WEBVTT

00:10.020 --> 00:11.798
I was diagnosed over in Japan .

00:11.798 --> 00:15.689
Actually , my officer decided

00:15.699 --> 00:17.866
making a decision to send me to Yakusa

00:17.866 --> 00:20.299
Naval to get ac T scan on my abdomen ,

00:23.360 --> 00:25.629
lo and behold about an hour after doing

00:25.639 --> 00:27.861
an ultrasound and sitting for a while ,

00:27.861 --> 00:30.028
the doctor comes in and explains to me

00:30.028 --> 00:32.139
that yes , we checked the density and

00:32.139 --> 00:34.139
it is positive that you have cancer

00:45.340 --> 00:47.396
having a chance to meet everybody in

00:47.396 --> 00:49.562
the program , uh has definitely helped

00:49.562 --> 00:51.618
my mental health . It's uh helped me

00:51.618 --> 00:53.673
recover to get , you know , interact

00:53.673 --> 00:53.590
with people again , made me more

00:53.599 --> 00:56.419
comfortable just talking with people in

00:56.430 --> 00:58.541
general . Uh having a sense of like ,

00:58.541 --> 01:00.597
hey , this is something that they've

01:00.597 --> 01:02.708
worked on before and I need to try it

01:02.708 --> 01:04.819
too . So something kind of like , you

01:04.819 --> 01:07.041
know , give me tips and tricks here and

01:07.041 --> 01:09.319
there of how to carry myself or how to ,

01:09.319 --> 01:11.430
you know , once again , look somebody

01:11.430 --> 01:13.597
in the eye and talk to them before . I

01:13.597 --> 01:15.819
wasn't because I felt so enclosed . The

01:15.819 --> 01:17.819
coaches , most of them are athletes

01:17.819 --> 01:20.110
turned into coaches and they understand

01:20.120 --> 01:22.342
they see it day to day and they're just

01:22.342 --> 01:24.453
like , hey guys , it's ok if you have

01:24.453 --> 01:27.059
TB is if you have spinal cord injuries

01:27.069 --> 01:29.402
and you can't do something the same way ,

01:29.402 --> 01:31.736
you're just gonna do it a bit different ,

01:31.736 --> 01:33.958
but you're gonna do it how you and your

01:33.958 --> 01:36.013
body can do it . Like you're still ,

01:36.013 --> 01:39.980
you service members in general .

01:39.989 --> 01:43.870
We at asking for help . Coming

01:43.879 --> 01:46.500
here . I've learned that it's ok . It's

01:46.510 --> 01:48.739
ok to ask for help . It's ok to say ,

01:48.839 --> 01:50.959
hey , I need to take a knee or I need

01:50.970 --> 01:54.370
to take a break and no one here has

01:54.379 --> 01:57.610
judged me for that . And it's been a

01:57.620 --> 02:00.760
very enlightening experience .

02:24.000 --> 02:25.833
It would be my third time . I've

02:25.833 --> 02:27.889
expressed this almost like an act of

02:27.889 --> 02:30.520
redemption in a way being cancer . And

02:30.529 --> 02:32.640
then having to go to the first camp ,

02:32.640 --> 02:34.362
it was like a sense of gaining

02:34.362 --> 02:36.473
something back to me when cancer felt

02:36.473 --> 02:38.696
like it took something away . And every

02:38.696 --> 02:40.640
camp session I've ever attended is

02:40.640 --> 02:42.640
meeting new people experiencing new

02:42.640 --> 02:42.309
things , understanding what my body is

02:42.320 --> 02:44.449
doing . I get more of a sense of

02:44.460 --> 02:46.516
understanding . Hey , I need to keep

02:46.516 --> 02:48.349
pushing myself because I can and

02:48.349 --> 02:50.404
everything that seemed impossible is

02:50.404 --> 02:49.940
possible .

02:55.309 --> 02:57.531
I definitely enjoy the challenge . It's

02:57.531 --> 03:00.800
helped push my own narrative of

03:00.809 --> 03:03.429
redefining my mental and physical

03:03.440 --> 03:05.679
health . I can sit at home , be

03:05.690 --> 03:08.639
comfortable and just live my life day

03:08.649 --> 03:11.539
to day , not really achieving anything

03:11.990 --> 03:15.990
or I can come here be pushed from 5

03:16.000 --> 03:19.080
30 in the morning to like 5 30 at night .

03:19.220 --> 03:21.809
Just non stop sport . After sport ,

03:22.869 --> 03:25.960
it's definitely helped me recognize I

03:25.970 --> 03:28.580
can push past my limits . I can tell

03:28.589 --> 03:30.756
myself in my head that , like , yeah ,

03:30.756 --> 03:32.756
I really want to quit , but I'm not

03:32.756 --> 03:35.279
going to because that would degrade

03:35.289 --> 03:38.179
everything that has gotten me to this

03:38.190 --> 03:41.779
point . When you

03:41.789 --> 03:44.580
hear wounded warrior , you think of

03:44.589 --> 03:46.889
people who , who you can only see like

03:46.899 --> 03:49.121
the physical injuries , imperfections ,

03:49.121 --> 03:51.259
amputees , people who have been blown

03:51.270 --> 03:53.492
up and you just think of it like , oh ,

03:53.492 --> 03:55.659
I was never , that's not me . But then

03:55.660 --> 03:57.771
they sit there , you're like , you're

03:57.771 --> 03:59.993
active duty . You were doing your job ,

03:59.993 --> 04:02.160
you were serving your country and this

04:02.160 --> 04:04.720
is what it's meant to be . We all come

04:04.729 --> 04:06.785
from different backgrounds as far as

04:06.785 --> 04:08.896
different jobs in the Navy , but also

04:08.896 --> 04:11.062
the injuries and uh , situations we've

04:11.062 --> 04:13.229
been in , we kind of have similarities

04:13.229 --> 04:15.396
of like we can relate to that we're in

04:15.396 --> 04:17.729
pain or we were in trouble at one point .

04:17.729 --> 04:19.896
We have something that's traumatic and

04:19.896 --> 04:21.951
then we use that to kind of create a

04:21.951 --> 04:24.007
comraderie back home . It feels like

04:24.007 --> 04:26.118
we're out of place . But here we feel

04:26.118 --> 04:25.679
like more at home .