Traumatic Brain Injury Leaves An Often-Invisible, Life-Altering Wound -- Washington Post
The doctor begins with an apology because the questions are rudimentary, almost insultingly so. But Robert Warren, fresh off the battlefield in Afghanistan and a surgeon's table, doesn't seem to mind.
Yes, he knows how old he is: 20. He knows his Army rank: specialist. He knows that it's Thursday, that it's June, that the year is 1020. Quickly, he corrects the small stumble: "It's 2010." He knows that his wife is Brittanie, that she's due with their first child any day now, and that they "got married two to three weeks before I went to that country."
Stumble No. 2: "That country."
David Williamson doesn't let it slide. "Which country?"
"Whatever country it was that I got blown up in," Warren says.
Read more ....
My Comment: I feel for the families who must go through this experience. My father had a stroke at 75, and for 8 years he was disabled with brain damage that was too severe for any hope of proper recovery. But at 75 .... we accepted that he had lived his life and that our priority was to take care of him so that the remainder of his years would be comfortable.
But for a young family that must confront and comfort a loved one with such severe injuries .... words escape me because I know the commitment and sacrifice that is needed to live such a life.
Kidos to the Washington Post for doing this comprehensive story, and putting a spotlight on the struggles that our wounded vets must confront with everyday.