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FORT CARSON, Colo. - Balancing duties as a Soldier and a mother
of three, one of whom is a special needs child, is just one of the
challenges Sgt. Shanna Rodriguez has faced in her life.
Rodriguez, health care specialist, Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Infantry Division, entered service much later than most
Soldiers.
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November 6, 2014 - U.S. Army Sgt. Shanna
Rodriguez, health care specialist, Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Infantry Division, is a mother of three who entered
service much later than most Soldiers and under a dire circumstance.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. William Howard)
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Rodriguez said the spark to enlist ignited when her
Marine father shared his photo album with her when she was
12 years old, but her plans changed when she married her
high school sweetheart and started a family. Rodriguez's
husband joined the Army in 2000 and she raised their three
sons during his service at Fort Carson and foreign
deployments.
Then when her second eldest son turned 8
years old, he was diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome by an
Army doctor and given a life expectancy of 12-20 years.
Sanfilippo syndrome is metabolism disorder that makes
the body unable to properly break down long chains of sugar
molecules called glycosaminoglycans.
“To find out
that your son has something that there's no treatment or
cure. That hit us really hard,” said Rodriguez. “As a parent
you want to protect your kids. I can't protect him from it;
there's nothing that I can do.”
She said they
suffered through a gamut of emotions but eventually realized
the need to focus on their son's life.
“He's here and
he's healthy and, regardless of what the doctors are telling
me, He's still my son and I'm going to treat him just like
my other children,” said Rodriguez. “Since that day, we
don't care about the little things. We just want to give him
the best while he is here.”
Rodriguez's husband was
honorably discharged from the Army in 2007 and they moved to
Corpus Christi, Texas, where she worked as a 911 dispatcher.
She said she lost her medical insurance when the city
started going bankrupt.
In early 2010, Rodriguez
decided to enlist in the Army so her husband would be able
to spend time with their children and to get medical
coverage for her son.
To get her ready for joining
the military, Rodriguez's former noncommissioned officer
husband helped her drop from 220 to 176 pounds over the
course of 10 months so she would be able to meet Army
enlistment requirements. She enlisted as a health care
specialist in April 2011 and was stationed at Fort Carson in
December 2011, where she continues to improve her fitness.
“I love the discipline and the Army organization as a
whole,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez graduated with
honors from the Fort Carson Warrior Leader Course last
month, sang the national anthem at her graduation and her
essay, “Warrior Ethos goes beyond the battlefield,” was
published in the post newspaper Nov. 14.
“I think
that all of the commitment and dedication it took to raise
her children coupled with her professionalism created a rare
Soldier,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jermaine Davison, command
sergeant major, 4th BSB, 1st SBCT, 4th Infantry Division.
Rodriguez said she plans to pursue a career in Army
counterintelligence and to enjoy every moment with her sons.
Her youngest is 12, her son who was diagnosed with
Sanfilippo syndrome is now 17 and her eldest is 18 and
currently talking with military recruiters.
“She has
a very deep and profound life story that has brought her to
this point,” said Sgt. Matthew O'Neil, health care
specialist, Company C, 4th BSB, 1st SBCT, 4th Infantry
Division, who worked with Rodriguez. “She's one of the
things that is right about the Army.”
Visit the
National
MPS Society website for more information on Sanfilippo
syndrome and to find out how you can make a difference.
By U.S. Army Sgt. William Howard
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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