Travis became nervous and did not know what to do. We sent Victoria upstairs so that he could open the envelope privately. Travis sat on the sofa with the envelope, he asked me to sit next to him. I patiently waited as he carefully opened the envelope. There was a signed letter from the organization and a check. Travis looked at the amount on the check and tears started to fill his eyes. I looked down at the check and noticed the GENEROUS amount. We were both speechless. About 24 hours after talking to Sondria, a check was in our mailbox. It has been a week today since Travis received this check and typing it today still brings those same feelings back. It is hard to put those feelings to words and it is hard to explain how my body feels. It is unbelievable that someone that we never met could do this for us and it is even crazier that there are many people who donate and contribute to this organization and makes gifts like this possible.

I am so thankful for this check because it means so much to my husband. These last few years have felt like everything was going wrong. After two years of trying so hard and fighting with all that we had left in us, we finally got a break. I can’t ever replay the people who made this possible. I wish that I would have video taped my husband opening the envelope because then everyone would have been able to see the beauty of his happiness.

Travis sent Sondria an email to thank her because he could not get through to her on the phone. She called Travis back on Wednesday morning. Travis thanked her over the phone. We were both still in shock over the generous gift. Sondria spoke with my husband more about our living situation and the sprung another surprise on us. She wanted us to go to Sleep Train, pick out a comfortable mattress, and have the invoice sent to her. Again, Travis got tears in his eyes. He is not used to anything like this. He has been supporting himself since he left home at 18 years old. Everything he has, he has paid for with money he has earned. Large gifts are not something he is used to.

This all seemed too good to be true. After two years of struggle we have been blessed by meeting these wonderful people who have lifted some of the stress off of our shoulders.

On Thursday we went to Sleep Train. We tried out many mattresses in the store and we found one that was like sleeping on clouds. Travis LOVED the mattress. It made me really happy to see him enjoying himself. We had a very nice salesman who we shared our story with. Travis like the salesman so much that Travis took a picture with him. The mattress was set to be delivered on Friday.

Friday Travis and I went to Balboa for some medical appointments. He had to see his oral maxofacial surgeon, the pain management clinic, neuro-opthamology and we met with Mr. V. We went to Mr. V’s office. He presented Travis with the new super cool PDA device. Needless to say we were very thankful for everyone’s generosity. We spoke to Mr. V about other things going on and without hesitation Mr. V offered us more help and advice on some issues that we were dealing with.

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I had a hard time writing this entry. I was having a difficult time finding the right words to accurately describe the feelings that we were feeling. The support and generosity still seem unreal to us. I will do my best to accurately update and hopefully I can make a video soon to share with you Travis’s true reaction to daily events.

Please take some time to read about the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. The website tells about who they are and has testimonials about what they have done. I am not trying to pressure anyone but if you are interesting in helping this organization to help others, you can donate by clicking here.

We will be traveling up to Stanford for a follow up appointment with Travis’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Adler. We have to stay over night for that appointment and luckily my sister offered to take time off from work to watch Tori. With so much else going on I have not really had time to think about what we might hear from Dr. Adler. Travis is getting an MRI when he is up there and I hope that we get good news. To be able to function I have been thinking positive. In my mind Travis is on his way to getting better and we are on our way to living a more “normal” life. I hope that we are told that the tumor has not grown.

I have been doing my best to keep up with school. I was really looking forward to starting classes again but I did not realize how hard it was going to be to fit them in our busy schedule. More than once I have wanted to quit the classes because I feel so overwhelmed. What keeps me on track is I remind myself of special people like Travis’ Flight Surgeon and a few other individuals who have really made a difference in this difficult time. I want to be able to give back someday and I want to be able to help out other people and other families the way that we have. When I remind myself of these goals and of my mentors I get the strength to continue with my schooling. I am nearing the end of my first semester back and I can’t wait to finish so that I can feel that accomplishment. This last weekend I took three quizzes, one exam, watched a foreign film, wrote a two page essay, and read my textbooks. I could not have found the time for this if I did not have the support of my family.

Today we had plans to go to base to get our orders for our trip to Stanford. After getting our orders we were going to go grocery shopping and then to the bank. Well as usual, things could not go as planned. While we were at Travis’s unit getting his orders Travis bent down to fix his shoe and he had a back spasm. He described it to be just as painful as the time that he was hospitalized initially for his back problem. We finished up our business with his unit and then Travis drove to Base Medical. Why was Travis driving and not me? Well he just started driving again, he was driving his car and it is stick shift and I can’t drive stick shift. So we were stuck. Anyway, we made it to Base Medical and he was seen by the doctors that we on duty today. They assessed the situation and gave him some pain medication and a shot so that he could be comfortable. We walked down to the pharmacy and waited to be called. We ended up sitting next to a nice man that struck up a conversation with Travis. He noticed that Travis was in pain and started asking questions. One thing lead to another both Travis and the man were sharing there horror stories from Balboa Hospital. This man suggested that we write to our Congressman and Senator about what happened and gave Travis a great pep talk about standing up for himself. The pep talk really touched Travis’s heart to know that a stranger took the time to listen to what Travis has been going through and that this man actually cared.

Also I should mention that today Travis got a call from a stranger. When I use the word stranger I intend no negative connotation. I use the word simply to imply a person that has no relationship to us, someone that has no obligation to us. And it overwhelming to us when a stranger opens up their heart to us. Back to what I was saying, a woman called him today from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. She got our information from a case worker and called Travis to tell him how her organization could help him. Something this woman said really touched Travis’s heart and after he hung up the phone with her he was speechless. I hate that Travis has had these health conditions but considering the situation, nothing could compare to the way that we feel when we are approached by caring people. It really means a lot to us. Nothing can take away his tumor but caring people can certainly make living with it a lot better. The feeling these people give us also is a motivation and a reminder of how important it is to give back.

Click here to read stories of injured services member and how the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund assisted the service members and their families.