Melissa (Don't Let's Start)

Melissa is an Army veteran who was brought into the hospital after being carjacked.

Operation Iraqi Freedom
During the war in Iraq, Melissa worked repairing computers in the Green Zone. Because she wasn't in combat areas, when she returned to the US, she was reluctant to take advantage of services meant to help veterans, feeling that it would take them away from soldiers who were injured during their service. However, after her surgery, Owen talked to her and convinced her that she had given what she was able to give, but had still served her country, meaning she was entitled to the same services as those who had served in combat. He also encouraged her to volunteer, working to help other veterans, but told her that she needed to get back on her own feet before she could do that.

Carjacking
When Melissa returned to the US after serving in Iraq, she found that the job she had lined up was gone and her fiancé, as well as the apartment they shared, was gone as well. She was only able to find work at Office Hub, but it didn't pay well enough to afford rent, so she began living out of her car. One day, while she was sleeping, carjackers broke her window and tried to pull her out of the car. She tried to hang on as long as she could and was dragged by the car for a while. But the carjackers punched and kicked her until she couldn't hold on any longer. She was found by a co-worker, Keith, on his way into work. He called an ambulance and she was taken to the ER.

At the hospital, she was taken into a trauma room, where they had to perform an emergency laparotomy as they didn't have time to take her to an OR. Once they had packed her abdomen, she was taken to the OR, where her internal injuries were repaired and her leg fracture was cleaned out. Her tibia repair was scheduled for the following day. When she woke after her first surgery, she was concerned about her car. The police said they found the pieces of it in a chop shop, which was devastating for her as the car was all she had. It held all of her belongings and her clothes, as well as all her savings and her insurance paperwork.

Her tibia repair went well, but afterward, the doctors talked to her about her homelessness and offered to set her up with services for homeless veterans. She declined their offers and asked them not to say anything to her co-workers, who had come to her hospital room to see her.

Owen later came into her room with pamphlets for the programs, pulling rank on her to force her to listen to him before explaining to her why she had the right to them as much as any other veteran.

Romantic
Melissa was engaged. However, when she finished her service in the Army, she came back to find that her fiancé had left her.

Friendships
Her co-workers, Keith, Jacki, and Caroline, came to visit her in the hospital, despite professing that they don't know her that well. Keith is the one who found her after the carjacking.

Career
Melissa worked on computers in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, from 2011-2012. After she was finished with her service, she had a job lined up back in the US, but that didn't pan out, so she began working at Office Hub, which didn't pay well.

Notes and Trivia

 * She was in her 20s when she was carjacked.
 * She has a tattoo on her leg that reads, "OIF 11-12" in honor of her time spent working with the Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom.