The Wounds We Can't Always See: Honoring Purple Heart Day with Reverence and Truth

August 7th is Purple Heart Day—a date set aside to honor the brave U.S. service members who have been wounded or killed in combat while serving this country. It is one of the oldest military honors still in use, established originally by General George Washington in 1782.

But beyond the medals and military ceremonies, Purple Heart Day is a sacred reminder of something far more tender, far more complex:

• That not all scars are visible.

• That service does not end on the battlefield.

• And that families—especially the spouses, children, parents, and loved ones—carry the weight of those wounds too.

What the Purple Heart Symbolizes

The Purple Heart is awarded to those wounded or killed by enemy action. But within that purple ribbon lies more than just injury—it holds a story.

A story of:

• Bodies that took the hit so others didn’t have to.

• Families that adapted to a new normal, sometimes overnight.

• Marriages tested by pain, silence, recovery, and change.

• Grief that doesn’t fit neatly inside VA paperwork or public ceremonies.

At Lotus River Wellness, we believe these stories deserve more than acknowledgment—they deserve space. Reverence. Healing.

The Other Side of the Medal: The Spouse’s Wound

There is a part of the Purple Heart story that often gets overlooked:

The invisible injury absorbed by the partner standing in the hospital room.

The quiet ache of a spouse who is told, “He’ll never be the same,”

or worse—who isn’t told anything at all, and is left to slowly piece that truth together over years of emotional distance, hypervigilance, or shutdown.

Wives become caregivers.

Husbands become anchors for partners in chronic pain.

Partners become advocates, therapists, night-shift warriors, and logistics managers overnight.

And yet, when the medal is pinned to a uniform, few speak to the wound underneath—the one you can’t see, and the one the spouse carries too.

The Battle After the Battle

For many Purple Heart recipients, the injury marks the end of one battle but the beginning of another. Traumatic brain injuries. PTSD. Survivor’s guilt. Mobility challenges. Memory loss. Chronic pain. Flashbacks. Nightmares.

For their families, the healing journey is long, complex, and often lonely.

We hear it all the time in our programs:

• “He came home, but parts of him didn’t.”

• “We’re navigating invisible wounds, and no one prepares you for that.”

• “I lost myself while trying to hold everyone else together.”

This is why Lotus River Wellness exists.

Because when we say, “Thank you for your service,” we don’t just mean the uniformed service member. We mean the family.

The spouse.

The one who learned to read the room like radar.

The one who braced for triggers in the grocery store.

The one who still sleeps lightly, just in case.

Healing the Whole Unit

Our 200hr Yoga Teacher Training isn’t just a certification. It’s a return to self.

A nervous system reset.

A lifeline for the one who became the caretaker.

A sanctuary for those navigating post-traumatic growth—not just for the service member, but for themselves.

We teach yoga through a trauma-informed, community-rooted lens. We offer tools that are practical and powerful:

• Breath-work for grounding

• Somatic movement for emotional release

• Restorative yoga for chronic pain

• Community circles for deep belonging

Because the whole family serves and the whole family deserves to heal.

This Purple Heart Day, We Remember

We remember the fallen.

We honor the wounded.

And we see the families who are still navigating the echoes of impact.

We hold space for the spouse who feels forgotten.

For the child who doesn’t understand the shifts.

For the caregiver who gave up their own dreams to support recovery.

And for the warrior—whether in uniform or not—who is doing their best to heal, one breath at a time.

A Prayer for the Purple Heart Families

• May your courage be seen.

• May your exhaustion be tended to.

• May your grief find voice.

• May your nervous system know rest.

• May your healing—slow, sacred, nonlinear—be honored.

• And may you always know: you are not alone.

With reverence and love,

Steph Cole and the Lotus River Wellness team