This is a story of survival and courage. It is a story that wounded combat veterans know only too well, but it is one that teaches us many lessons about service to the nation, the daily struggle against pain, both physical and mental, that comes with traumatic, life-changing wounds, and the incredible treasure of life itself.
Combat veteran Kirstie Ennis tells her own story here with quiet eloquence. She was on her second tour in Afghanistan when her helicopter was hit and went down hard. Her injuries were extensive to her face and to her left leg. She remembers her first realization of the injuries and how she screamed, not so much from the pain but from the shock.
The next part of Ennis’s story is about the dark time of her early recovery. Her face had to be reconstructed, and her leg was amputated. In such circumstances, it is not unusual or inappropriate to be overwhelmed with dark thoughts and the constant weight of depression, swimming on the edge of despair. What am I going to look like? Who’s going to ever want me? How can I go on so damaged?
Ennis describes these feelings and the moment that brought her out of them. It was a visit with her father, a veteran and a Marine who looked at her one day with tears in his eyes and asked her a very succinct question: “The enemy couldn’t kill you. Are you going to that to us for them?”
That woke her up. She had never seen her dad cry before. It turned her away from the dark, inward-focused thoughts and toward the outside, toward those who loved her and wanted her to live, to recover. It took that shift in perspective from the feelings of depression and despair rooted in her own suffering to the recognition of the suffering of those who loved her and who were experiencing seeing her in that dark place. That began her long healing process.
It was from that powerful moment with her dad that Ennis once again took hold of the thought of living and realized that life was beautiful and worth the commitment. As you will see, she took the initiative from then on and gave herself over to the difficult and painful struggles that were necessary to endure in order to recover her control over her own life and her own destiny.
The psychiatrist M. Scott Peck wrote a book back in 1978 called, “The Road Less Traveled.” The first sentence of the book was only three words long, but it was a powerful articulation of universal truth: “Life is difficult.” This is true for all of us, but those who serve, especially in combat, have an understanding of that three-word truth that walks alongside you in combat and that accompanies one like a shadow when one is severely injured physically, emotionally, or spiritually and is facing a long hard road to recovery.
This reality requires courage that becomes a daily virtue. It must be practiced until it becomes a habit that is simply done and no longer thought about. This virtue of daily courage comes to dominate one’s body, mind, and soul. It keeps you going through the physical and the mental challenges. It settles in the heart and colors one’s attitude toward life with hope and even, finally, a sense of joy. It is the realization that you were not defeated, that you faced the worst that life can present and overcame. This young woman models all of that and more.
The terrible wounds to her face have been expertly repaired, and Ennis has learned new skills and strengths of mind and body to get beyond the reality of the amputation. She is climbing mountains and acting as a positive role model, showing others who are facing these kinds of difficult struggles that they too can overcome and be more than they ever thought they could be.
Yes, courage is needed in times of extreme danger, like those on the battlefield, but that courage needs to be even larger and more enduring in order to overcome the lifelong injuries that can happen in war. This young woman is a great example of not only how that can be done but of the love of life that is the real strength behind all of our victories. She is an example of that habit of courage that makes us great over the course of a life well-lived. We thank this young woman for showing us what it takes to live and to live well, against all of the odds. OooRah!