It isn’t the life she envisioned when she chose a soldier as her partner, but Debbie Greene has embraced the life she shares with husband Trevor. 

Debbie and Trevor had already welcomed baby Grace when he deployed to Afghanistan in 2006. Trevor was well-suited for his assignment as an emissary, travelling to remote Afghan villages to meet with elders and find out how the Canadian military could help them. 

But that close contact with locals proved to be life-altering.  

An Afghan youth sympathetic to the Taliban snuck up behind Trevor, who had taken his helmet off as a sign of peace and respect, and struck him with a crude home-made axe.  

It was an act of violence that changed both Trevor and Debbie’s lives forever. 

Trevor suffered a severe brain injury, and Debbie’s life became focused on supporting him, Grace, and Noah, who was born in 2012. Thrown into the role of caregiver, patient advocate, brain injury expert, and Trevor’s biggest supporter, she deployed the skills and knowledge she acquired as one of UFV’s first Bachelor of Business Administration degree graduates — skills that have proved crucial.   

Early on, Debbie and Trevor were hopeful that he would recover enough from his severe brain injury to be able to walk again. They’ve had to accept limitations; the closest Trevor has gotten to walking was with a specially designed exoskeleton that enabled him to take some steps. 

But they’ve also pushed boundaries, working with expert researchers and scientists, investigating the latest developments in neuroplasticity. 

“We explored every option available to help Trevor recover his mobility,” Debbie recalls. “We really pushed the boundaries of what is known about brain injuries and helped advance knowledge along the way. We’ve moved through different phases of adjusting to our new life, similar to how people go through phases of grief. Much of our early focus was based on hope when we were in the denial stage. That hope led to new scientific knowledge.”

Outside of family life and accounting work, Debbie’s other focus is helping veterans adjust to life after post-traumatic stress and other injuries. 

This work led to their involvement in the development of the Legion Veteran’s Village in Surrey, which includes subsidized housing for veterans, and a Centre of Clinical Excellence dedicated to serving and supporting veterans, first responders, and their families. The centre’s comprehensive healthcare approach addresses both physical and ment​al health conditions, streamlining the process by providing one-stop service for all their needs.   

As the board chair of the Legion Veterans Village Research Foundation, Debbie uses her skills and experience to ensure that the foundation’s initiatives reflect a comprehensive understanding of the needs of veterans and their families. 

“Being involved with this centre gives me a passion and a purpose,” says Debbie. “It’s something Trevor and I can focus on together and I can use all my skills from the UFV business program.” 

Debbie’s days are full, balancing family, Trevor’s medical needs, her volunteer work for the foundation, and her paid work as an accountant. So, she’s a good person to ask for advice on self-care and work-life balance.

“Almost every morning, I do yoga and that sets my day in a grounded way,” she notes. “You have to make sure you look after yourself first so that you can take care of others.” 

Her advice for today’s students? 

“The more you put into something the more you’ll get out of it. The world is open to you. Make sure you connect with your professors and other students. We need to support each other in our life’s journey in order for each of us to be at our best.” 

She looks back at her time at UFV in the mid-1990s with fondness. 

“I learned a lot at UFV, I built a good career, and I made lifetime connections and friends.” 

As for the fact that she and Trevor’s lives didn’t turn out the way they imagined when they first got together, she says she’s okay with that. 

“I can say I don’t have regrets. I work hard to ensure that my kids have a normal life, and that Trevor has the best life that he can. I wouldn’t have done much differently. We are happy. We explored every possible option, and we never gave up on our life together.  

“I live in gratitude.”