Hi everyone. My name is Rachel, and my husband's name is Kyle. Kyle told me I shouldn't make this a long post, but if I don't explain why we need a little help, you may not be inclined to read our story or find it in your heart to help. 

Usually, we are not on the end of asking for help; we are the people who help everyone and anyone who needs anything. It took us a long time to get on our feet after we lost Kyle's 5-year-old son, Nathaniel. Kyle was on active duty in the Navy, and we had just found out I was pregnant on Nathaniel's birthday, July 9th, 2007, only to find out in November of 2007 (when the Red Cross contacted his boat) that Nathaniel had drowned in the central canal in Mesa, Arizona. It was the worst time in our lives, but on the flip side of that, we were excited for the baby I was carrying. We suffered from unexplained infertility, so to find out I was pregnant on Nathaniel's birthday, it truly felt like God plucked him out of Kyle's ex-wife's care and gave him to us with our boy. 

Kyle made it to 13 years in the Navy before he realized he couldn't do it anymore. The military holds Submariners and Marines to a very high standard, so if you go to them for mental health help, you have the chance of losing your job, and Kyle was too afraid to find out if he reached out to a therapist. Kyle went from planning on doing the full 20 years to retire, but he couldn't get over the trauma. 

We lost everything when Kyle left the Navy. We moved back home to Michigan and into my sister's house. Kyle registered with the VA for his disabilities and started going to school. He earned his bachelor's in psychology in 2016. Right before his master's classes started, COVID hit, and he couldn't find anyone with whom he could do his internship. However, he had found a job working for the Department of Defense, helping Gold Star Families get their benefits after their service men or women perish. We were FINALLY financially comfortable for the first time since he was in the Navy. 

We bought Kyle's parents' house, the same house my husband grew up in. We felt that buying your first home was unattainable, but WE DID IT! Kyle was thriving in his position at the DOD. He was promoted quickly and recognized for all his help to the families. My son and I would help my husband with the events he would put on for the families. When this last election happened, we had no idea what would happen. At first, Kyle's job wasn't on the chopping block, and he and his coworkers were told by the command not to respond to the emails that Elon Musk expected every week with bullet points. Then a couple of weeks went by, and that changed. So, my husband and his coworkers did what they were told. Then it came down to the military didn't need a department for Gold Star families, and he was forced to take the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) 

So, now we are here. My husband is finishing his master's in social work, and if you were to ask him how he went from being a missile technician in the Navy to wanting to go into social work, he would say, "I couldn't save Nathaniel so I'm going to save as many babies that I can." We are trying to save every penny right now, because my husband is losing his pay, along with his job, on September 30th. We will be okay through October because the DOD will have to pay him out for his PTO and vacation time that he never took, but come November, December, January, and February, we will be in trouble. He graduates in mid-February. Kyle is the primary income provider in our family, and we have no one to whom we can turn. 

This has got to be the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but if there is any way you can help, we will be forever grateful. Thank you, and I hope God blesses everyone who reads our story.