Hi all . I'm 49 years old . Married to my wife Rose for 31 years . Have a daughter Krystal 26 , and a son Scott who is nineteen . I was raised without a father , but a very loving mother . Never any abuse a home , but was raised in extreme poverty . Lost all my hopes and dreams of my high school years , mainly because of the shame I felt about my home life . Now I realize just how stupid that was of me . Met my wife at the age of 16 , she was 18 and had just graduated from another high school . Graduated high school in 1968 . Couldn't find a decent job after graduation because of my draft status . I enlisted in the Marine Corp , to avoid the wait of them getting me anyway . Got married March 1st , 1969 , and 9 days later I was at the the recruit depot at Parris Island , South Carolina for training . Think I was slightly depressed most of my young life . Got to Vietnam , in February of 1970 , left there slightly less than a year later . Vietnam was a nightmare , and I came back a totally different person . After my release from the Corp in 1971 , I just could not adjust to my life back here or the people I returned to . Self medicated from 1971 until 1978 . In 1978 my whole life started coming unglued . Nightmares , flashbacks , severe depression , anxiety , you name it , I was experiencing it . Finally , due to my hospitalizations , I was force to Social Security Disability . I had attempted to hold a job at a steel mill from 1973 until it finally shut it's doors in 1982 . I had already been told my job was on the line due to my frequent hospitalizations . >From 1982 until 1986 , I survived on unemployment , and later some low paying jobs . Been on Social Security basically since 1986 . Tried going back to work a couple of times , but this damn illness always seemed to get in the way . Finally , in 1990 the Veteran's Administration diagnosed me with severe , chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder . I currently have a 100% service connected rating because of the PTSD . In general terms , they deem me a social misfit . Been on every med on the market with no , or very little positive affect . Also had , at my request , a series of 10 ECT treatments done back in 1981 . There are a lot of gaps that should be filled in cocerning Vietnam and my life after . But , I don't believe this is the proper place to air them . Just want to end by saying I truly love my friends from this , and all the other boards . .....Peace & Love , Dave
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