Brant is weighing heavily on my mind right now. He has been back from Afghanistan for less than a month and will soon begin his 3 week vacation at home. Brant has been through a lot since he has graduated high school. He’s grown in many areas, some of those areas he has grown more than most of us will in a lifetime. To say I am proud of him is an understatement.
What I really want to write about are his injuries. He will turn 20 years old in January 2012 and has experienced more, lived through more, seen more, and survived more than I could have ever imagined during his entire lifetime, let alone within 15 months after graduating high school. Brant’s injuries are the silent, unseen injuries that many are just now learning about and becoming more familiar with. I thought I would give you just a little information about Brant’s unseen injuries.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Many people today do not understand or perhaps have an ‘old-timey’ view on what PTSD is. PTSD comes from experiencing an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury or other threat to a person’s physical integrity. The response to the event must involve intense fear or helplessness or horror. A person that suffers from PTSD will re-experience the traumatic event and will avoid stimuli associated with the trauma. Some of the persistent symptoms of PTSD include increased arousal such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, hypervigilance, an exaggerated startle response, difficulty concentrating, irritability and outbursts of anger. Please know that this is not an exhaustive list of symptoms.
Major Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI)
An MTBI occurs when sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. Some of the symptoms may include severe headaches that get worse but do not go away; increased confusion, restlessness, agitation, nausea, vomiting, seizures or slurred speech. Again, this is not an exhaustive list. As for treatment for MTBI… little can be done to reverse brain damage, but doctors can try to prevent further damage. Also, rehabilitation services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech/language therapy, psychological/psychiatric therapy and social support.
You might be wondering why I am writing this, and, frankly, Brant is probably wondering why I’m posting about him as well. Several months ago, Brant asked me to get the word out on a program that serves our wounded veterans. The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is that program. One of their big projects is getting legislation to improve rehabilitation for warriors with TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). They have other projects as well, and work hard to assist all of our wounded veterans. I am hoping that each of you that read this entry will at the very least go to the WWP website through the link below. Also, I have included a link that will take you to a page on the WWP site that will enable you to send letters to your senators and congressmen about the legislation the deals with TBI. You only have to follow the directions on the page to send the form letter provided for you to copy. A third hope is that you will get involved. I list the WWP because it is directly focused on our veterans, but there are other organizations that deal with learning more about and treating PTSD and MTBI or TBI. WWP has several links to get involved with their program by one time donations, monthly support or even by purchasing something from their store. It all helps. Also, if you want, please, post a link to this blog entry and help pass the information along. It’s not a lot of information, but maybe it’s more than what someone had before they read this.
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