Veterans are local heroes, right in our own community, and they come i many different shapes and sizes.

Short, tall, older, younger, and everything from the army to the Air Force to the Navy and so much more.

What you may not know is quite a few reside right here on Grand Valley State University's campus, and in mutually inclusives newest digital series Our team put out an invitation for student veterans to come share their voices and their stories as a way to uplift and inspire our neighbors.

To no surprise, brave men and women answered that call.

And today we get to share a sneak peak with you on the big screen.

I'm Kylie Ambu, you're watching Mutually Inclusive, and we hope you enjo veteran voices student edition.

every story is different because everyone's life story is different.

when I joined the military, I want to change, be careful what you wish for because I got change.

You know, I got more change than I ever imagined.

I got my ADHD diagnosis ten years ago.

And then my autism diagnosis, two and a half years ago.

when he came home from Afghanistan trying to find my own purpos and figure out my own pathway.

I just spent a year and a half fighting for my life, It was later determined it was probably a toxic exposure or something I was around probably on the flight line or some water I drank, whatever it may be.

I started, like burning out was the whole thing.

had a hard tim focusing all that kind of stuff, and it led to, attempts of suicide.

it was an opportunity for a lot of us in our unit to check in with each other and have hard conversations.

I didn't fully anticipate that I'd be getting a chance to talk and share with Fox News or CNN, MSNBC, ABC news it's important to share the story because that brings awareness to things that veterans go through.

if I can tell my stor and other people go, oh my God, I totally get that, how can you know I get the same help or resources?

That's the goal.

That's always the goal.

Yeah.

So, this is the story.

So I was a journalist in the United States Air Force, I enlisted in 2016.

And then I was medically retired in 2019.

So I did that, the full term of my career.

my dad was a marine.

And he always kind of instilled the sense of service.

Told us his story growing up I always thought that was really cool, but I didn't think it was necessarily something I wanted to do.

I went to, Grand Rapids Community College, get my associate's degree.

I was just kind of fed up with where I was at in my life, not really going anywhere.

I was really into photography at the time.

and then I found out that the Air Force has a photojournalist option as a job.

So I was like, I want to do that.

Caleb and I knew each other in high school.

We met in 10th grade.

And then our friendship just kind of got closer.

And then we senior year, he asked me to prom, and we went to prom together.

So then when we realized, like, hey, we're more than friends, like, the relationship part just kind of fell into place.

And then in 2015 while we were, both in college, he shared with me that he was joining the military.

And from my perspective, this is, like, totally out of the blue.

it seemed like a no brainer.

I mean, you're going to go join the military, you're going to get all those benefits.

So your VA home loan, if I did want to go back to school, I was going to get, education benefits through the VA Im going to get to go travel around and not be stuck in West Michigan.

my brother had bee in the military for a long time, so it wasn't completely, foreign to me, but I was like, wait, what?

Like, this wasn't our plan.

Like we were going to finish college and get married and buy a house and have a family and do all that.

And he's like, it'll be fun.

It's an adventure.

And it was our foundation was really strong and I felt like I trusted him wholeheartedly.

So it was like, if you, you know, I really this passionate and you're sure this is what you want, I'm right next to you.

So I'm along for the ride.

this is what I've been looking for.

I wanted to change.

So the job had a lot to do with it.

But just the the sense of adventure and getting out of West Michigan and doing something bolder, that really enticed me as well.

once you got into the role, was all of that a reality?

Was it as grea as you really hoped it would be?

Yeah, it was, but it was also a lot more work than I anticipated.

I mean, you take basically, two years of college, right, for journalism, and you smash it into, like, six months, military style training.

Writing, reading, photography, video all those things day and night.

So it was very intense, but it was, again, everything that I love to do.

So I kind of welcome that intensity with open arms.

You we are both kind of living our separate lives like he was in boot camp.

And then, tech school, and I was here, like, finishing my degree and doing student teaching.

So we were both in, like, two totally different worlds.

I think we both were feeling really successful in what was happening.

I did all my training my wife and I, we got married, and six months later in 2018, we were living in Arizona at the time That's where we were stationed.

Really had my career rolling.

Was doing all the things, getting awards getting nationally recognized.

And then in February of 2018, I woke up one morning and my face was like swollen we were both there together, and, we had kind of known.

I feel like something was maybe going on because he wasn't feeling right for a couple weeks prior.

but when he woke up like that and looked in the mirror and like, I looked over from the side of the bed and like, wow, you know, something's definitely not right.

I had puffy eyes.

The weekend before, I was doing like some sanding in our bathroom, kind of refinishing it and like, maybe inhaled some sawdust, I don't know.

Waited the full day, woke up the next morning.

Face is still swollen.

Am I allergic to something?

What the heck is going on?

So I go see my doctor and she does the full workup.

Nothing's wrong.

Everything's fine.

Well, the last minute she's like, let's do a chest x ray.

she shows me the x ray.

And there's basically a grapefruit size mass in the middle of my chest.

And, you know I have no idea what's going on.

So I go home later, I tell my wife, you know, there's this thing I have no idea.

And I'm like, what?

Like, you know, and then immediately then you're thinking, cancer right.

Like, okay, there's what would be so big in your ches that wouldn't be cancer, right?

So, I think from that moment, I just was in fear, in denial, I guess I'm like, what?

like 24 years old and have cancer like, no, like, this can't be, you know, you were just you just went throug the whole bootcamp and training and all of that, you're healthy as can be.

But also like, what else could this be?

then really, from there, it just kind of all snowballed very fast.

You know, You know, the next day they're doing bloodwork, and then I'm going to get an MRI, and then I'm going to see an oncologist.

And then after the oncologist says, you know, you have cancer, then I'm getting a port placed in.

And then next week I'm getting chemotherapy.

So I mean, it was very, very quick.

And so that kind of started my cancer journey, while still active duty in the military, I remember Caleb and just looking at each other like, oh my gosh, like, it is cancer.

And now what we can do this.

We got this.

we're going to figure it out.

lot of people will get cance after they leave the military, but not a lot of people get it while they're in.

It was later determine it was probably a toxic exposure or something.

I was around probably on the flight line or some water I drank, whatever it may be.

So from 2018 up until 2019, when I was medically retired, I was in the full cancer journey, if you will.

So I did, four rounds of the first chemotherapy, its not doing anything.

So then I g and try this other chemotherapy.

I had to stay like inpatient in the hospital for like five days straight and get, like, all this chemo.

It was terrible.

So I did two rounds of that.

Same thing.

Chemos not working.

So my options are like doing this, right?

And that was the first moment where I was like, am I not going to, like, have my husband any you know, like, wondering if it was we were going to get through this.

I had, like one shot left in that shot was called Car-T cell therapy, which was just FDA approved that year.

Very kind of experimental they take some of your cells out, they re-engineer them, and then they put them back int your body to fight the cancer.

Sounds very simple.

But you can have some crazy reactions.

they referred me to the Mayo Clinic, which is outside of Phoenix.

ironically, you know, I was stationed at Luke Air Force Base, is also just outside of Phoenix.

they were like, this is what you need and we've never done it before, so you'll be patient number one.

So, lucky me.

Right.

So they reintroduced the cells into my body.

I was fine for about 48 hours.

And then all of a sudden, everything goes black, at I got a call from the nurse saying that Caleb was, Was experiencing those symptoms it was like confusion, delusion.

He couldn't say what a clock was on the wall.

He was writing and his writing He thought he was writing something, but he wasn't.

my brain started to swell.

I slipped into a coma.

They had put a drai in my brain to relieve pressure.

And then I had what's called cytokine release syndrome.

Where you get very confused, you lose, like, your motor functions, your ability to speak.

It's basically a lightnin storm happening in your brain.

So I like, as quick as I could, got in my car and rushed to the hospital.

And by the time I got there, he had already been, put in to, coma.

and that was the moment that I thought for sure, like I remember them wheeling him away.

And I was like, this is it.

lik all of his vitals were really, really low.

You know, there was a possibility of death.

Right there is like, your body can't come back from this.

And so I remember sitting in the waiting room, like, with all these other people that are just waitin for surgeries or whatever, and, just in my head just thinking, like, I can' move on without anyone but him.

And so it was just this feeling, like, is my husband going to make it?

Am I going to be a mom?

Are we going to ever be able to get through this and get past this?

But I was completely alone at that moment, I remember calling, Sorry.

Makes me emotional.

Calling his mom and sister when that happened.

They were prepared too.

I mean, his whole family knew the, possibility of this happening with this treatment, but not really.

You don't think it' going to happen to you, right?

Like it won't be.

It won't affect yo like it's affected other people.

And so the moment that it did And having to call his family and say like Caleb's really sick.

And they were there, by that night like they got on a plane and made it there.

And just having that support immediately was such a game changer.

Like knowing that it's still happening and hes still going through it, but knowing that, like, his family and my family are there and we're all in it together just made such a difference.

And, the hope that I felt immediately was like, it's all going to be okay.

I was in ICU for, like, 12 days, battling that, two days later, I walked out of there, very tarnished and weak.

And I had to learn to, like, basically walk again, regained my handwriting.

A lot of those different things.

But we did a 30 da scan after that, and it showed my cancer was almost completely gone.

There was still like one tiny spot in my chest theyre Like its probably inflammatio well scan you again in 90 days.

Well, then I go in 90 days later and the spot had grown.

So it's still there.

So Im like, you know what the like I just did all these things I almost died.

And you're telling m it's still not gone, you know, which was very heartbreaking to say the least.

But again, I think this is like, I, you know, I'm not religious.

Maybe an act of God, if you will.

The fact that I was stationed near Mayo Clinic, I mean, they were the only facility that had this at the time in that area to treat me.

They also had a thin called proton radiation therapy, which is very localized radiation.

So they were able to zap that last spot without having any side effects to the surrounding organs.

And I've been in remission ever since.

I ofte say if I wasn't in the military and they weren't paying for my medical treatment, I probably would have died because I wouldnt have been able to pay for what I needed.

Literally and insurance, even then, when I was in the military I was active duty, they didn't want to cover it.

My oncologist fought that fight and won it.

But, yeah I mean, that was just incredible that I did all that, walked away with no medical debt.

And here I am.

The military was fantastic.

from my immediate unit, from the commander, from surrounding units, spouses, children.

I mean, everyone rallied around me, so I can't say enough about that.

Cancer is one of those things, you know, you're going through the journey.

You have this army of people around you that want to support you and do all the things.

But then once the treatment ends, you hear the word remission.

It's like this celebration, and then it goes quiet.

And that quietness is very, very deafening.

I just spent a year and a half fighting for my life, lost my identity.

The military's retiring me.

I can't do Air Force journalism anymore.

I'm going to get out Im going to go home.

What am I going to do?

This was my plan.

So I was like, yeah, I'm alive, but what do I do next?

A lot of folks will, struggle when they get out naturally.

Just because, you know, you built this identity in the military.

It's who you become.

And then, you know, you get out and you're expected to just rejoin civilian life.

And everything in the military has purpose.

I mean, the way you dress the way that you walk, the way that you talk, the way you interact with people.

And when you get back into civilian life, it's just it's open season.

And that can just be overwhelming.

And so you, you facto in an extreme medical diagnosis with that.

And it was very daunting to, to readjust and figure out who I was again, and coming home to the place that I wanted to leave so dearly.

And i was just it was a big adjustment to try to figure out who I was and what I was going to do.

What were those next steps, And then, of course, obviously the thought always of reoccurrence, you we know that that's something that will always be there like in our forefront.

Like as soon as Cale like, has a cough or you know, doesn't feel good.

I'm like, are you okay?

Do you need to go see your doctor?

I'm a little bit more worried all the time, when is this going to come back?

Is it going to come back?

If it does, what am I going to do?

What's the next treatment?

Can I have kids someday?

You know, my wife, We just got married six months ago it was like all these things that were just constantly taunting me in the back of my mind.

And fast forward to today.

You have children?

Yes.

Can you talk with me a little bit about your family life?

Yeah.

we actually weren't supposed to have kids.

So our first daughter we had to have with IVF, which we were able to do, you when I was going through the cancer stuff, So we welcomed our first daughter in 2020. and then the world shut down from Covid a month later.

Which was a blessing, actually, because we had all this time with our first baby.

So, she's now five and a half.

She's in kindergarten.

and then our second daughter, they were like, you're probably never going to be have kids.

I got tested again.

They'r like, it's less than 1% chance.

We're like, let's give it a shot.

Well, first time then we got pregnant.

So she's like our miracle daughter, if you will.

And so, yeah, we have two daughters and things are, well, It was very taxing trying to rebuild myself, figure out who I was again, and how this cancer story fit into the rest of my life.

I didn't necessarily have support knocking on my door when I came home.

But it's out there and I had to look for it.

after I left the military, I re-enrolled in Gvsu.

And I attended a, veteran resource fair and stand down, The organization hosting that was Ottawa County Veteran Services.

And I ended up talking to the staff and they said, you know, you'd probably be a good fit if we ever have something open up, you should apply.

fast forward four months later and there was a job opening and I applied for it.

And now I get to do the community outreach for the department.

And so it's the event that led me to that job I' actually now planning this year.

So it's full circl in the way that that happened.

Some of the peopl that live here in West Michigan, I mean, you would not believe the things that they've done or the things that they've seen.

It's incredible.

you start to hear people have stories that like g through things that don't have the support, you know, and you're like, oh, wow.

But we do have that support.

So I think through all of this, I've really learned, like the support in the family and the community that is surrounding you is just really key.

I mean, for me, giving me that strength, like I couldn't do it alone Knowledge is power in the sense of connecting with the veteran community.

And there's resources that veterans need that regular people don't, whether that's mental health for PTSD, service animals.

I mean, there's so many different things that are unique to veterans.

And, sharing your story can help other veterans realize they're not alon and connect to those resources all kind of go through the same, walk of life.

If you will.

And so to revisit that and kind of walk the the new life with othe veterans is really empowering, and it makes you feel like you are at home being part of the military world is such an honor, being able to say that my husband is a veteran, makes me feel so proud.

And I know that our community specifically is so, uplifting on not just the military veterans, bu the families of veterans, too.

I love sharing my story.

Not because I want sympathy or attention or anything like that, but for awareness.

I like to say that cancer is the best and the worst thing that ever happened to me, primarily because I have a new outlook on life.

I mean, even with the experience that we've had, it's easy to b like, oh, like, this is so hard or this is so hard, but then you really like, center yourself back to like, no, like, we are so lucky to have the opportunity to have these hard things to go through when I joine the military, I wanted change, be careful what you wish for because I got change.

You know, I got more change than I ever imagined.

The person that I was when I joined the military.

I am not that person today.

And I'm proud of that.

I'm proud of the fire that I walked through.

And I'm prou of coming out on the other side.

And so, it's the best thing because the sun shines a little brighter every day.

The grass is a little bit greener and every day is a fresh start.

I didn't have that outlook before.

And so yeah, it's terrible what happened to me.

And I still live wit some consequences of that, but I'm more proud of who I am today than I was before.