When Elizabeth Boehm joined the Indiana National Guard in June 2001, it changed her life in ways she never anticipated.
“I wanted to be a nurse, and serving in the military seemed like the best way to pay for college,” Elizabeth admits. “I considered active duty, but I wanted to stay close to home. I didn’t expect to end up in a war zone on the other side of the world.”
But in July 2004, she was deployed to Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“I learned a lot during my year of deployment,” Elizabeth said. “I was lucky to be able to focus on humanitarian aid.”
As a health inspector, she visited refugee camps to assess living conditions and offer assistance. She was involved in two widely publicized cases, including a heart surgery for Qudrat Wardak, a 15-month-old Afghan boy, performed at Riley Hospital for Children, as well as medical care for five-year-old Zia Urrahman, who suffered third-degree burns on his arms, torso and legs after a propane explosion that killed six of his family members. Urrahman was treated at St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne.
Elizabeth left the military in 2007 when she became pregnant with her first child, but she has kept in contact with her unit and is excited to celebrate their 20-year reunion this year.
In the intervening years, Elizabeth pursued her dream of becoming a nurse. Today, she is a Nurse Home Visitor for Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP), a program that pairs first-time, low-income parents with a registered nurse who guides the family from pregnancy through the child’s second birthday. Goodwill NFP ensures babies are reaching developmental milestones, while providing families with resources and information during the early stages of parenting.
“The skills I developed in the military – operating independently in diverse settings – serve me well as a Goodwill Nurse Home Visitor,” Elizabeth said.
Previously a Registered Nurse Lactation Consultant in the NICU, Elizabeth didn’t always get to see what happened to families once they left the hospital.
“There are so many stages to early childhood development, and as a Nurse Home Visitor, I get to be an active part of that process from beginning to end,” Elizabeth said.
This Veterans Day, Goodwill celebrates Elizabeth and all of our veterans who served abroad and continue to serve their communities at home.
Visit goodwillindy.org/nfp to learn more about Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership.