Shownotes Transcript
In this special 2 part series we meet John and Naomi Enchong a remarkable husband and wife team doing amazing work for veterans and their immediate support on the Sunshine Coast QLD. On the surface it seems like John and Naomi have everything squared away but it wasn't always this way. The road to their now calm, collected demeanor and kind nature has been a tough one, and in this episode John shares his story growing up in a family of 9, how he was inspired by his dad to enlist in the ARA as an infantryman and how special it was to be trained by combat hardened Vietnam veterans at the former Jungle Warfare training center in Canungra.Having sustained injuries as an infantryman John transferred to Medical Corps and was later deployed to Rwanda on an assistance mission as a medic. At the time, little did he know that witnessing the atrocities on the civilian population, their mandate of "Watch and report" and the feeling of helplessness would lead to Post Traumatic Stress.Morally challenged and dealing with the injustice of it all the culture at the time was to "Buck up and carry on" with alcohism and drinking to excess was the accepted coping mechanism of choice.Returning from operations, the elation of his repatriation with Naomi was short lived with an immediate deployment on exercise Kangaroo. In a way it could have been a blessing for her, barely recognising the manic, angry, alcoholic man he'd become who chose the comfort of sleeping on the floor.Living like this became the new normal for a number of years as Naomi initially struggled to provide pro-active support she knew John needed. Wanting the unbearable pain to go away John attempted to take his life by suicide.....living to tell the tale and subsequent discharge from the Army, John felt like he'd robbed being discharged months shy of a 20 year military career.Always by his side, Naomi finally found a way forward to become the pro-active immediate support she wanted to be when they met a clinician named Anita Cochrane who gave them the tools to work as a team moving forward.Stay tuned for part 2 of their remarkable story.Contact - John and Naomi EnchongFB Messenger - https://www.facebook.com/john.enchong)FB Messenger - https://www.facebook.com/naomi.enchong)ESO - Nambour RSL Sub-branch)Overwatch - RAR Overwatch)"RESPECT, NO POLITICS, WE'RE VOLUNTEERS"Disclaimer: The accounts and stories are "Real lived experiences" of our guests some of the content may trigger Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms in some of our audience. Feedback regarding other organisations, courses and initiatives remains largely unsensored. Whether its good or bad they remain the OPINION of our guests and their experiences it is important in building an accurate statistic on what really happens. During the course of our conversations sometimes sensitive information may be accidentally mentioned, as such, Invisible Injuries respects the law and sensors any information that may breach Operational Security OPSEC
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