began a residency in psychiatry, but soon found it hit too close to home. her own husband, she came to realize, was mentally ill. he was depressed. he would stay in the bed for three or four days. and then he became very hostile towards me. what form did that take? verbal abuse, emotional abuse. again, if he were mad he would not talk for a week to punish me. connie switched her focus to radiology. and she encouraged dwight to seek mental health treatment. i wanted to help him. i mean, who doesn t want to help their spouse? dwight refused. she says she endured eight years of escalating hostility and verbal abuse before telling dwight she wanted a divorce. and he laid on the floor for three days crying and said that it was his mental illness. that he loved me. that he didn t want to lose me.
dwight was stationed at fort bragg, north carolina. you were 18, he was 22. correct. young. too young. your first boyfriend? yes. he told me he wanted to be an attorney. so he seemed to have aspirations. they married in 1988 after her first year of medical school. dwight left the army after three years. and soon connie realized that while she was working hard to become a doctor, dwight was doing nothing. i don t recall him ever working more than two or three days because every job that he would get, there would be some issue. so we lived in medical school on my financial aid. that s probably not how you grew up, is it? that is not. my family has the best work ethic you can think of. after medical school, connie began a residency in psychiatry, but soon found it hit too close to home. her own husband, she came to
young. too young. your first boyfriend? yes. he told me he wanted to be an attorney. so he seemed to have aspirations. reporter: they married in 1988 after her first year of medical school. dwight left the army after three years. and soon connie realized that while she was working hard to become a doctor, dwight was doing nothing. i don t recall him ever working more than two or three days because every job that he would get, there would be some issue. so we lived in medical school on my financial aid. that s probably not how you grew up, is it? that is not. my family has the best work ethic you can think of. reporter: after medical school, connie began a residency in psychiatry, but soon found it hit too close to home. her own husband, she came to realize, was mentally ill. he was depressed. he would stay in the bed for