All Together One Last Time

When we as people find ourselves in difficult situations we always find out who our friends are, who has your back in the time of need, and who really are inspired by you! Our first afternoon in Germany was very emotional. As we pulled up to my husbands Company we see a crowd of soldiers in uniform, it was a great feeling. Jeremy got out of the van and wasn't able to move two feet before these soldiers stood in a line and started greeting him. We had soldiers hugging, crying, and laughing as they were reunited with Our Great Man. It was an experience that we will never forget!

Our time in Germany was great. The next day the Company held a BBQ for the Wounded Families and the Fallen Families. Besides the rain that interupted our time together, it was an amazing reunion. Hearing the laughter of times in Afghanistan and hearing soldiers question how Jeremy is doing being they are inspired by him.... Oh, and seeing all the pictures taken! It was nice to see everyone treat him as if nothing happened because as I said before he is still the same person we have all known to love.

In the picture above you will also see the man "Pops" that was injured at the same time Jeremy was. But you don't see anybody else in a wheel chair, right? And, you don't see anyone that looks injured, right? Well, let me point him out for you.... Front row orange shirt. He is also a Great American Hero that received alot of internal damage. The men in the picture are soldiers that looked up to Pops and Jeremy and are all inspired by these two men. But, what you don't see are the Fallen American Heros. After this deployment I was able to see how close these soldiers are now, the moral they hold with each other, and the proudness of being able to serve with the Wounded and Fallen.

Needless to say we had a great time! We attended one last German Volksfest with friends, we attended a brunch with the families of the Wounded and Fallen, and attended a Memorial Ceremony that just touches your heart so much. All the Soldiers of Vilseck were in perfect formation, Fallen families were in a tent near the memorial site, visitors and wounded families on the side, and the Firing Squad in the back. Towards the end of the Memorial each Fallen Soldiers names were called out, followed by the Firing Squad with the 21 Gun Salute, and then followed by TAPS.

We as people can be very selfish at times. It's not anything big that is just a way of saying we are all human. After experiencing this time in Germany one last time and dealing with our lifes challenges on a daily basis it really opens our eyes!

Thank you to all that serve, that have served, the Fallen, and the Wounded because without you America can not do what they are doing right now at this very moment.

The man/soldier that saved my husbands life because of him we were able to take this picture!

Our Proper Goodbye's and Thank you

Almost a month ago my husband and I were invited to go back to Germany for the unit's Welcome Home Ceremony. Of course with no questionable doubt we said "Yessssss! When do we start packing?"

We are actually enroute now to Germany. From what I understand we have a schedule of events and a lot of catching up to do.

The last time my husband saw his unit was when he was in Afghanistan on their last mission. Yes, I said it, Their LAST MISSION and 15 days away from coming home after a very long year.

I know that this trip will be good for the both of us. My husband will finally be able to have some closure and I will finally get to meet the man that saved my husbands life! I told Jeremy the other day that I don't know how I am going to react when I hug and shake the hand of the man that did everything he could to keep my husband alive. How do people react to situations like this? I have tried to roll play this over and over again in my head but everytime is different. What do I say? I can say Thank You but Thank You doesn't express how much OUR FAMILY is Thankful!

So, as I sit here drinking Crown and Coke #2 in the Airport I watch my husband talk on the phone to a dear friend and his Nanny, I am hearing him laugh, I am seeing his facial expressions, and I am hearing his thoughts! These little things are what mean the most to me.......... So a Big Hug and a Thank You to this Soldier and Man is not enough in my eyes!

I hope that this trip doesn't overwhelm us. My wish is that, people will treat him no differently, be able to talk about it but not over do it because at the end of the day Jeremy is the one that lost his legs but he is still human.

The Stubby's Are Home

After a week of being in-patient my husband had been so eager to stand again and walk again. Obviously, at the same time unaware of how much effort it would take, the surgeries that still needed to be done, and what extra programs he would need to take just to (learn) walk again. Walking is something he has been doing for the past 34 years (well 33), but how could something that has been so simple to him now be so difficult and taken away from him?

"Why did this have to happen to me?"  That is the question my husband asks himself over and over. What am I supposed to say that? You can only go so far with I don't know or anything else because I don't know why and I don't understand why. It's a question that I think about myself just to try to find that answer for my husband because I feel that someone somewhere owe's that to him!


After becoming out-patient and having some much needed training, whether it be physical or occupational training, it was finally time for him to pick out his new wheels (wheel chair) and be casted for his prostestics. Once he was casted it was about a week later before he could actually try them on. It's been a process that has taken some time but I think we are on the right track.

Jeremy's first day of standing and taking a few steps.

Second day of standing and walking!

It has now been a week and the stubby's are allowed to come home now!


Most individuals that stand for the first time in stubby's are not able to walk on the same day or even in the same week. They have so much regular pain or phantom pain that just learning how to balance for a few minutes can take more than a breath out of them. My husband has been told numerous times that people are impressed by his achievements in a short matter of time. I too am proud....

Phone Calls to Loved Ones

 When a loved one is deployed you always worry and wonder every minute of the day. When the phone rings at odd hours in the night and an odd number shows on caller i.d. you wonder if it's your loved one or if it's someone calling in regards to your loved one. Every time I received an e mail regarding Fallen/Wounded Soldiers my heart would drop, I could never imagine how the families would take such news. When I didn't hear from my husband for days I became worried. I always told myself, my husband, and my step son that our soldier was coming home no matter what. That he was safe and nobody was going to harm him.

I never ("never say never") thought or expected anything like this would happen to our family, I would tell myself this over and over again for almost a year.

I would like to say that I am pretty spontaneous for the most part but I also like to plan.... I like to plan for my future and my family's future. I don't like to live just in the present. So I and I am pretty sure other's that have been in a similar situation were completely caught off guard; not the caught off guard and pop back up kind but the Oh Shit with a million things running through your head and not able to figure out which one to focus on kind of one.

After receiving my phone call from my Bad Ass (BA) husband I waited a few minutes to semi-calm down before I had to do something that I "never" thought I would of had to do.

One of the worst things I have ever had to do in my life was to call my mother-in-law and tell her what had happened to her oldest son. I was nervous, shaking, and could barely talk but I needed to do this. I didn't want her finding out from some soldier that she didn't even know and I knew that it would be good for her to know that I heard his voice. She knew something was wrong the minute we said hello!

Ever since I met my husband he has never really had good luck. But, on 21 April 2011, we were lucky that the medic and a good friend were so near that they were able to control his vitals and apply tourniquets where needed in under a minute.

Luck or No Luck? We are just thankful forever and always for those two HERO'S, because we can hear his voice, see his smile, hug and kiss him, and drive him crazy still to this day!



Our Wounded Warrior Hero

On April 21, 2011 my husband was wounded in Afghanistan. This will always be a day that we will never forget and will never want to relive. This event has changed our life dramatically and all we can do is move on with our life! I have attached an article that was written about my husband the day it all happened. At the time he had lost both legs below the knee by stepping on a pressure plate IED while out on patrol;

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/04/at-frontline-hospital-afghan-wars-toll-is-deeply-felt/237787/

Since then, my husband has gone through eight surgeries and is now a bi-lateral amputee above the knee. He has been so strong and determined that he is progressing everyday. He is now starting to stand on block prostetics so that he can learn to keep his balance all over again and is even taking steps but a few at a time.

A lot of people don't realize how dependent we are on our legs and feet. I mean we use them everyday, right? Well, with him learning to walk again is like a toddler learning to walk for the first time. For normal people, we can walk like it's going out of style but with him it takes 3 times more effort just for one step.
I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.

In the beginning

My husband and I met at the end of the year in 2007. We connected instantly! I was in the United States Air Force at the time and Jeremy was working with Border Patrol near Mexico. Jeremy had a 6 year old son at the time from his previous marriage and we just so happened to get pregnant in 2008. We got married, Jeremy enlisted in the United States Army, and I separated for the sake of our future child all in the same year of 2008. Now, some would refer to this as a "Shotgun Wedding" and those would deny, deny, deny until they were blue in the face. I am still denying and I have never been blue in the face because that is just not the case for us.


See having two parents serving in the military at the same time (in my opinion, for at least our family) is no bueno. I would have hated for us to both be deployed at the same time and have our son not have at least one of his parents there with him. Please don't get me wrong, I support dual military families and/or single soldier families. If it works for you and your family then I'm all for it.


For the past three years the Breece family has been stationed in Germany. Of course, being in a military family you always think about deployments; whether when and if they will happen, how long they will be, and what you are going to do??


This moment came to us and happened in 2010 which leads us to the challenging moments that have already occurred and what is to come in the future.....