Hello followers!

Who am I anyway? Let me introduce myself....

My name is Darren Baldwin. I’m 35 years old and a Green Beret Major in the U.S. Army, currently on medical recovery at Ft. Bragg, N.C. I suffer from mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and central nervous system Lyme disease (also called neurological Lyme disease), the outcomes of two roadside bombings I experienced while serving in Iraq in 2005.

Though I am unable to serve my country actively right now, I like to think I have served it with honor in the past. I received a Purple Heart medal in August 2010 for my combat-related injuries. I also feel blessed to hold multiple combat medals and several other service awards.

My medical saga and the dramatic life transformations that my wife Bianca and I have experienced as a result of it are the subject of this blog. But this is not intended just to talk about me! As I share our daily journey with our blog readers, I hope you will find something to encourage, inspire and help you or a loved one.

But first, I will share a bit about my past life to bring you up to speed.

The Urge to Serve

I grew up in Worthington, Ohio, and graduated from Worthington Kilbourne High School in 1993. I graduated from West Point U.S. Military Academy in 1998 and from U.S. Special Forces Qualification School in 2003. In the interim between West Point graduation and becoming a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, I was stationed in Giessen, Germany, and there I met my beautiful wife Bianca.

I served in Kosovo in support of Task Force Falcon in 2000 and did three tours of duty in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I endured my traumatic brain injuries in 2005 while on my second tour in Iraq. At first I had only occasional TBI symptoms such as nausea and dizziness and some other odd things I had never felt before. Because I hadn’t yet been diagnosed with TBI, I returned to Iraq for a third tour of duty in January 2006.

Five months later I was invited to return to the States to serve as aide de camp to the U.S. Army Special Forces commanding general at Ft. Bragg. During my year of service there, I traveled to many countries, meeting and working with many great personnel. After completing the aide-de-camp duty, I served as a commander of a very specialized group whom I shall not name.

Somewhere along the way, the traumatic brain injury I had received in 2005 gave host to neurological Lyme disease, which had apparently been latent in my body. But before Lyme was confirmed, I was diagnosed with possible development of Multiple Sclerosis although the initial opinion was indeed some kind of brain infection or even hidden cancer somewhere in my body.

Unless treated early, Lyme disease leads to very serious complications. So by 2008, the TBI and Lyme had so deteriorated my functioning that I had difficulty with walking independently, doing everyday living functions and maintaining work responsibilities.

A Life on Hold

Since 2009, my arms, legs and vocal chords tremor so badly that I can’t write, walk without aid,  easily grasp objects, neatly feed myself or clearly speak. Even with a Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment, my fight to recovery has become a daily routine. It appears that 10 years from now my life will not look like I had envisioned it when I was a young Green Beret officer on track for a promising military career!

What I do know is that Bianca and I feel great compassion for what other wounded warriors and their families’ experience, and we want to share our experiences, our encouragement, and whatever we’ve learned in our battle for recovery that may be helpful to others.

We hope you’ll check back with us for frequent updates!