American Veteran Love Story Started at the Long Beach VA

This Paralyzed Veteran’s Love Story Began In The VA Hospital
Huffington Post
By Elyse Wanshel
February 15, 2017

Sometimes you find love where you least expect it.

BETTER THAN FICTION PRODUCTIONS

Sgt. Nick Mendes met Wendy Eichler while he was being treated at the VA hospital in Long Beach, California.

Sgt. Nick Mendes, a veteran who was paralyzed from the neck down by an IED in Afghanistan in 2011, found love in an unexpected place — a Veterans Affairs hospital.

Mendes had been at the VA hospital in Long Beach, California for five months when he met Wendy Eichler, a medical caregiver who specialized in paralyzed patients.

The pair hit it off, and Eichler began visiting Mendes during her off hours and continued to see him when he was released from the hospital. Their friendship turned into a romantic relationship and they soon fell in love.

The two are the subjects of a new documentary by filmmaker Julie Cohen called “American Veteran.”

ENDY EICHLER

Mendes and Eichler on their wedding day on Sept 28, 2014.

“American Veteran” will be screened five times in New York in early March as part of the ReelAbilities Film Festival, which promotes awareness and appreciation for the disability community through film, and will then travel to a number of other cities through the ReelAbilities tour.
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