Disabled, founder, and president of Camp Livingroom Home Care -- home health care agency. A chiropractic physician licensed to practice in Florida since 2006. Master of Science in Sports Health Science (2005). Member of The Veteran of Foreign Wars (Chaplain 2023).

I am a Marine Corps combat veteran. I served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Serving this country is a family affair. My father is a Korean War veteran and my older brother served in the Navy. Like many other service members, my father, brother and I live lives with medical issues that worsen with time. My disabilities are service connected.

I am a chiropractor by trade. I have been practicing since 2006. Now that I am in my 50’s, it has really become a challenge to get up out of bed without pain; stay awake and alert throughout the day due to chronic fatigue; perform tasks on the job with pain interference and the anger depression and irritability that comes with PTSD; and trying to sleep through the nightmares that play through my mind like a constant movie all while trying to breath with a CPAP machine. I find that it is becoming more and more difficult to perform activities of daily living, including driving. I have lost interest in engaging in recreational activities with friends and family.

My parents live in Tampa, Florida and I live an hour and a half east in Polk county. It is difficult to visit because of the challenge presented by driving. It is difficult for me to drive to work in the mornings and home in the evenings. There are challenges all around me. It worries me because my parents need me. My father has to care for my mother while having his own health issues. They both have a hard time with memory, hearing, and moving around the house. I am proud and amazed at their abilities to care for themselves outside of the care and assistance they receive from my siblings.

I believe things may have been worse if they were not able to continue the almost daily interactions with family. My father says there are no more friends around. They had been active in the church longer than I have been alive. They are true servants of GOD. My mother served on the church’s Mother’s Board and Pop taught an adult Sunday school class. He also fed and gave to the needy at another church. I have not seen any support from the church but things have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic sequestered members away from one another.

Ma and Pop deserve the best in life for all the hard work and love they have committed to GOD, their family and their country. I believe they deserve to age with dignity at home. I founded The Dr. Ralph Joyner Foundation to assist as many seniors as possible and their family-caregivers that have made sacrifices in service of this country through fundraising and grants so that they may remain at home. Veterans have afforded us all a home – our country – to pass on to future generations and The Dr. Ralph Joyner Foundation wants to see that they remain at home to preserve generational wealth for their descendants and loved ones.