MaDonna
U.S. Army Navy Veteran
Boulder Crest Warrior PATHH
“Your will to live has to be stronger than anything that’s ever happened to you.”
MaDonna joined the US Navy right after high school, serving on active duty for six years and for the next 17 years serving as a police officer in her hometown of Macon, GA.
She has known trauma her entire life. The first was when she was 6, and then again at 12 when she experienced incidents of sexual trauma. When the same type of trauma happened while serving in the military, she learned not to trust herself, and because it was from a superior-ranking enlisted member, she learned not to trust the military. It’s impacted every relationship she’s had, including the one with her children.
“My older two, I had them younger, and I was going through the motions. They were more like my little roommates than a parental/child relationship. I protected, I provided, but I was emotionally dead. The younger two got more, but I still wasn’t emotionally available like a mother should be. I decided that I’ve got to let them know I’m human. That was my turning point.”
And that turning point led her to Warrior PATHH (WP). She knew she couldn’t make any more excuses. She was ready to live and not just exist. The MaDonna that showed up to WP carried a lot with her, uncertain if she was going to unpack her bags or take them back home. She chose to show up.
"My experience is one that is almost indescribable with words. The difference for me from any other therapy was the moment the guides, who are also veterans and first responders, told their stories first. They came clean first. They emptied first. And that for me was pivotal from any other thing I’ve tried because I said ‘they understand. They are going to hear me, see me, feel me. They are going to truly get what I’m saying because they have experienced trauma."
She is now free. Free to tell her story without shame. The advice she would give to any veteran or first responder, especially women, is this… “Just move. Even if you go and say, I’m not going to say a word - whatever your reason is - GO. If you want to truly live and not just exist and lay down your baggage, exhale, release, open your hand – GO. Complete your mission of you.”
