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Nurse, Mother, Wife, Caregiver: Called on to be the Strength By Kim & Matthew Kopsack
Kim Kopsack met her husband, Sgt. Matthew Kopsack, U.S. Army (ret.), in 2008 as he lay recovering in a VA hospital in Michigan from wounds he had received while deployed to Iraq. “I was in nursing school at the time,” she explained, “and was preparing to graduate in 2009.” Matt had served in Kuwait and Korea, and as a combat-engineer team leader and a reconnaissance team leader in Iraq. He briefly described how he’d been injured: “While deployed to Iraq, my unit’s main job was route reconnaissance and IED detection. We had been struck with several IED’s and I had been wounded and stabbed during hand-to-hand combat. Finally, after the last IED strike, I was sent home. I spent a long time recovering in that VA hospital!” As a nurse, Kim understood much of what his care involved. Nevertheless, she knew this was her guy. “Matt proposed and we got married in 2010,” she said. “Eventually, the VA asked me to take over as his home caregiver.” She saw some irony in that, “Seeing as how I was already providing his care at home! So of course I excepted the responsibility.” What Kim said that she has learned over the years is that her husband is “an amazing man.” For his part, though, Matthew had to admit he had a troubled youth. “I grew up in the small town of Manassas, Virginia, always getting in some sort of trouble. Finally, my parents put me in military school. As a result, I got into less trouble and succeeded in school, then tried to enlist after graduation. I was the son of an army officer, so it was only in my nature to do that. At first I wasn’t able to go active-duty due to some hearing issues that I had growing up. But finally, I was successful at getting there in 1998.” A consummate military man, it seems clear that Matt has always had a huge drive to overcome his challenges and achieve his mission. Still, it was Kim who provided – and still provides – the lion’s share of the strength he needs to do this. “She has definitely been a lifesaver in my recovery,” he said gratefully. In 2013, after moving to Florida, Matt was introduced to AHERO. “The organization is instrumental in me battling severe depression and anxiety due to PTSD symptoms,” he said. He and Kim were glad to have this boost to their morale. “Then, after being in a wheelchair for so
many years, I was offered a unique chance at a life-changing surgery on my neck. Of course, I jumped at it. I had the surgery in 2016. It was a success. A year later, I was fully back on my feet!” Kim explained how Matt has worked at trying to function in society and today’s complicated world. “He still struggles with issues,” she said. “Depression and thoughts of suicide are the two biggest. He deals with those on a daily basis. The physical problems that resulted from a lot of his injuries are still hard challenges, too, but they’re actually easier because you can see them. You know what to do.”
It helps that Matt works at holding onto an overall positive outlook. And that he is able to keep his blessings in view. “Between AHERO, my service dog, Sarge, and – most of all – my wife, Kim, I have an amazing life full of joy and happiness,” he said. When asked, Kim responded thoughtfully. “Times do get hard. Sometimes things are hard on the children and can seem unbearable,” she admitted. “But we always make it through. It’s almost 10 years now, since I became his caregiver, and it has definitely been a struggle. But it’s what I do for the man and the family I love.”
Top row l-r: Ashtain Noel Davis-21, Alexis Destiny Davis-21, Adrianna Rosas Kopcsak-10 Bottom row row l-r: Kimberly Heather Kopcsak, Silas James Kopcsak-1, Matthew Jason Kopcsak, Aria Olivia Kopcsak-5, Jacob Riley Kopcsak-3
AHERO MAGAZINE
FALL 2019 17