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I enlisted in the Army in 2003, spending four years as a medic, including a 12-month deployment to Iraq. My body and mind paid the price and, when I separated from the service in 2007, I had both seen and unseen injuries that I wouldn't share with a Department of Veterans Affairs health care provider for years. I waited for many reasons, but one lives in a moment.
When I left the military, I met with a psychologist who told me, “You do not deserve care for your mental health. You are a woman.”
I stared at the Ansel Adams photograph behind his head. It was a black and white waterfall. My stepmom had one just like it.
“OK, thank you” was all I said.
That psychologist's attitude, denigrating my service because of my gender, was emblematic of broader issues I would see in medical care, an entire system for veterans that didn't acknowledge the role women had played fighting for our country.
Thirteen years later, I finally said more. This act of acknowledging my wounds, holding my country accountable for my care and knowing that I earned the care given, healed me in ways I can't fully describe.
So, when I read an article describing a positive step the VA has taken to ensure that women veterans…
