Our Story
Warrior Wellness Solutions was shaped at the time-honored U.S. Marine Corps institution of Parris Island, S.C., where Elijah Sacra and Alvaro Matta started on their Warrior Wellness journey. Elijah and Alvaro met in 1991 while serving on active duty in the United States Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
While serving in the Persian Gulf War Alvaro’s berthing area was hit by a chemical Scud missile resulting in years of struggling with neurotoxicity. In addition, he suffered from intestinal parasites from his deployments to East Africa.
Elijah left the Marine Corps struggling with injuries sustained from training and a tactical vehicle accident resulting in chronic sciatic nerve pain, neck pain, lower back pain, and tendinitis in both arms. Two weeks after leaving active duty, he ended up in surgery at a VA hospital to repair torn muscles and a hernia. The surgery wasn’t performed properly and for two years he struggled with chronic pain, in and out of the VA pipeline. A common story many veterans know all too well. Fueled by their own experience, self exploration, excellent mentorship, and thousands of hours of continuing education, Alvaro and Elijah’s passion became the foundation to develop Semper Fidelis Health & Wellness on November 10, 2009.
Several months later, while attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, Elijah met a holistic healer,personal chef, and integrative nutrition health counselor, Clarissa Kussin – The Warrior Wellness Solutions team was complete. Together, they started helping one warrior at a time to regain their health. Their first client was a double amputee US Army Veteran who had gained en excessive amount of weight and could no longer fit into his prosthetics or move well.
In 2010, Elijah, Alvaro, and Clarissa were invited into Wounded Warrior Battalion – East (WWBN-E), Camp Lejeune, N.C., to teach a workshop and a year later Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In 2015, Elijah and Clarissa joined the Special Operations Forces Health Initiatives Medical Advisory Board, spearheading the delivery of their services to WII Special Operations Forces veterans and service-members.
In 2015 Semper Fidelis Health & Wellness was rebranded to Wellness Warrior Wellness Solutions (WWS).
Since our inception, the WWS team has provided integrative health and wellness education and training to thousands of wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, and their caregivers. Their curriculum has been delivered as professional military education for thousands of clients under the medical care of the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration and has been delivered as professional military education and pre and post-deployment human performance and resiliency training to active duty war fighters.
Elijah has served on the Executive Roundtable and Vision Sharing Board for Non-Profit and Community Participation in Achieving World Class Standards of Care and Services for Wounded Warriors at the New Joint Services Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, as a coach for TEAM Marine Corps for the 2015 Department of Defense Warrior Games, and as Board Treasurer for the North Carolina Veterans Business Association. Elijah currently serves on the Veteran Research Engagement Panel -VA Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care and as a Subject Matter Expert / Veteran Research Engagement Panel for National VA study on the “Comparative Effectiveness of Patient-Centered Strategies to Improve Pain Management and Opioid Safety for Veterans.
OUR LOGO *
The lotus flower or Nelumbo Nucifera is sacred to many cultures. For thousands of years, it has symbolized enlightenment and healing. The green lotus in these cultures signifies a transformation from within. Its five points represent the five senses. The flower grows from the mud at the bottom of ponds and rises to the water's surface. At night, the flower closes and sinks underwater, at dawn it rises and opens again, and because of this, it is a symbol of the sun, of creation and rebirth. It is the only flower to fruit and flower simultaneously. Its extract is still used as a remedy against illness. The flower’s essence is also used to accelerate spiritual evolution and enhance healing on every level within the system.
* We are extremely grateful to Elijah's sister Alta Marie for her volunteer efforts during our initial inception phase where she worked with Elijah to design our Logo and contribute to our branding and marketing.