From Military Adversity to Holistic Healing: An Air Force Colonel's Remarkable Path episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 25, 2025 · 47 MIN

From Military Adversity to Holistic Healing: An Air Force Colonel's Remarkable Path

from Moral Injury Support Network Podcast · host Dr. Daniel Roberts

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when a highly accomplished military officer confronts her own mortality? Dr. Deanna Won's story begins at the Air Force Academy in the 1980s, where as one of just 200 women in her class, she faced an environment that tested her resolve from day one. "They tried to railroad me out," she reveals, describing both gender-based discrimination and racial bias that created unique challenges beyond what her fellow female cadets experienced.Through unflinching determination and faith, Deanna not only survived but thrived, embarking on an extraordinary 30-year military career as a physicist. Her expertise in lasers, satellites, and defense technologies took her around the world, though certain assignments brought painful encounters with workplace harassment so severe it left her in tears in bathroom stalls, praying for intervention.The most profound challenge arrived when, at the height of her professional success as a commander, Deanna received a devastating ovarian cancer diagnosis. Two years later, doctors placed her in hospice with just four weeks to live. The pain was excruciating—"a 20 out of 10"—and conventional treatments offered little relief. It was in this darkest moment that Deanna's scientific mind and spiritual heart found common ground.Drawing on her background as both military scientist and daughter of a Chinese medicine lineage, Deanna embarked on a holistic healing journey. She discovered that true recovery demanded attention to multiple dimensions: physical through dietary changes, emotional through therapy to address unresolved conflicts, and spiritual through deepened faith. Miraculously, her tumors began to shrink within months.Today, as a board-certified holistic health practitioner and bestselling author, Deanna guides others through their own healing journeys. Her approach identifies trapped emotions, generational patterns, and physical imbalances that conventional treatment might miss. Most importantly, she teaches that healing comes in manageable layers—"take little baby steps"—rather than overwhelming transformations.Whether facing health challenges, professional obstacles, or personal struggles, Deanna's message resonates with profound simplicity: "Never lose hope. As long as we're on this side of the veil, things can change." Her extraordinary journey from military commander to terminal patient to holistic healer offers compelling evidence that with openness, patience, and faith, we can overcome even what seems impossible.Ready to explore holistic healing? Visit https://deannawon.com/ to connect with Dr. Won and discover how her unique approach might support your own journey toward wholeness.Support the showHelp Moral Injury Support Network for Servicewomen, Inc. provide the support it needs to women veterans by donating to our cause at: https://misns.org/donation or send a check or money order to Moral Injury Support Network, 136 Sunset Drive, Robbins, NC 27325. Every amount helps and we are so grateful for your loving support. Thanks!Follow us on your favorite social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moral-injury-support-network-for-servicewomen/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.danielrobertsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/misnsconsult/

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 25, 2025

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Send us Fan Mail What happens when a highly accomplished military officer confronts her own mortality? Dr. Deanna Won's story begins at the Air Force Academy in the 1980s, where as one of just 200 women in her class, she faced an environment that tested her resolve from day one. "They tried to railroad me out," she reveals, describing both gender-based discrimination and racial bias that created unique challenges beyond what her fellow female cadets experienced. Through unflinching determina...

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From Military Adversity to Holistic Healing: An Air Force Colonel's Remarkable Path

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