My husband Jason has been in the USMC for 18 yrs, has numerous deployments under his belt, and most importantly, is a great partner & father. He is also an everyday hero. He jumps into action without a second thought and always puts others first. Last year, he was driving into work on an icy morning when the van in front of him crashed into the railing on the interstate & caught on fire. Jason immediately pulled over to help. He was able to drag a man out of the van and confirm that no one else was inside. After the police showed up he went to work and didn’t tell anyone what happened. That’s how he is, and how he always has been. He never wants any credit or attention. He just says “it’s the right thing to do.” He’ll tell you it’s his training. I think it’s his soul.

Someone unstoppable, you say? Look no further than my husband. He has faced adversity since birth. He was born premature & had a slew of health issues growing up. He beat thyroid cancer twice in his 20’s and was an operatic singer & public school choir director for 10 years before needing to have surgery to remove the growths. While he could obviously still sing well, he felt that his voice was no longer at the level required to teach anymore. So, he chose to go back to school & become an RN! These days, he works 3-4 12hr shifts a week, caring for his patients continuously. He then comes home and takes care of me, his chronically ill wife. My husband never complains; rather, he fights for the fair treatment of both his patients and me on a daily basis, always with a smile on his face. He is an immensely talented man that has proven himself time and time again in two of the toughest lines of work. He is, frankly, unstoppable.

The story I want to tell is that of Morgan Helton. Morgan is a firefighter in Rapid City, South Dakota and has overcome cancer twice, beating the odds in order to come back to work in a very demanding environment. She was forced to take a year off work to get treatments at the Mayo Clinic, but came back with a fierce determination that didn’t let cancer dictate what she could and couldn’t do. Morgan still goes back for treatments, but it hasn’t slowed her down one bit, nor has it kept her from helping the community she loves so much. To say that Morgan Helton is unstoppable is an understatement. She is a hero, plain and simple.

On the surface you might think a small, blonde, 5’2” girl doing hair in San Diego’s North County would be the least viable subject for a story about an unsung hero–after all, she’s not jumping out of a plane coloring someone’s hair while simultaneously rescuing a baby and curing cancer. Although, I wouldn’t put something that daring past Amber.

I met Amber nearly four years ago after I discovered her incredible talents as a cosmetologist on Instagram. I scheduled a consultation, and on the day I met her, she was wonderful... and limping. I asked her, stupidly, if she was okay. I thought maybe she’d twisted her ankle, or that it’d be some other easily explainable and totally normal thing. She blushed and said she was fine, but that a few years prior she had been in a crazy car accident. I apologized for my brash question and she laughed, assuring me she’d tell me all about it during my appointment in a few weeks.

At my appointment she explained that she and her boyfriend had been in the car on a long drive. It was pitch black at nearly one in the morning and her boyfriend was getting tired, but just trying to get through the last couple hours they had until they would reach home and sleep in their own bed. They discussed pulling over, but decided against it. Her boyfriend assured her he was fine to continue driving. Amber fell asleep in the front seat.

She woke up only moments before the car would run itself off the freeway, down a ditch, and straight into a barbed wire fence, flipping over once or twice in the process. Her boyfriend had dozed off. She laid halfway outside of the car. The barbed wire wrapped itself around her hands. Her body wrapped around itself, paralyzing her from the waist down. Her boyfriend was bruised, but ultimately fine.

Doctors told her she would never walk again. She left the hospital in a wheelchair. Her now ex-boyfriend stopped talking to her completely, presumably because he was consumed with shame and guilt.

She wanted desperately to be a cosmetologist at that time, but the doctors told her she would have to find a new career. (Naturally, a stylist is on their feet all day long moving from chair to the washing bowl over and over again for hours without sitting.)

Amber wasn’t one to take no for an answer, though. In fact, she said, ‘hell no’ to what the doctors suggested she do and instead worked hard on her rehabilitation. It took a long while, but she started walking.

She completed her cosmetology schooling and obtained her license. Shortly after, she met Isaac Mayor, the owner of a punky salon who took a liking to her tattoos, style, and hair. He saw something in her and hired her to apprentice immediately out of cosmetology school.

She now has over 32,000 followers on Instagram, works with professional hair care brands like Truss Professional, and teaches her techniques on Instagram, YouTube, and in-person. She’s won a few impressive industry awards as well such as the One Shot Hair Awards.

She still works at Radar Salon with Isaac,the man who first gave her a chance. The salon has moved to a larger space and has made a name for itself by having both talented stylists and a knack for doing fun colors. Amber is a huge part of that and now has apprentices of her own.

She also has a tattoo of barbed wire on her hand as a symbol of strength. If only those doctors that told her to give up could see how far she’s come.

Before her clients or coworkers leave on their way home after an appointment or a long day of work, she always says, ‘drive safe’, and hearing it reminds me of her story and how far she’s come. (And I do drive safely after that.)

Amber is an inspiration and truly unstoppable. She’s a Juggernaut stylist and an unsung everyday hero.

I first met Bobby while sipping a mimosa at the bar at my favorite breakfast spot in Virginia Beach, VA earlier this year. Within a few minutes, I felt like I was talking to an old friend. His charisma and sense of humor instantly draws you in. But it’s his story that will change your life forever.

In April 2007, Bobby Henline came home from his 4th deployment to an active war zone barely holding onto his life in a medically induced coma. Doctors said there was no medical explanation why he was alive. Although Bobby felt he should have died with the 4 other men in his vehicle, he didn't.

Bobby has learned over the years how to battle the demons of PTSD, survivor's guilt, emptiness, and isolation. He knows the darkness of feeling lost and detached from his friends and family. Because of this, he decided to take action.

For over 10 years, Bobby has traveled the world, inspiring others with his story, and being inspired himself by what he’s heard. With the help of supportive friends, Bobby started the Bobby Henline foundation (also known as “Forging Forward'') to help others like him – military & 1st responder veterans, and their families. Forging Forward's goal is to help them find their outlet, show them how to use the tools and weapons Bobby has been using for years to adjust to their new normal, and to help them look deep inside and ask not “what's wrong with me?” but “what is strong with me?”

Bobby’s story is one of a kind. He is an unstoppable hero and an inspiration to all.