There were times when I felt overwhelmed and the only thing I could do is make it to the next meal. Strange, would you say? I was deployed. I would wake up in the morning not knowing how I was going to make it through the day, and had to take it a step at a time.

Also, I would have breakdowns on Friday right before the weekend because I didn't have any friends and spending 2 days by myself seem virtually impossible. This was when I was back home.

You, on the other hand, have children, which is probably a factor in forcing you to keep moving forward. You'll have good and bad days, good and bad moments, and as time goes by, it gets a bit more bearable.

With the family support, a therapist, and a lawyer I think that you are in a much better position than many. I'm not minimizing your pain, but rather I want to highlight that you have a support system. Lean on this support system - use it.

And YouTube has so many good videos on whatever topic you want to learn about. All you have to do it type in the search field and you'll get lots of hits. You'll realize that you were not the first one going through this and that there are so many stories that are virtually identical.

Take it a day at a time, a step at a time... Some days, you may not move - other days you'll make a lot of progress - and others days you'll have setbacks.

Be kind to yourself.