Today’s guest blogger is Allison Churchill, assistant editor at Angels on Earth magazine.
Almost everyone I meet gets to hear that the best and hardest part of my job at Angels on Earth is reading through stories of people being kind to others—and having to choose just a few of those stories to publish each issue. And because I served in the Army, I have a particular soft spot for stories that involve veterans.
I remember Jennifer Field’s May/June 2017 Earning Their Wings story fondly. Jennifer was a winning equestrian until she had a near-fatal car accident when she was 17. Her family had the resources to access top-notch traumatic brain injury care. Jennifer started the J. Field Foundation to help others with TBI; since 2015, her foundation has supported V.E.T.S., an equine therapy program for veterans in Connecticut.
We’ve recently learned that Jennifer herself has an additional great source of support: her new husband, Bruce. They went to Italy for their honeymoon, and part of their trip included the beautiful but steep Amalfi Coast. “I could have never climbed up and down the steep stairs all by myself,” Jennifer says. “With Bruce by my side, I didn’t have to. Together we soaked in the magnificent views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was amazing.”
Jennifer had a dismal prognosis after her accident. “With each passing year, I know how misguided some of the experts were,” she says. With love and determination, she has a happy, fulfilling life, made all the better by giving back.
