Veterans Are Winning The War Of Afghanistan, Losing The Battle At Home

After the long and physically demanding battles of World War Two, many soldiers returned to the United States of America battling injuries many physicians did not know how to acknowledge at the time. But, as many soldiers were able to return to their families, even with a brain injury, many soldiers lost their lives to brain injuries. Two researchers who conducted one of the largest studies on base camps about the extent of brain injuries and how it affected soldiers was Sekulovic and Ceramilac, these researchers were able to “summaries autopsies of 499 deaths occurring within 30 days of traumatic brain injury.”1 Sekulovic and Ceramilac were able to find “that 78% of the deaths were due to injury to brain stem, brain edema or brain compression.”1 While Sekulovic and Ceramilac were able to determine the percentage of which were affected by brain injuries during World War Two, many researchers were hoping to acknowledge the dynamic longer term possibilities. According to Dr. Ian J. Baguley, “patients who had been released from the hospital into rehabilitation facilities”1 were considered long term for brain injuries. Where as Dr. Robert M. Shavelle found that patients coming from war can be classified as long term as long as the effects lasted “one year or longer post injury.”1 Many studies by various researchers were also able to discover that “even in long-term, death rates from many different causes are elevated for persons with [traumatic brain injury] by comparison with

Traumatic brain injury occurs when a person is hit in the head with a blunt force. This significant force to the head can happen playing recreational sports, on the playground, being in a car or motorcycle accident, falling down at home and your head impacting something, a blast or explosion. Traumatic brain injuries are also the leading cause of fatality rate and disability, especially in children, young adults and elderly. TBI is a devastating condition that affects millions of people nationwide, because it can affect the nervous system permanently, it also messes with the neurological, musculoskeletal, cognitive and much more. TBI force a family to deal with not just the physical disability, with the behavioral and emotional roller

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a type of injury that is a critical public health and socio-economic problem. TBI is a leading cause of death and disability in both children and adults [5]. The Centers for Disease Control and

Medical and technological advances have led to greater survival rates in individuals suffering from various illness and injury throughout history. This includes individuals who suffer traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries. Approximately 1.5 million people in the United States sustain a brain injury each year with the survival rate of over 90 percent making brain injury the leading cause for disability in the United States. (Mysiw, Bogner, Corrigan, Fugate, Clinchot, & Kadyan 2006). Cognitive, physical, sensory and behavioral changes are widely noted in individuals in the months and years following a brain injury. However, the psychosocial, psychological and emotional effects of these injuries are less discussed and therefore these aspects can be overlooked when anticipating a course of treatment. Individuals who sustain acquired brain injuries experience significant, lasting impairment in the psychosocial, psychological and emotional aspects of their lives and better understanding of these issues can lead to better treatment and coping skills for these individuals.

service members who have been deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan have returned with an range of signs and symptoms that we are now calling post-deployment syndrome (PDS). Traumatic brain injury, combat stress, blast injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, or post-concussive syndrome each fit into the variety of symptoms called PDS. Four hundred thousand previously healthy service men and women now live with PDS that, at times, causes them to be entirely disabled or to suffer so much that they even may take their own lives. This number may seem shocking, however PDS doesn’t just affect these service members, reservists, and veterans, but also their friends, family members, employers, communities, and even the very health care workers who are desperately trying to help them. Surprisingly, despite how common this condition is, it still remains puzzling to fully define and

“The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is home to the United States’ largest integrated health care system” (Mason e.t. al 2016). Because of technological and medical advancement, surviving injuries from war has lead to a greater need for post deployment and discharge care. I often hear the phrase “Freedom is not free”; the mental health of our active duty soldiers and veterans is one area that ends up costing America. Some lose time with their families, some are injured physically and mentally, and some lose their lives.

Veterans fought day-to-day to protect the lives of the American people. After deployment, veterans begin to struggle with going back to a normal citizen life. It becomes harder for veterans to maintain a job and keeping themselves sane. Countless of veterans compete with many negative factors to not affect veterans overall health. Thousands of veterans need assistance when having to adjust to what one would call a normal life.

What are returning veterans really experiencing?Did their stress get released or may they still suffer. Many of our returning veterans faces a lot of problems from problems ranging from PTSD to no jobs.These problems are important because some veterans commit suicide because they can’t get help.Homelessness is among the most urgent problems facing our veterans and simply the easiest problem to fix.Upon returning home, they may struggle to find employment, obtain felicitous health care or secure treatment for war-related mental illness and this is the problem when the government failed to help the returning veterans

For a long time, traumatic brain injury has been a large contributor to disabilities and death within the United States. Around 30 percent of these injuries lead to death, and those who survive these injuries may suffer from short-term side effects to long-term disabilities. It can range from a minor head injury to a major injury that you might suffer from a motorcycle accident.

Veterans are heroes in the eyes of many citizens of the United States. There are over 20 million veterans who have risked their lives at young ages to help give this nation a fear free life. They serve and protect the land for their children, spouses, parents, family, and neighbors. Yet they are not treated with the love and respect they truly deserve. Those who have served took a devastating loss when the, “House Appropriations Subcommittee marked up the 2016 Veterans Affairs funding bill, and slashed more than $1.4 billion from the president 's requested budget for America’s Veterans” ( ask mrs. Pyle 8). Today, the nation’s hero are treated worse than prisoners who have committed murder or rape. While these criminals have a safe and warm place to stay, there are many homeless veterans who are starving and out in the cold. There are veteran centers around the United States, but they are over capacity, and some do not give the care the veterans desperately need. The men and woman are only allowed to see the doctors who work for the V.A., or the appointment and the treatment will not be accepted by the insurance. Instead of spending money on new faculties, the government feels that when another country is in trouble, they deserve the money more than their own people. Veterans of the United States are being put on the back burner while the government gives more attention to the murderers and child molesters in prison, other countries that have people in need just like the

The men and women who serve our country risk their lives every single day to protect their country and the people in it. Out of all sacrifices one could make, going to war to protect their country is the largest offering a human will ever be able to make. It is not of monetary value that these sacrifices are paid, but rather in blood. And if these soldiers are able to come home, treatment is less than mediocre. A census report shows, “There [is] 21.8 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces as of 2014” (Risen). With that large of a number of people to take care of, it is not always easy to help everyone. In continuation, only 8.3 million veterans are receiving veterans affairs benefits and care (“By the Numbers: Veterans”). The amount

Today, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) cares for over 19.3 million veterans, including 3.8 million disabled veterans, and 239,000 veterans with a 100 percent disability rating. Veterans of the US military often face challenges with readjusting to civilian life. For instance, the VA estimates that up to 20 percent of returning veterans from Iraq have post traumatic stress disorder. Fortunately, the VA provides numerous benefits to these veterans. In most cases, veterans qualify for free healthcare at outpatient clinics and VA hospitals across the country.

Traumatic brain injuries have increased in recent conflicts. A Veteran having a traumatic brain injury will affect their entire life as they continue to age. TBI and PTSD are also on the rise for Veterans. These conditions need more access to better care. Veterans should receive more support for the treatments that need medical care.

We see our country’s veterans everywhere we go. We see them driving around town. We see them at our local Wal-Mart and grocery stores. Unfortunately we also see them on our local street corners and park benches. In many cases this is because of mental illnesses or alcohol/drug abuse. So what are we doing to help these ones? Although our veterans face many issues adapting back to civilian life after service, the government, through the Department of Veteran Affairs, is trying to help these issues through housing for the homeless, health care plans, schooling, as well as assisting these ones find substantial jobs.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is estimated to affect 1.6-3.8 million annually in the United States (Langlois, Rutland-Brown, & Wald, 2006). The incidence of traumatic brain injury in military personnel has increased since the military operation began in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2001, and while the exact number of cases is unknown, it has been estimated to be as high as 18% (Hoge, McGurk, Thomas, Cox, Engle, & Castro, 2008). There has been a growing concern for for the ramifications of traumatic brain injury, especially as a result of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is the most common type of TBI in civilians and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans and soldiers (Carlson, Kehle, Meis, Greer, MacDonald, Rutks, Sayer, Dobscha, & Wilt, 2011). Operationally defined, mTBI in military settings is an injury to the brain as a result of an external force like a blast, fall, impact, or vehicle accident which changes the mental state with a presentation of symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness/balance problems, fatigue, insomnia/sleep disturbances, drowsiness, sensitivity to light/ noise, blurred vision, difficulty remembering, and/or