Mother and daughters continue to run to raise awareness for PTSD/TBI, this time with the statement of "If we send them, we must mend them"

Wearing new shirts but still battling for those who battle for freedom, Denise Becker of Lansing and her daughters, Jennifer Becker and Jessica Verdon, took their message of awareness about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) across the country to Norfolk, VA. November 13, the City of Norfolk hosted its first half-marathon, appropriately titled “Freedom Marathon”, with all proceeds raised by the event going to the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Wounded Warrior Project provides services to injured veterans as they transition from military to civilian life. The mission of the program is to honor and empower those who have suffered injury or loss in defending the freedom of this nation. The program's vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in this nation’s history.
The purpose of the Wounded Warrior Project is to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members; to help injured service members aid and assist each other; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members. Those interested in learning more about the program or donating to the cause may visit woundedwarriorproject.org online.
Although sporting a different statement for this half-marathon, the new shirts worn by the trio of Lansing natives still carry a message of raising awareness about PTSD/TBI spurred by the military service and experience of their son/brother. The front of the shirts reads, “If we send them, we must mend them”, which is a quote that comes from the book “Tears of a Warrior” written by Janet and Tony Seahorn about living with PTSD.
Tony Seahorn is a Vietnam Veteran who suffered for many years with PTSD. Denise was given permission from Jan Seahorn to use the quote on the shirts. The book is available for no cost to local Veterans at the Allamakee County Veterans Affairs office in Waukon.
Denise states that the shirts generate conversation at each race. Last month, when Denise and Jessica ran the Des Moines half-marathon, they had several people come up and ask about PTSD and thank them for bringing attention to the disorder. One young man had been medically retired from the Air Force after suffering burns on his legs and suffering from severe PTSD, and he shared his struggles with Denise, a story that she says she hears all too often.
The day after the "Freedom Marathon" in Norfolk, VA, Denise drove to Greenville, NC to the office of Congressman Walter Jones and had lunch with Jason Lowry, who is the military liaison for Congressman Jones. Lowry updated Denise on the continuing problems they were seeing with the different military branches handling and/or accepting the diagnosis of PTSD.
"It continues to be a huge problem, young men with greater than 10 combat tours having trouble acclimating once back on American soil and having no support from their command," Denise stated. "They find themselves unable to cope and that is when we see them decline and end up being threatened with an other than honorable discharge. An unbelievable way to thank them for their 10 tours of combat and their service to this country.”
Denise and her daughters will continue to run to attempt to raise awareness about PTSD and TBI with hopes that with each race they will make a difference in at least one life. “If we do not take care of these young men and women, we will end up with yet another generation of homeless veterans," Denise explained. "And even if you don’t support the decisions made by our government, please support our veterans. They deserve so much more then they are getting. There are so many that have given their lives for this country, we should do everything in our power to not lose anymore. There are programs out there to help our wounded service members, whether the wounds are mental or physical, there is no reason that any of them should fall under the radar and not get the help they deserve.”
During the race in Norfolk, Denise and her daughters ran past several people who had pictures pinned to their backs with sentiments written above the pictures. Many were dates that these service personnel were killed in action. Jennifer stated to her mother and sister after the race, “Even though I wish we didn’t have to run to raise awareness for PTSD, I am glad I am running for that and don’t have to run with my brother's picture on my back because he was killed in action.”
Denise added, “The determination of these people to keep the memory of their loved one alive was intense, we must remember them all and do whatever we need to do to prevent more faces from ending up on the back of a shirt with 'In Memory Of' placed above the picture.”
Anyone who has served in the military and is struggling with PTSD/TBI, anyone who knows of a service member who may be struggling, or anyone who is simply looking for guidance and help is asked to contact the local Veterans Affairs office. In Allamakee County, that office is located at 110 Allamakee Street in Waukon and can be contacted by calling 563-568-6135.