Horses heal veterans who are hurting

More than 50,000 U.S. troops have suffered combat wounds in Afghanistan and Iraq. When they return, they fight new battles at home, including depression and post-traumatic stress.

Heartbeat Serving Wounded Warriors is a local organization that helps them heal from their physical and emotional wounds.

In 2011, Sergeant Michael Buccieri was in Afghanistan with the 54th Military Police Company out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. His squad was ambushed and he was shot in the back. He went from being someone who supervised 20 soldiers to someone who could barely move.

“My wife had to take care of me because I couldn’t take care of myself,” he says. “I came home with a fist sized hole in my back with a vacuum attached to it that she had to change daily.”

As bad as his injuries were, he was even more devastated that he could no longer fight with his fellow soldiers. He felt like he was letting everyone down.

After multiple surgeries and physical therapy, Sgt. Buccieri says he still moved like a robot. He didn’t want to go out in public. On top of that, he also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a traumatic brain injury.

“I really got into some dark places after I got back and pretty much had no friends and no one around,” he says. “The few friends I had, I pretty much pushed away.”

When nothing else seemed to work, he turned to Heartbeat Serving Wounded Warriors for help.

Founder and president Janice Buckley says when injured soldiers come home, people assume they can just get right back into family and work life without a problem.

“These warriors have changed. What they’ve seen and been through down range has changed the inside of them,” Buckley says.

Heartbeat helps injured soldiers by providing emergency assistance, offering morale building activities, and innovative therapeutic services.

One of those services is “Back in the Saddle Warriors,” a program that uses horses to improve balance and strengthen deep core muscles. The horses can also help the rider, mentally and emotionally.

Sgt. Buccieri was skeptical at first. Everyone told him he could try to fool them into thinking he was happy and didn’t have a care in the world, but the horse would be able to tell that’s not the case.

“From that first day, the horse knew I wasn’t happy, and he wasn’t happy either,” he says with a laugh.

But after doing the horse therapy every week, it’s made a huge difference in his life. He still has his bad days, but not as many. Now, he goes out into public again and enjoys spending time with his family.

Once he’s recovered, he hopes he can help other wounded soldiers get back on their feet.

Janice Buckley says the organization also has the Scuba Warriors program, which gives soldiers a healing activity in a pain-free environment. At Christmas time, volunteers make holiday dinners to help build morale and match families who want to “adopt a wounded warrior.”

Buckley says it’s the least they can do for men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom.

“They are a role model for the rest of us in the civilian world. They’re the plumb line of excellence for this country and we need to do all we can to support them,” she says.