Veteran Zaneta Adams shares heartfelt stories in support of Million Veteran program

From a dark place to a dedicated advocate for Veterans, Zaneta Adams shared her heartfelt story in support of VA’s Million Veteran Program.

In 2006, Adams was at her home in Wauconda, Illinois, sunken down in her wheelchair. This was not the life she imagined. Her five young children struggled reaching her after an injury and the depression it brought her.

“People expect dads to go to the military. No one really expects moms to go,” she said.

As a young and disabled mother, Adams felt alone in a society she felt didn’t think to tip their hats, offer a handshake or to thank a woman for her service.

Coming out of a dark place

Her depression began when Adams fell more than 10 feet from a deuce-and-a-half tactical cargo truck. “Because I had my flak jacket and all of those things on, I fell hard,” said Adams, who landed on her back during a combat training exercise. She was preparing to deploy to Iraq.

A hematoma developed where she fell, which grew into a tumor and required multiple back surgeries. By the time Adams was brought out of the operating room after the last surgery, the diagnosis was not good. She may never walk again, the doctors said.

“As long as I believed I would be in that wheelchair, I stayed in it,” she said.

Then she traveled to Aspen for an event with other wounded Veterans, all women like herself.

To her amazement, the disabled Veterans were rock climbing, skiing and hiking. Some of these activities she’d never done before, even when her back was strong and unbroken. But she suddenly found herself strapped into adaptive equipment and skiing down the snow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains.

As she sped down the slopes, the world and all its boundless opportunities opened up to her again. For the first time since the day of her fall, she felt alive with hope and determination.

Becoming a role model for resilience, advocacy

When she returned from Aspen, Adams committed herself to walking again, and she eventually made her way through law school and into the Michigan state capitol, the heels of her black leather boots tapping across the marble floors as she stepped up to the podium.

There she stood, nearly two decades after her injury, a gubernatorially appointed director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the first female and the first Black Veteran to serve in this role (which she occupied until December 2022).

She and another woman Veteran tell their stories here.

Adams continues to draw strength from her story and those of other women Veterans who’ve struggled, as she has, with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. She’s driven by a desire to make their experiences seen and better understood by fellow Veterans and the health care community.

One way she’s found to do this is through research.

Giving back through research

When Adams learned about the Million Veteran Program, which shared her mission to better understand Veterans’ health conditions, including her own, and use that knowledge to improve health care, she was ready to roll up her sleeve and enroll.

Already, data from more than 900,000 Veterans in the program have supported some of the largest genetic studies to date on PTSD, major depression, heart disease, as well as groundbreaking research in suicide prevention. The goal of MVP’s research is for Veterans to one day be able to visit the doctor and get the right screenings and treatments based on their genes, medical history, lifestyle and military experiences.

“My goodness, if we could figure out the secret sauce to what PTSD and anxiety and depression is doing to our Veterans to cause them, us, to get to the place where we’re done,” said Adams, “I think we’ve solved a huge problem not just for our population but for the civilian population as well.”

Make a difference for Veterans like you by joining VA’s Million Veteran Program. You can sign up online at mvp.va.gov or by calling 866-441-6075 to make an appointment at a participating VA. You don’t have to receive your care at VA to participate.