Thriving after trauma: Veteran’s 40-year battle to heal, overcome and live again
“I couldn’t walk 40 years ago,” said U.S. Navy Veteran Michael Diggs. “It took a while to walk again. It was fear.”
A traumatic experience
Diggs experienced a life-altering encounter during his military service.
“One of my shipmates used a fighter jet to traumatize my whole central nervous system,” he said. “That caused me to become disabled.”
After the incident, Diggs developed conversion disorder, a rare condition where a mental health issue disrupts how the brain works.
According to research from the Cleveland Clinic, this disorder can cause real, physical symptoms to erupt in a person’s life that are beyond their control. Sufferers of conversion disorder may experience blindness, paralysis or other neurologic symptoms that cannot be explained by illness or injury.
“I left the Navy totally disabled,” Diggs said. “I became a quadriplegic for a time from the psychological trauma, and it took 40 years for me to make sense of my past.”
Living with challenges
Diggs faced a wall with his physical limitations and could not find consistent work.
“I had to overcome this disorder that made me think I couldn’t use my arms,” he said. “That type of trauma shut down every system in my body. I had to reteach myself how to do everything.”
Diggs, now 66, credits VA facilities in Tennessee, Texas, Nevada and Colorado with helping pull him out of this debilitating place.
“During those years, VA was my second home,” he said. “I checked myself into the hospital regularly to get support and learn life skills. That trauma erased a lot of stuff in my head. About 35 years into it, my brain started working again to a degree. I could see myself coming out of it.”
Turning things around
Despite his challenges, this father of two has been married for 46 years. Today, he stands proud. Literally.
“Things changed in my 50s,” Diggs said. “I started learning how to deal with those unknown fears.”
Diggs moved to Colorado in 2019 and enrolled in Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center’s Compensated Work Therapy program.
“CWT gave me another bone in my back,” said Diggs. “They made me feel like I wasn’t trying to conquer this alone. It gave me faith in myself.”
Gratitude for support
“I give credit to the inspiring people who got me here,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without my wife and everyone who cared for me at VA over the years.”
Diggs graduated from the CWT program in October 2023, and quickly landed a housekeeping job at RMR.
“I got a chance to have a real job and be in a safe place,” he said. “I’m at a top-notch organization. VA changed my life.”
Diggs said those first 25 years after leaving the Navy weren’t productive, but they were therapeutic. He wanted to be healthy and said it has been worth the wait.
“I wake up thankful I can move my legs without taking a pain pill or muscle relaxer,” said Diggs. “It took me 40 years, but I finally made it here and I feel alive. I really do.”
To contact the CWT program at RMR, call 720-857-5280.
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April Love is a writer-editor on the VISN 19 Creative Task Force. She began working for VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in 2016 and lives in Aurora, Colorado.