“I Knew I Had To Keep Going”: A Veteran Learns To Live After Loss
Top photo: Anna Cherepnina on the way to the South Base Camp of Mt. Everest in Nepal in May of 2024
Anna Cherepnina fulfilled a long-held dream of serving in the military when she enlisted in the Army Reserves in 2009. After training to become a Mental Health Specialist, she deployed to Afghanistan to help run a Combat and Operational Stress Control Clinic. There she was tasked with helping soldiers cope with several mass casualty events that took place during that time. Anna was familiar with grief, having already lost a boyfriend to suicide in her early 20s.
Anna Cherepnina with a bomb sniffing dog in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan on December 31, 2012
After she returned from her first deployment, however, a staggering series of losses continued to unfold in her life. Another partner of six and half years died in a tragic accident. Then, just three months into her second deployment, Anna began experiencing worrying symptoms of numbness and loss of balance. After she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she was forced to medically retire from the military.
Shortly after losing what she had hoped would be a lifelong career in the Army, the grandparents who had raised her passed away. Having been especially close to her grandmother, the news of her death brought Anna to the darkest period of her life. Despite being professionally trained to support others in moments like these, Anna found herself feeling isolated and without hope.
Anna Cherepnina in the South Base Camp of Mt. Everest in Nepal in May of 2024
She came to StoryCorps to reflect on the surprising moment that helped bring her out of a deep depression, and the journey to the base of Mt. Everest she embarked on soon after.
The fox in Anna Cherepnina’s backyard in Severn, Maryland on December 19, 2022
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired November 9, 2024 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.
Transcending Blindness, a Marathon Runner Thanks His Daughter for Her Support
Jason Romero suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that causes progressive blindness. In 2015, he was forced to stop driving and quit his job, which plunged him into a deep depression. But Jason was most concerned about how it would impact his family. “The most important thing to me is to be a good dad to you and your brother and your sister, and I just didn’t know how I was going to be able to do it if I couldn’t see,” he said.
Jason Romero and his youngest daughter, Sofia Romero, in San Diego, California in August 2022. Courtesy Jason Romero.
Jason turned to running as a way to prove that he could push his body past what people thought possible. After becoming an ultramarathon runner, he had the seemingly crazy idea of being the first blind person to run across the United States. So he hit the road.
Jason Romero in his 2016 run across the United States. Courtesy Jason Romero.
In 2016, he set off on a 3,063 mile, 59 day run from Los Angeles to New York City. But while he was away, he thought about his family – especially his youngest daughter, Sofia.
Top Photo: Sofia Romero and Jason Romero in Denver, Colorado on January 4, 2023. By Esther Honig for StoryCorps.
Originally aired January 6, 2023, on NPR’s Morning Edition. This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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A Daughter on Living with, and Relating to, a Father with Mental Health Conditions
Shotzy Harrison lived with her father, James Flavy Coy Brown, until she was three years old. But James, who has been treated for multiple mental health conditions over the years, was in and out of Shotzy’s life as a result, and spent most of his adult life homeless.
After they reunited in 2013, Shotzy brought James home to live with her in Winston Salem, North Carolina. That’s when they sat down for a StoryCorps interview where they talked about their relationship and the time they’d lost.
Five years later, Shotzy recorded again, by herself, to reflect on that StoryCorps conversation with her dad. You’ll hear excerpts from both of those interviews in this story.
To hear more, listen to the episode of our podcast where Shotzy and James are featured.
Top photo: Shotzy Harrison in 2013 with her father, James Flavy Coy Brown, at their StoryCorps recording in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Bottom photo: Shotzy Harrison in 2018 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Originally aired March 15, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.