Latest revision as of 23:28, 1 January 2026

Lois Brown[edit]

I was a combat medic in Iraq. Twelve months patching holes in people. Literal holes. I saw things no one should see. Did things that still wake me up at night.

The bravest people I knew over there were terrified. Every single one. The difference between them and everyone else wasn't the absence of fear—it was moving anyway. Running toward the gunfire because someone needed help.

I learned more about courage in that year than most people learn in a lifetime. Fear is information. Your body is trying to protect you. But sometimes you have to override the protection because something matters more than your safety.

I came home different. Spent years working through what I'd seen. Some of it I'll never work through. That's okay. You can carry things and still function. Still matter. Still help.

Now I'm a nurse. Different kind of courage. Telling families the thing they don't want to hear. Holding hands through the dying. Standing up for patients when the system wants to move on.

Courage has a thousand faces. Physical courage, moral courage, the courage to feel, the courage to stay, the courage to leave. This wiki is about all of it. Finding your courage. Training it. Using it when it matters.

I don't know what scares you. But I know you can face it. I've seen people do impossible things when they had no choice. You might surprise yourself.

— Lois Brown, still learning what courage means

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 = Lois Brown =
-Hey. Welcome. I'm glad you're here, thinking about this stuff.
+I was a combat medic in Iraq. Twelve months patching holes in people. Literal holes. I saw things no one should see. Did things that still wake me up at night.
-== From the Front Lines ==
+The bravest people I knew over there were terrified. Every single one. The difference between them and everyone else wasn't the absence of fear—it was moving anyway. Running toward the gunfire because someone needed help.
-My path here wasn't exactly straight. I spent eight years as a medic, two tours in Afghanistan. I patched people up, stabilized them, tried to keep them alive. I saw things no one should see. Not just the physical wounds, but what war does to the soul.
+I learned more about courage in that year than most people learn in a lifetime. Fear is information. Your body is trying to protect you. But sometimes you have to override the protection because something matters more than your safety.
-That's what brought me to this work, really. I realized fixing a body wasn't enough. You could stop the bleeding, but what about the damage underneath?
+I came home different. Spent years working through what I'd seen. Some of it I'll never work through. That's okay. You can carry things and still function. Still matter. Still help.
-After I left the military, I became a trauma therapist, specializing in first responders. Police, firefighters, paramedics—people who run towards the chaos, just like I did. They see the worst of humanity, and they carry it. I help them process it, learn to live with it, and find a way forward.
+Now I'm a nurse. Different kind of courage. Telling families the thing they don't want to hear. Holding hands through the dying. Standing up for patients when the system wants to move on.
-It's a privilege, honestly. And it's taught me a lot about what it means to be human, about what breaks us, and what—surprisingly—makes us strong.
+Courage has a thousand faces. Physical courage, moral courage, the courage to feel, the courage to stay, the courage to leave. This wiki is about all of it. Finding your courage. Training it. Using it when it matters.
-== What Keeps Me Writing ==
+I don't know what scares you. But I know you can face it. I've seen people do impossible things when they had no choice. You might surprise yourself.
-I write about courage, but not the Hollywood kind. **Courage isn't what you think.** It's not about being fearless. It's about being terrified and doing what needs to be done anyway. It's about showing up, even when you're falling apart. And it's about admitting you are falling apart.
+''— [[User:Lois_Brown|Lois Brown]], still learning what courage means''
-I'm fascinated by vulnerability. We're taught to hide it, to armor up, to pretend we're okay. But I've seen, time and again, that true strength comes from allowing yourself to be seen, flaws and all. It's terrifying, yes, but it's also incredibly liberating.
-I also write about resilience. **I've seen the worst, and I've seen people survive it.** Not just survive, but thrive. And I want to share what I've learned from them. What tools they used, what strategies worked, what helped them rebuild their lives after everything fell apart.
-== What You Can Expect ==
-My articles will be direct. I don't have time for fluff. I'll cut through the noise and get to the core of things. I'll share practical advice, things you can do to build your own resilience, to cultivate your own courage.
-* Expect honest conversations about difficult topics.
-* Expect a focus on action. **Here's what works** — I'll always offer something tangible.
-* Expect a challenge. I'm not here to tell you what you want to hear. I'm here to help you grow.
-* Expect a little bit of tough love. Sometimes, you need to hear the truth, even if it hurts.
-I believe that everyone has the capacity for courage. And I believe that by exploring it honestly, we can create better lives, one brave choice at a time.
-''— [[User:Lois_Brown|Lois Brown]], still serving''