Last year, this Visiting Nurse made the biggest difference for my family. My husband is an active duty sailor in the US Navy. Shortly after returning from a deployment at the end of 2022, my husband began dealing with some significant mental health issues that he had very successfully hidden from me for a long time.

When it became too much for him to stuff down, I asked him to seek help through the Command Chaplain, Embedded Mental Health on the Waterfront, and our local base clinic. The care he was given through those outlets ranged from giving him a place where he could talk to someone who understood but could do little more than listen (our Chaplain), to some very frustrating conversations with military medical due to a lack of available providers and/or a lack of care and understanding when an active duty member had gone past rock bottom and couldn't fight for themselves anymore. Also, the wait times for mental health professionals have grown exponentially in our local area. With my husband's permission, I spoke with the NMCRS Visiting Nurse about my concerns as well as others in his situation. She offered up a wealth of knowledge and resources. It was like she had a personal Yellow Pages directory in her brain.

My husband courageously admitted to daily fighting with thoughts of ending his own life, just to be met with "There's nothing I can do; the next available appointment is in 9 weeks," or "If you can't wait six weeks, you'll need to find someone else or go to the hospital." He flat out refused to go to the off-base ER, and said it was because we have had many friends who had done that and just had medications thrown at them. Many don't know this, but most medications used to treat mental health can cause a sailor to be submarine disqualified, and even taking them once or filling the prescription can cause a permanent loss of the position they've worked so hard to earn, especially in the nuclear field, to which my husband has given almost 20 years of his life.

While helping my husband through all of this, I found that many military medical professionals are either unfamiliar with or unaware of the restrictions outlined in these documents. This Visiting Nurse knew about the restrictions and gave us advice about what to do and what questions to ask. She gave us lists of providers to call and started with local therapists and offices. Unfortunately, scheduling didn't line up the way we needed it to, and some were not taking on new active-duty patients due to the type of insurance we have. We had to start all over. I felt like my whole world was crashing down on me and that my husband had been abandoned by the community he had given everything to. The nurse was a constant for us. She made sure we knew she was around for anything we needed.

Embedded Mental Health found a provider for my husband, but unfortunately, it would require him to drive over an hour and a half away each way three times a week to talk to a therapist while he was having thoughts of using his vehicle as a way to end his life. I relayed the information to the Visiting Nurse, who provided multiple viable resources with immediate availabilities for us to look into both virtually and in person. The Visiting Nurse ensured we had the support we needed to help him get better. Due to the Visiting Nurse's support and guidance, my husband found the right provider and received the ongoing treatment he needed. She also provided me with resources for myself and our child as well as a safe space to vent and cry when I needed to, and I needed to frequently.

I firmly believe that this Visiting Nurse played a huge part in saving my husband's life and saving my family. I could not ask for a more caring nurse for our community, and I am so thankful to her for all of the support she's provided to us.