Unfortunately, Sgt. Josh decided he was going to end his life. Luckily, the veteran soldier wanted one last smoke. So, as Sgt. Josh lit up his cigarette, he heard a strange rustling in the bushes near him, which later revealed what would ultimately change his life and mind. The brave soldier, who was suffering from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD due to a mortar attack in Iraq, was at the lowest point of his life and felt helpless and hopeless. Thus, he decided to end it all, according to him in a short film by Mutual Rescue “ I did not want to deal with it anymore so I took out of my knives and wrote a letter on my computer and went outside to smoke one final cigarette” but what the rustling in the bush revealed made him change his mind and gave him a will to live on.
It was raining when the soldier stepped out for that last smoke but he trudged on anyway. A distinct meow followed the rustling sound in the bush and this drew Sgt. Josh’s attention. He looked on to see what it was, little did he know that he was about to discover the most unlikely reason to live on. Very soon, a tiny black cat found its way out of the bush and made straight for the distressed soldier.
In his account, “He just walked up and started rubbing up against my leg and let me pet him, I broke down crying”. There and then, Sgt. Josh reportedly became friends with the cat and knew he couldn’t commit suicide anymore as he now has a new friend to worry about. He named the cat Scout and started to care for it, bringing it plates of tuna everyday.
Suddenly one day, Scout stopped coming around, this broke Josh’s heart but the love he had shared with the cat had healed him and gave him a reason to keep moving ahead. He had learnt that not only could he care for someone but someone could care for him too. Soon enough, Sgt. Josh started dating and fell in love. He told his new love about Scout and its influence on his life and they together soon decided the time was ripe to adopt a cat. Shortly after, Josh married his girlfriend after receiving a medical discharge from the army and together, they moved with his wife’s three cats and Scout of course. They became one big and happy family. Ladies and gentlemen, we are republishing this story amid recent reports that show more and more Americans believe we’re in the middle of a national mental health crisis.
