Veterans Day is a day to honor those who put their lives on the line to protect and serve. Being on the front lines is tough and at times what you see on the battlefield can stay with you for a long time. But some vets face a bigger battle when they get home.
When you're in the military, going home to your family is a big deal. It's something Robert Lake always looked forward to. But it didn't take long for this army captain and his family to notice something wasn't right. Capt. Lake says, "They were on eggshells afraid to say things." His daughter Victoria says, "One moment he'll be really happy and then another moment he'll be yelling at you."
Victoria says adjusting to her dad's mood swings was tough on everyone. At first they didn't know what was wrong. Turns out he had post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Capt. Lake served in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While overseas, he says he saw things that really took a toll on his mental health. And when he got home, he had a hard time letting his guard down with strangers.
Going outside, to the movies, riding the bus, it all caused a lot of anxiety. Capt. Lake says, "It builds anxiety and everybody at that point is Al Qaeda or whatever operative they might be associated with." Capt. Lake has been getting treatment at the VA and says it has helped tremendously.
He wants to share his story to help others going through the same thing. He says half the battle is realizing you need help. He says, "If you don't get that support you can't really blame anybody.”
Rayleen Swan was also diagnosed with PTSD. She was in the Airforce serving as a police officer when she was assaulted by a suspect. Swan says, "I went to search him and when I went to search him I put him on the front of the vehicle… and he turned around and he punched me in the side of the head."
From that point on, Rayleen says she lived in fear. "People would walk up behind me, it would scare me, I would scream so loud I would scare them." Rayleen started to abuse drugs and alcohol. She had to walk away from her marriage and daughter. She says, "I became homeless. There's 3 ways to go when you're involved in any type of addiction. Institutions, jail, and death. And I went to institutions, I started drinking and driving and I was arrested for that."
After several troubling years, Rayleen finally went to the VA for help. She says, "I started to become willing, I started to become willing to accept that I had a mental illness... No one wants to believe they have a mental illness. But PTSD is a mental illness and it will take your life if you let it."
Both Rayleen and Capt. Lake are trying to get their life back. It's been tough, but a battle worth fighting.
