The nation thanked its veterans on Monday during Veterans Day.
One Michigan veteran decided to continue making a difference when he got home from serving. 55-year-old John Fred served in the Army and National Guard in Desert Shield and Desert Storm and says it took a toll.
“I struggled with PTSD following Desert Storm,” Fred said. “Holding down a job, going to school — I wasn’t able to do that right away after I got out. So it took me a little bit of self-care and a little bit of actually getting some medical attention myself before I was able to do those things.”
Fred says PTSD is a huge problem and made him feel like a failure. Being in the service made him want to help others and he’s now a nurse at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital.
“That service actually made me a lot more empathetic towards people in general. It really impacted the way I see people’s injuries and the way people deal with those stresses in their lives, and it really pushed me to want to help people.”
Fred says he sought treatment to recover from PTSD. He’s now working on his doctorate and hopes to one day be a chief nursing officer at a hospital.
