Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Dominique Washington) Spc. Dominique Washington during PT- “It’s a...... read more read more
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FALLS CHURCH, Va.- A career in the Army was the plan for Spc. Dominique Washington. That plan was derailed in August of 2023 when she suffered a stroke. Her battle buddy and a staff sergeant doing a barracks check got her to the hospital. “It felt like someone bashed my head in with a baseball bat. I was screaming and rocking in the wheelchair. I kept blacking out while this was going on in the emergency room. I just wanted the pain to stop.”
It was pretty scary for the Brooklyn native stationed at Fort Drum one year earlier. She never expected the news the doctor told her the next morning that she had a stroke. “I was processing it. I was only 29 when it happened and had no previous medical condition. I don’t eat fast food, I don’t smoke or drink, I couldn’t believe this happened,” said the ammunition specialist.
She ended up having two more strokes and a seizure over the next few months. Washington went to the Fort Drum Soldier Recovery unit in December of 2023. Her quest to recover was bravely embraced, and for good reason. “My mom passed away from a stroke, so this was very traumatizing for me,” said the mother of a little girl who just wanted to get her life back to raise her daughter.
“I had no clue about the SRU. I didn’t want to come here because I had a great relationship with my unit, and they took such good care of me. I wasn’t fully aware of what the SRU could do for me. The care from the SRU team, the love, and the support are amazing,” said Washington.
She admits that her fear of the unknown had “rental space” in her brain, but she stepped out on faith. “I was so scared when I first got here. I just knew I wanted to make a life and have a twenty-year career in the Army, but I am here, so now what?”
The now what was a road to recovery she never could have imagined. Washington says she processes things more slowly as a result of the stroke, and she is thankful for the care the team at the Ft Drum SRU has taken with her; “Nobody made me feel stupid, nobody makes me feel slow or even different, and that’s important to me.”
The Fort Drum SRU team all had their jobs to do in helping Washington, who not only embraced all the help but she’s also left a lasting impression on them. “I know the healing journey has not been easy for Spc. Washington, but she always maintains a positive outlook. She brings a positive attitude to each adaptive reconditioning program she attends. She focuses on improving and moving forward and encourages her fellow soldiers in recovery to do the same,” said Teresa Kramer, an adaptive reconditioning program specialist at Fort Drum.
“We created a master plan since I am being medically discharged. I’ve learned I have to be in a classroom. The team at the SRU found an X-ray tech program for me to focus on once I'm discharged. I do have my family back home I can live with, so it's all coming together. I need to find myself outside of the Army," said Washington.
Leaving the SRU and the Army, she says, will be bittersweet, but she is ready to embrace her future. “I jokingly tell them here that when my discharge comes for the SRU, it needs to come with an eviction notice because I don’t want to leave.”
The active-duty Soldier said she had all her needs met, which gave her comfort. “Anything I’ve needed is here at my fingertips. Sure, people tell me the VA will be there for me when I get out, but no one will ever take care of me the way my SRU team did.”
While her recovery is going well, she knows there are still and will always be struggles. She credits her faith and attitude, along with the Fort Drum SRU team, with bringing her to where she is now. “It’s a choice to get up and keep going. I do have moments of mental and physical weakness, but my will to want to succeed is stronger than any negativity. Life isn’t happening to me; it's happening for me.”
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2024 14:49 |
| Story ID: | 480446 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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