This past Friday was Veterans Day, a time to honor soldiers and veterans who fought for the principles upon which America was founded. In commemoration, I searched for information about the military and brain injury. It was upsetting that my search resulted in so many news articles, at least one article per day in the recent past. However, some of these daily articles involved efforts of the military to help those wounded in service, such as that of a retired General who just received an award for his efforts related to brain injury, and inspiring stories of recovery, such as one involving the healing support of trained dogs.
Of particular interest was the website A Head for the Future. The site, a collaboration of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) and the Defense Centers of Excellence, is associated with every branch of the military. On the front page of the site, one can find links to sections on how to PREVENT, RECOGNIZE, RECOVER and GET INVOLVED and a section called MATERIALS, in which one can view and download facts about brain injury. Featured on the site is a BLOG, where veterans and their families can submit personal stories of brain injury to the DVBIC. The page also allows visitors to view videos featuring veterans telling their stories on camera. These stories, both those in print and on video, are quite poignant and worth viewing.
Yes, this is s BIG one – there are so many TBIs that are in the military. They DO usually put people at full reterment compencation, but can anything compensate for the lost of funtion, really? Even is they don’t have to morry about money or health care, which is a gift, they many be quite young and never able to work again. It is horrendous, and a major cost of war we do not talk about before starting a new one.