She is a proud United States Army veteran, having honorably served from 2005 to 2013, as a Dental Specialist. Google her and you’ll find she has a dominant presence in the first ten results with links to LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, RallyPoint, and Pinterest. She was a Western Regional Finalist for Ms. Veteran America 2014, was featured in the May issue of Glamour Magazine as one of “America’s Gladiators”, and she was also featured in an online article, “Positive Images in the Inner City” Oakland, Ca. Intrigued? Well! There’s more!
Melissa is active and present in her community, serving as a committee member and as a member for several veteran service organizations. She is alive with purpose. She shares, “Since the end of my military career, I have found a sense of purpose, and I enjoy paying it forward. I have a passion for helping veterans and empowering women to be the best they can be.”
You may be wondering where Melissa finds her motivation or what drives her to focus so much on the health and well-being of America’s veterans. To start, she was always an ambitious young woman, continuously seeking opportunities to improve. Yet, a serious and unexpected turn of events in her military career took a toll on her physical and mental health. It was in her darkest moments that she found the strength to help not just herself, but others, as well. Melissa presents a revealing story about the end of her military career and the beginning of a life of philanthropy.
Balad, Iraq- In her Words
While deployed to Balad, Iraq, I was injured when a mortar landed on a generator attached to a nearby building. I was thrown several feet before landing on my head, causing permanent damage. I was later diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Left Temporal Lobe Complex Partial Seizures (LTLCPS), and a rare form of epilepsy. To make matters worse, I was a victim of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) during my deployment.
For the next few years, I would have to surrender my driver’s license and learn to cope with unpredictable seizures and memory loss. I went through a very difficult rehabilitation at the University of California Berkeley's Neuroscience Center and the University of Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience Center. I was medically discharged from Active Duty in 2013.
Starting Over
Melissa went through a period where she had to figure out life again. Upon reentry into civilian life, Melissa had one child who needed her to get better. It was in this realization that she knew it was time to get help. “You go through a period of learning to trust again because you’re anxious and always on guard. There are no hugs, no embraces, and it’s hard”. An indescribable void kept her from bonding with her oldest child. But, she didn’t let that feeling become the final one. Melissa shares first-hand what helped her. “First, acknowledge that you are emotionally unavailable to family.” It was in this acknowledgement that she began to regain control of her life.
Melissa Margain
Overcome &EMPOWER
MILITARY GREEK LIFE Magazine JAN/FEB 2016 21