Father Caring For Wounded Veteran Daughter Earns National Honor

CLEARWATER, FL — After his daughter suffered injuries while serving in the Air Force, including a traumatic brain injury from an improvised explosive device, Clearwater resident Joseph Narvaez stepped up to become her primary caregiver.

Now Narvaez is being honored for his commitment by being asked to join the 2020 class of Dole Caregiver Fellows.

The Fellows are 30 military and veteran caregivers who have been carefully selected from across the country to represent Americans caring for a wounded, ill or injured service members or veterans at home.

The role of these Fellows has never been more important as caregivers are under unprecedented stress due to the threat of the coronavirus, said Steve Schwab, CEO of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation based in Washington, D.C.

As a Dole Caregiver Fellow, Narvaez will serve as a leader, community organizer and advocate for the nation’s 5.5 million military caregivers – the spouses, parents, family members and friends who provide more than $14 billion in voluntary care annually to someone who served.

They will join the 225 past and present Fellows who have been trained by the foundation and empowered to share their stories and perspectives directly with national leaders in the White House, Congress, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other government agencies, as well as decision makers in the business, entertainment, faith and nonprofit sectors.

The Fellows will provide feedback to the foundation, its coalition partners, and government and community leaders on the pressing issues concerning military caregivers and influence positive change on behalf of these hidden heroes.

“Our eighth class of Dole Caregiver Fellows is bringing a new set of unique voices to our mission, but all share similar stories of strength, resilience, and hope in caring for their wounded warriors,” Schwab said. “As they care for their veteran, we are grateful for their experiences, wisdom and willingness to come together and advocate for their fellow hidden heroes. They are the heart and soul of our work.”

Narvaez serves as a caregiver for his daughter, Laura, who sustained post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her military service.

He was contracted as a travel director for Fortune 500 companies in 2001 when his daughter told him that she wanted to join the U.S. Air Force. He was initially skeptical of the idea of her serving, but eventually became her biggest champion.

Laura Narvaez served in Operational Intelligence with the Special Operations Command and, at times, was embedded with the Army on the ground in combat zones.

During deployment in 2006, an improvised explosive device caused her to suffer a traumatic brain injury, which led to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. She was also diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy, a group of symptoms that occur when there is damage to the nerves that manage everyday body functions including blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, bowel and bladder control and digestion.

Unfortunately, this was not the only difficulty that Laura Narvaez faced. A few months later, while stationed in South Korea, she was attacked by a fellow service member and suffered sexual trauma.

She medically retired in 2008, leaving the service with multiple chronic injuries and the need for a full-time caregiver. When she returned stateside, her father was there to pick her up. At the time of her discharge, however, Joe Narvaez was not Laura Narvaez's caregiver.

Instead, it was Laura Narvaez’s high school sweetheart and husband who also served in Special Operations in the Air Force and had deployed to combat zones six times over 10 years. Joe Narvaez, however, was not aware that his daughter's husband was struggling and in need of care himself.

In 2016, a year and a half after their son’s first birthday, Laura Narvaez ’s husband had a PTSD episode that ended his life. Joe Narvaez immediately stepped in as his daughter's caregiver and stopped working to devote all his time to caring for her.

Joe Narvaez now lives near his daughter and shares caregiving duties with her new husband, including looking after her son daily. He also continues to help around the house and go to medical appointments with her.

Additionally, Narvaez regularly attends caregiver meetings at the Veterans Administration. Now that he has been a caregiver himself, he believes he can help others navigate their caregiver journey.

Also representing Florida is Jenifer Smith of Boynton Beach and Jessica Beck of Crescent City.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole created the Dole Caregiver Fellows program in 2012 to directly engage military and veteran caregivers in the foundation’s mission. The 2020 Fellows class includes loved ones whose service members and veterans represent all branches of service and different eras of peace and conflict.

The 2020 class represents 23 states and includes a retired father caring for his daughter and her son, an occupational therapist who took on her own fiancé's full-time care and a wife who assumed care of her husband and pulled them back from the brink of homelessness.