Deep in a heavily wooded section of Bullitt County, Kentucky, there is a 144-acre stretch of land that is about to make one veteran's dying wish come true. Retired Army Maj. Justin Fitch was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in 2013. When it was upgraded to stage 4 a year later, Fitch's doctors gave him only two to six months to live. Today, Fitch has outlived that prediction by over a year. Though he is very ill, Fitch is currently fighting to see those woods turned into the Active Heroes Retreat Center, a recovery destination for veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the PTSD Foundation of America, 1 in 3 returning servicemembers are diagnosed with PTSD. Fitch and the veterans who are helping him with his project wanted to create a space where their fellow combat veterans could come and recover. The idea was to build a retreat where ex-military members could develop a healthy outlook on life after service. However, Fitch and the other project leaders were worried that they would struggle to raise the $50,000 they needed to build just one cabin. With the help of sponsors and the project's GoFundMe campaign, Fitch and the others raised enough money to build two cabins.
The total expected cost to complete the retreat is about $4 million, but that does not intimidate Fitch. He is going to keep fighting to see his dream become a reality.