"Sunday Funday" Military Appreciation Event!

Are you a military family based in the Tampa Bay area?  Or do you know of a hard working, deserving military family that has sacrificed their time and/or loved ones to preserve our nation's freedom by fighting for our country?  If so, then....

Healing Heroes Network is excited to announce our first ever "Sunday Funday" Military Appreciation event, coming this August to Clearwater Beach, FL!  On Sunday, August 24, 2014, we will be awarding FOUR local military families with family fun prize packs including theme park tickets, restaurant gift cards, merchandise from Ron Jon Surf Shop, and more!  We need your help getting local families on board, so here's how to nominate and vote... 

- Visit the "Sunday Funday " Facebook event page:    https://www.facebook.com/events/756597331058073/

- To nominate your family, or a military family that you think deserves a family fun prize pack, click on the link: "Nominate/Vote Here".

The four families with the highest number of "points" will be awarded their prizes at the Sunday Funday event in August.  Also on hand will be raffles, giveaways, games for the kids, fun for the whole family, a Healing Heroes Network guest speaker, and a performance by Nashville Recording Artist, Jamie Tate, including her hit single "I'll Give My All", a patriotic tribute to our military.  You don't want to miss out on this awesome event! Please tell your friends and family, and join us on Sunday, August 24th from 12pm - 3pm at the Pier 60 Pavilion on Clearwater Beach.  

Nominate a Military Family today!

Happy 4th of July from Healing Heroes Network!

This Friday, the Fourth of July, we encourage you to spend the day remembering what it's all about.... our nation's freedom and independence! These things would not be possible without the courage and heroism of our service men and women who have fought in our armed forces.  We at Healing Heroes Network are eternally grateful for their service and sacrifice!

We hope that you will take a moment this Independence Day to thank a Hero, and remember those that gave their lives to maintain our freedom to watch the fireworks every year.  

Wishing you and your loved ones a Safe & Happy Fourth of July!

For the Troops,

The Healing Heroes Network team

PTSD Awareness Day

At Healing Heroes Network, we believe strongly in supplying the resources and support that is necessary for healing the whole hero.  This can be hard to accomplish if the hero's wounds are not visible to their friends, caregivers, and families.  Sadly, often times our brave men and women are coming home from war with "invisible" injuries, the most commonly heard in today's society being PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).  PTSD may develop after someone experiences one or more traumatic events (such as first hand combat, witnessing others being physically harmed or killed, being physically harmed themselves, etc...) The symptoms of PTSD can be debilitating to the hero, devastating to the family, and in the very worst cases, fatal.  The most common symptoms of PTSD include, but are not limited:

- Recurring nightmares or flashbacks of the event(s)
- Sleeplessness
- Lowered sense of self & self-esteem
- Depression & loss of interest
- Anger & irritability

These unfortunate symptoms have been known to lead to:

- Domestic violence & abuse
- Erratic behavior
- Decreased attention span
- Mental disorders
- Suicide 

In 2010, as an effort to educate the public and spread awareness about the issue of PTSD, the U.S. Senate declared the month of June "National PTSD Awareness" month.  In addition, June 27th has been designated as "PTSD Awareness" day by the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD).  At Healing Heroes Network, we strive everyday "through communication, education, and community outreach" to bring awareness to often undiagnosed and untreated injuries of war, and the desperate need for our services.  While many of our nations heroes are being given numerous pills and medications to mask the symptoms of PTSD, we believe in offering hope through healing.  With network providers all over the country ranging in specialty areas such as counseling, psychiatry, massage therapy, energy healing, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and many more, we have been able to offer a path to recovery for many heroes suffering from PTSD.

Join us this June 27th as we continue to spread awareness about this disorder that has wreaked havoc on so many military heroes, and their families lives.

Tablets For Heroes

In 2012, we at Healing Heroes Network saw a great need in the PTSD & TBI community.  As our society continues to become more and more technologically advanced, there are many men and women who are suffering from cognitive impairment disabilities due to their combat-related injuries.  We knew that this was an untapped area of concern that we really wanted to help our Heroes with, we just had to figure out how to reach as many people as possible, and how we could financially afford to HELP as many Heroes as possible. 

Through the Tablets for Heroes program, it is our goal to help these injured Heroes heal cognitively by allowing them to be more self-sufficient.  Tablets for Heroes strives to combat the negative stigma of those suffering with PTSD and TBI, by helping veterans with these invisible injuries to redevelop their cognitive abilities, remember medications & appointments, relax when under pressure, and open themselves to healing rather than pulling away to seclusion.  Each Tablet is downloaded with 7 specialty applications designed to assist with the symptoms of PTSD & TBI. Here is what some of our recipients have had to say:

"Thank you to HHN and everyone involved with Tablets4Heroes. You have given all of us a great gift and tool to utilize for our ongoing problems. The tablet helps keep me focused and in control. It gives me my schedule of everything that is going on in my life and keeps my mind busy with the programs that were loaded for me to help me throughout the day. It allows me to stay connected to my family, friends and other wounded warriors. Thank you from the bottom of my Purple Heart."         - Air Force Master Sgt. Ken G.

"I'd like to THANK everyone that is part of Tablets For Heroes. As a veteran with PTSD and TBI I get very restless in waiting rooms and very anxious in larger social settings, my Tablet was sent to me with specialty apps designed to keep my mind occupied and help me get through any uneasiness I experience. My memory for short term occurrences is very ‘hit or miss’, and my Tablet offers the ability to keep a calendar and set alarms as a way to prompt awareness. As well, I often misplace or forget to bring necessary documents to VA and other appointments. The Tablet enables me to maintain e-documents at my fingertips. This new tool will help me thrive. Again, many thanks!"      - Thomas H., retired Army; purple heart and bronze star recipient.

Healing Heroes Network is extremely honored and proud to be a part of the healing process for so many of our nation's bravest and most courageous Heroes, in so many different ways! If you know an injured Hero with PTSD and/or TBI who could truly benefit from the assistance of a Tablet, please have them contact us today at info@healingheroes.org! 

Happy Memorial Day!

On the last Monday of every May,  we as Americans take the day off of work and gather with our families and friends.  We go to community celebrations, we have cookouts and barbecue's, and we celebrate the approach of summer with parties, food and festivities.

It is our duty and responsibility, however, to remember what the true meaning of Memorial Day is all about.  Originally called "Decoration Day", Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.  Origins of this special day date all the way back to 1868, when it was officially proclaimed and first observed.  In 1915, poet Moina Michael began the trend of wearing red poppies on Memorial Day when she wrote:

We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies.

This Memorial Day, we hope that you will take a moment to remember why you are off of work, enjoying your time with the people you love.  The phrase "All Gave Some, Some Gave All" rings true every day.  Some of our nation's heroes give their lives on the battlefield to protect our rights, our freedom, our lives...  We owe them more than words could say.  Let's start by taking this day to truly remember their sacrifice and be grateful for their service.  

From all of us at Healing Heroes Network, we wish you a Happy Memorial Day!!

Clearwater Marine Aquarium Giveaway

Healing Heroes Network wants to say Thank You to our service members by giving back to one of our own local Military Heroes...  

We currently have a family 4 pack of admission tickets to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and would like to give them away to a special family in the Tampa Bay area!  If you are a Military service member, from any branch of the armed forces, retired or active duty, please email us NOW at info@healingheroes.org and tell us about your family!  (You will need to supply a copy of your Military ID and/or DD-214 upon request.)  Healing Heroes Network will choose one lucky family to visit Winter, the real life inspiration of the "Dolphin Tale" movies!  

As always, we are eternally grateful to all of our military heroes for their service, and we know that their families sacrifice so much as well...  Through this giveaway, we wish to recognize the Heroes and military families right here in our own backyard, and hope to brighten someone's day by sending them on a fun filled day to the now famous Clearwater Marine Aquarium...  

We look forward to receiving your entries and hearing about the many amazing hero families in the Tampa Bay area....  Have a great weekend!

An HHN Hero Story

A Hero’s Story:
Spc. Austin H.

Spc. Austin H. joined the Army shortly after his 18th birthday.   Trained as a combat medic, he was assigned to the third brigade combat team, 82nd Airborne Division.  As a trauma team leader, he provided medical care to his fellow wounded soldiers.

After returning home, Austin struggled with memories of the terror he had witnessed.  His PTSD however, did not emerge until a car accident 2 years later brought all of his buried pain to the surface.  Austin's family says he  "hit rock bottom, and just 'lost it'".  Unemployment, addiction, and a "severe disconnect with  personal relationships" followed.

Austin's father Eric contacted Healing Heroes Network, hoping to "improve his life and get the help he needs".  Dr. Samuel Smithyman, (a Healing Heroes Network Provider and Air Force Veteran himself), began seeing Austin for Counseling sessions, and Austin began to take his first steps toward healing within weeks.  His sister Sara states, "Healing Heroes Network was immediately responsive and supportive. My brother began seeing Dr. Smithyman, and has really been able to turn things around."  Seconds Eric, "Healing Heroes Network's role in this incredible change is significant.  I fear that Austin may have slipped past the point of help if they had not stepped in and assisted!"

Healing Heroes Network is proud and honored to assist Heroes like Austin every day!  If you know a hero like Austin who is in need of assistance for treatment, we encourage you to have them contact us at (727)781-4376, or email to info@healingheroes.org.

Happy Mother's Day!

All of us here at Healing Heroes Network would like to say Happy Mother's Day to the brave and strong women out there who are under the most special of circumstances...  

The women deployed, who are fighting for our country while missing their children at home.  The moms of soldiers and airmen, who worry day in and day out that their child is safe in the world.  

There are no amount of words that could express the appreciation and gratitude we have for these amazing women who make the ultimate sacrifice, despite their fears and anxiety of losing or missing their child.  

"The bravest battle that ever was fought; 
Shall I tell you where and when?
On the maps of the world
you will find it not
it was fought by the
mothers of men."

- Joaquin Miller

We hope that if you are lucky enough to be with your mom this Mother's Day, you will treat her like the Hero she is! Check out this fabulous Pinterest Board for some amazing gift and craft ideas she will be sure to love!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Military Spouse Day - May 9, 2014

We all tend to think of  "America's Heroes" as the brave soldiers who fight, on the front lines, overseas, defending our freedom.  And they certainly are.  But what about the husbands and wives who are left behind?  The sacrifices they make are every bit as heroic and selfless. 

That is why in 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated the Friday before Mother's Day of every year, as "Military Spouse Day", to recognize and celebrate the profound importance of spousal commitment to the readiness and well being of America's military personnel.  Every U.S. President since Reagan has made an address on this day, to acknowledge the sacrifices made by military spouses, and show our appreciation.

All too often we take for granted and disregard the pillars of support that are Military Spouses.  While their husbands or wives are off at war, these heroes are fighting the battles on the home front, taking care of the home and children all alone, while struggling through loneliness and fear of the worst... something happening to their loved one.  They often celebrate holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and childbirth alone, and they do it with pride, knowing it is for the greater good.

If you know the spouse of a military hero, take the time this Friday, May 9th, to do something special for them.  Buy them dinner.  Mow their yard.  Babysit their kids for a while.  Spend time with them just talking about their struggles....  Known throughout the armed forces as the "True backbone and fighting spirit of the military", we owe them just as much gratitude and appreciation, as they stand behind their spouse in uniform.

We at Healing Heroes Network would like to say Thank You to each and every one of you, for sacrificing and supporting, and helping to keep our country free.

Happy Military Spouse Day!

NATIONAL MILITARY APPRECIATION MONTH

2014 marks the 15th year that our nation has designated the entire month of May to celebrating, honoring and appreciating all of the men and women who have served and are currently serving in America's armed forces.  At Healing Heroes Network, we are so excited about what this month brings, and how it joins all of us in remembering to show our gratitude to the very Heroes who ensure our freedom.  Here are some special dates to remember this May:

All month long - Military Appreciation month

Armed Forces week - May 10 - May 18

Loyalty Day - May 1
Remembrance Day for fallen Heroes of WWII - May 8 - May 9

V-E Day - May 8

Military Spouse Day - May 9

Armed Forces Day - May 17

Memorial Day - May 26

We hope that you will take the opportunity this month to do something special in honor of these courageous men and women.  You could organize a fundraising event in your community, send a care package to service members stationed overseas through Healing Heroes Network's "Morale Package" program, fly the American flag on your house or car all month long, support a military charity, say "THANK YOU for your service" when you see a person dressed in military uniform...  The possibilities are endless!

Whatever you decide to do this month to show your appreciation, we hope you remember to be grateful every day, all year long, to the Heroes that make our freedom possible!  Visit the National Military Appreciation Month website at www.nmam.org for more ideas and information!