Ep. 11: Heath Trepanier-Resilience is making mistakes and coming back

Heath Trepanier- Resilience is making mistakes and coming back from them

In January of 2017, US Air Force Technical Sergeant Heath Trepanier (“Trep”) was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when a cantaloupe-sized tumor was found in his abdomen. He continues to exceed the doctors’ expectations and was recently able to travel to Hawaii for an Air Force Wounded Warrior event.

Trep has a very realistic, but optimistic outlook on his life.  His illness has provided him with a new perspective of life and taught him to be resilient. Rather than taking things for granted, he is now more intentional about leaning into his family, friends, and faith for the support he needs as he approaches each new challenge with the intention to learn from it and make the best of what is presented to him.

Recognizing that everyone has their own struggles, he encourages everyone listening to be the best they can be, lead by example, and follow through on the goals they set. Trep emphasizes the importance of being involved in a community and having friends to hold you accountable and encourage you to carry on.

Show Notes:

• Trep discusses overcoming challenges and what resilience means to him (3:33)
• Important skills that will help you face hardship (6:01)
• How the Air Force Wounded Warrior project has helped Trep (8:30)
• The benefits of lessons from his childhood in developing mental toughness (10:28)
• Trep’s words of encouragement to a teammate after their basketball game (13:00)
• What perseverance looks like when lived out (14:54)
• Other wounds that veterans deal with but society doesn’t understand (16:00)
• How Trep has turned trial into triumph (17:43)
• What Trep’s billboard would say (22:09)

Links:

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Connect with Air Force Wounded Warrior:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AirForceWoundedWarrior/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afw2/

Website: https://www.woundedwarrior.af.mil/

Quotes:

“Cancer is battling with me.”

“Resilience is making mistakes and coming back from them.”

“Go into it with an open mindset and be thankful for what you’ve got.”

“Leaders have a way of pushing others to be better.”

“The people I have met along the way make every minute of my suffering worth it.”

More about guest:

For more about Heath Trepanier’s story, please check out this article from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Link: https://www.jber.jb.mil/News/News-Articles/Article/1599688/theyre-battling-with-me-nco-fights-cancer/