Wounded Warriors Weekend in Sask. works to heal soldiers

Warrant officer RenayGrovescomes from a family of soldiers and knows firsthand how difficult it can be to lead a normal life after you return home from serving your country.

This weekend, soldiers gathered in Lloydminster, which straddles the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, for the Wounded Warriors Weekend.

The retreat aims to allow veterans, soldiers and first responders suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries to help each other heal from painful military experiences.

The weekend was aboutsharing stories, creating friendshipsand simply relaxing.

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"So many people tell you where you're supposed to be, how you're supposed to get there and while you're doing what someone else tells you what to do it gets you off the path that you're supposed to be on,"Groves saidabout her own healing process after returning from Afghanistanin 2009.

Groves' brother also has military experience and she said coping with PTSDhasn't been easy for him.

"I was able to dedicate three uninterrupted hours with my brother who was a diver engineer ," she said about arecent phone conversation. "And, I will tell you we ended that phone call in a more positive place and it ended with you know what (Renay), I could benefit from some help."

"Progress is a gift you cannot measure," she added, saying she hopes her brother will attend a retreat.

Wounded warriors was founded in 2012 and evolved to include police officers, trauma nurses, correctional officers, firefighters,RCMP,EMTs, first responders and their families.