Wounded Veteran Finds Hope From PTSD Through Fellowship and Accountability

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Aug. 18, 2018 - PRLog -- As a young man of 18, Shea Simpson of Collierville, Tennessee chose to explore options for joining the Army through the buddy system with a high school friend, 1999.  With the recent divorce of his parents, and the stress of being a senior in high school while simultaneously earning college credits toward becoming an emergency medical technician (EMT); Shea quickly decided to join the Army, with the end goal of returning home to become a fireman.

After graduating infantry basic training, Shea settled into Army life and became married a year later.  Soon to follow, was the birth of his son, Sean.  On the heels of bringing Sean home, September 11th, 2001 land-marked a significant day for Shea; soon to receive a change of mission from the US Military. Revised mission would require long hours away from home, ultimately placing undue stress on marriage.

November, 2002 marked a turning point in the life of, now, Army Sergeant Shea Simpson of the 101st Airborne Division, when he received orders to deploy to Iraq. With little time to prepare, he shared the difficult news with his wife, only to find her gone the next day with his son, Sean, kidnapped.

This extreme life crisis of wife gone, child kidnapped, and 23 Army men assigned for him to protect, left Sergeant Simpson torn between two.  With two and one-half months to locate his wife and son, train for the war on terror and manage base security;  he was gone from home months at a time, still dealing with the heart wrenching decision to deploy or continue to seek and, hopefully, find his family. After exhausting all efforts of his search, Sergeant Simpson finally realized he could not locate his loved ones within time allotted; he deploys with men and goes to war.

The invasion of Iraq was door to door on the morning of April 5th, 2003, which ended with Sergeant Simpson shot six times by (accidental) friendly fire.  Severely injured, Sergeant Simpson spent eight months in the hospital with six to eight hospital moves, endured a series of twenty eight surgeries over a five year period, and lost his ability to walk.

After many months, Sergeant Simpson was released from the hospital and reunited with wife and son, who had since been in touch with him.  Although, intentions were to make the marriage work, the marital relationship ended in dissolution.  Sergeant Simpson was awarded full custody of Sean, and began to raise him as a single father, while still in the process of relearning to walk and balancing ongoing responsibilities as a E-5 Army Sergeant. Sergeant Simpson ultimately made a comeback to receive a promotion to E-6 Staff Sergeant.

With his last year in the Army encompassing rear detachment as First Sergeant, Simpson oversaw deployment and return of soldiers.  In 2008, Sergeant Simpson received military orders to relocate to California, which would separate father from son.  Fortunately, Sergeant Simpson's combat injuries afforded him the choice to medically retire and raise Sean as a civilian.

After retiring from the military, 2009, Sergeant Simpson returned to the mid-south to live close to family. While struggling to find his identity as a civilian, severe post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) began to rule his life, manifested through broken relationships, failed jobs, illnesses, prescription drugs, and alcohol.  With functionality plummeting, Retired Sergeant Simpson began to seek medical assistance, both in-patient and out-patient, but to no avail.  With unobtainable answers, shattered hope, seeking therapy to find nothing, and being broken from the inside out, Simpson did everything within his power to "not wake up" each morning.

During this painful process, a young lady named Leigh Ann appeared along his path.  A healthy relationship began, and through the patience and spiritual guidance of Leigh Ann's daily walk with Christ, Retired Sergeant Simpson began to walk the process out by relying on the love of God.  PTSD was still a struggle, yet Leigh Ann continued to love him through each trial, and would ultimately become his wife.

In the year, 2012, Sean came home from school one day to ask his dad about the end of the world...

"How is the world going to end?"

Retired Sergeant Simpson's Mother had recently given him a Bible which he immediately turned to for answers to his son's question, and he and Sean discussed in detail.  That night, Simpson had a nightmare (flashback) of himself in the hospital, recalling when he had cursed God.  Having been shot by friendly fire, and questioning why the Army was trying to cover up the accident, he furiously blamed God. Awaking from sleep, Simpson struggled to cope for two weeks before approaching his wife about turning his life over to God.  Together, they prayed, and Retired Sergeant Simpson cried out to Jesus. After dedicating his life to Jesus, Simpson no longer experienced mental or physical pain.  He began coaching sports, and life began to take on new meaning.

Retired Sergeant Simpson soon joined Hope Church, Memphis, Tennessee, with his family, and began a friendship with a Vietnam Veteran who would become his mentor.  Surrounded by men of Hope Church, the men's minister took Simpson under his wing to later launch the Men's Veteran's Ministry as a team, 2015.

Recently, the Men's Veteran's Ministry witnessed a fatal community tragedy with a veteran, experiencing PTSD, who did not find a way to cope and ended his life in death by suicide, by cop.  The sad end to this veteran's story inspired the Men's Veteran's Ministry to start a Fellowship of Accountability, teaching veteran's love for one another. Retired Sergeant Simpson also leads a discipleship ministry to begin and enhance ones personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which compliments the Men's Veteran's Ministry as a whole.

Retired Sergeant Simpson is quick to raise awareness of shared family suffering with veterans who have been wounded in combat or by friendly fire.  Now able to walk, Simpson realizes the strain PTSD, and seemingly insurmountable physical injuries, has put on his family.  He shares gratitude for their faithfulness in his pursuit of complete healing.  Simpson says, "Love, peace and forgiveness; without this, there is residual pain passed on to generations."

"My life has represented a life of healing through Jesus Christ.  There was no healing, no happiness, no peace on the inside through all other avenues of life, until I met Jesus."  Retired, Sergeant Shea Simpson

BNI Germantown, a chapter of BNI Mid-South (http://bnimidsouth.com/en-US/index), to honor Retired Sergeant Shea Simpson and family in a private ceremony. Honorary gifts are encouraged and accepted.