Photo By NatalieNatalie Stanley | Chief Master Sgt. Michael Brunin, 926th Wing aircraft maintenance superintendent....... read more read more
Too often the masks people present to the world can hide deep wells of pain. People may not realize that when the boisterous, outgoing leader with the booming voice closes his office door, he may need a moment to remove his mask. That something as seemingly insignificant as a song has triggered grief that rests just below the surface.
“They say time heals all wounds,” said Chief Master Sgt. Michael Brunin, 926th Wing aircraft maintenance superintendent. “That’s a lie; time just teaches you to deal with the wounds.”
For Brunin, time has taught him how to deal with the devastating loss of his son, but it’s a wound that will never completely heal.
“It never leaves you, I think about my son all the time,” he said.
Brunin’s story began in December 2004, when his 4 year-old son got sick. Doctors first diagnosed him with mono, but days before Christmas, blood work reveled that in fact he had a rare childhood cancer.
What followed was what Brunin described as a two-year long nightmare for his family. As his son fought for his life, Brunin’s world fell apart. He and his wife divorced, his reserve unit shut down and he lost his job and his home.
As his life spiraled out of control, Brunin said he turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism. With seemingly nowhere to turn, no support system and his son dying before his eyes he said he was ready to end his own life.
“The breaking point for me was to see my son lying naked in a chamber for radiation,” Brunin said. “My son was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it.”
In 2007, Brunin’s son lost his battle with cancer. However, witnessing the strength with which his son fought is ultimately, what gave Brunin the courage to live.
“What changed me was seeing my son fight. My son fought until the day he died and that made me a stronger man,” he said.
Brunin was able to rebuild a support system that helped him cope with his grief and anger. He stopped burying his pain with alcohol and learned to lean on those closest to him. But, even after all these years he said life is still a constant battle and every day brings new trials.
But his journey has given him a different perspective on life that he hopes will help his Airmen who are struggling.
“It’s a hard thing to say ‘I’ve got a problem’,” Brunin said. “What I went through helps me understand what they (the Airmen) are going through and you have to reach out or you will fail.”
While the masks people present to the world hide different internal battles, to Brunin they all matter. He wakes up every day now ready to fight the fight and for him that fight is making sure his Airmen are taken care of.
“If my Airmen aren’t healthy mentally, then we have big problems,” he said. “Without our Airmen we are nothing.”
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2019 14:01 |
| Story ID: | 352373 |
| Location: | NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 120 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Share your truth: Fight the fight, by NatalieNatalie Stanley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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