Warrior Family Advocates For Others With Veterans Charity

Wounded Warrior Project Recognizes 15 Years of Serving Those Who Sacrificed

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Aug 23, 2018, 11:33 ET

DENVER, Aug. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Matt and Tracy Keil are not your typical veteran family. The parents of bubbly seven-year-old twins enjoy their life in a Denver suburb. Little Matt and Faith enjoy school and playing with foam dart guns. But the family has spent many days as strong advocates for the veterans community.

They had to.

Matt and Tracy Keil found a partner in advocacy with Wounded Warrior Project. Their combined efforts helped pass legislation to allow VA-funded reproductive services for veterans wounded in service.

Six weeks after Matt and Tracy married, a sniper bullet struck Matt's neck. His left arm is the only thing he can move from the chest down.

Matt and Tracy had little direction on what to do next. They found support through Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) – an organization that empowered them.

"More than anything, it was about advocating for ourselves to make sure we could get the best care possible," Tracy said.

Matt's injury made it impossible to have children in the traditional manner. They turned to in vitro fertilization.

"I can't describe the feeling of finding out we were pregnant," Tracy said. "Part of it was relief. Part of it was fear. Excitement. Every single emotion was happening at once."

"When we found out that it was affecting a lot of families, it just felt like the right thing to do," Matt said.

Tracy started talking with other wives: "'How do we get it covered?' There were only six of us, and Wounded Warrior Project jumped on board right away."

Support grew.

WWP helped Matt and Tracy take their story to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

"It was just so important to me – knowing how I felt that day I got the call saying that we were pregnant, and the day the kids were born – everybody deserves that feeling," Tracy said.

Then finally, in fall of 2016, victory. Tracy's take:

"I mean just the big fist pump of YES! They did it. They finally heard. They finally got it."

"When it finally passed, it was just an awesome feeling knowing that a lot of families would be able to take advantage of this program," Matt said.

Read more of Matt and Tracy's story at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/warrior-family-advocates-others-veterans-charity-project/.

About Wounded Warrior Project

Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers – helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more: http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us.

SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project