Please Help Make a Change for Our Veterans

[Desirée {PL Team}]

An amazing family who I have known personally for almost 15 years has recently lost a son, a brother, and a husband. Cody Baker was an Iraq Veteran that suffered from PTSD, which led him to take his own life. As we all know, reaching out for help - in any situation - is always the most difficult first step. Cody had taken this dreaded step - more than once - by reaching out to the VA Hospital only to be denied time and time again.

His family has created a petition calling for Congress to step up and make right the lives of so many Veterans that are suffering with no assistance. I know so many of us here have friends and family that have, or are currently, serving our country. Our soldiers are fighting for us, and we need to fight back for them.

 

Please take a moment to add your signature.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/create-change-those-suffering-post-traumatic-stress-syndrome-ptsd/TpVbMbJZ

 

Below is a heartbreaking except from the letter submitted with the petition from Cody's mother:

"I buried my son on Saturday. He is now among one of the Army’s suicide statistics. He was an Iraq veteran. He suffered PTSD. He has suffered with this since before his term was complete. In fact, I have written to you before when you served him Stop Loss papers and he called me and told me that he wasn’t ready to go back. For him to call me and admit that he wasn’t ready, said a lot and I knew without doubt that he was in serious trouble. He was not mentally stable to go back. Thank God, you listened and his orders were pulled.

Cody has suffered with headaches, hearing loss and nightmares. But I think the worst for him was having to live with decisions he may have had to make that were totally against his moral values. With that said, Cody was a top soldier and always completed the mission successfully hands down. I can list thousands of ways he was the perfect soldier but that is not why I am writing. I am writing because our system is broken and demands change.

...

The statistics reported by The Associated Press show that military deaths from suicide outweighed combat deaths by a two-to-one ratio. There were 154 suicides for active duty troops in the first 155 days of 2012. A record 350 active-duty troops took their own lives in 2012. Something must be done."

 

Please share!

[Im Ricky]

Thanks. The best help is from the one closest to us. Don't let it get to you.

[PinUpGirlCoffee]

Thank you so much for this post. Unfortunately stories like these are far too often in the post-war area. These young men are brave leaders that sacrificed their physical and mental health so that we could enjoy our freedom. Let's hope all these great young men get the help that they deserve.

[TAT2ANDY]

Such a sad thing. All the troops need our support, whether in country, at home or having left the service. I wish you every success.