MUST-WATCH T.V.
Guys, tonight at ten p.m. eastern time, nine p.m. central, ABC will air, "To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports."
Many of you may remember the handsome news anchor who was "blown up"--as the troops call it--by an IED while out searching for good news stories in Iraq to report for ABC Evening News.
Woodruff was gravely injured, with some 200 rocks embedded in his face and skull, his skull crushed, jaw broken, and so on, resulting in Traumatic Brain Injury that kept him in a coma for some 36 days.
When he awoke, he could not remember his children's names or anyone else's, for that matter; could not identify simple pictures of items such as scissors or cup; could not speak except in gibberish. His family was told that he would possibly never talk again, and his ability to walk was also in doubt.
The father of four children, ranging in age from six to fifteen, was taught language by his little girls, and brought back to where he is today by the love of his family, and by--it must be stated--the very best medical care, the cost of which was paid in full by the network.
The reason I think this is so important is that Woodruff came to know, and care for, other "TBI" patients during his recovery period, all of whom were soldiers and Marines. Woodruff points out that, although the official count is more than 23,000 injured in the war in Iraq, there are probably far more who have suffered brain injury that have not been included in the count, simply because their injuries did not appear that bad at the time.
In fact, his cameraman was also bleeding after the bomb, and thought he was all right. He remembers smoking two cigarettes, and then waking up in the hospital after major brain surgery.
It has become a cause dear to Woodruff's heart, and he wants to draw attention to this sub-class of injured war veterans, even as he continues to struggle with short-term memory and other problems from his brain injury. On "Good Morning, America," he could not remember the words for the Vietnam War and had to ask Dianne Sawyer to remind him.
Some years ago, I spent many months researching traumatic brain injury--particularly closed-head brain injury--for a book, "Freefall."
I learned then the insidiousness of this terrible injury. For one thing, in the less serious cases, a patient can walk around and appear to be normal to people who do not understand. They're called the "walking wounded." But the frustrations they face on a daily basis, just trying to recall words, things they knew only a few minutes before, and so on, can severely cripple their ability to work and to support themselves.
Most people are unaware that, say, a simple whiplash, can cause brain bruising when the brain smacks up against the skull. Swelling can result and that is where the problems begin. (In high school, I had a friend who had a fender-bender and banged his forehead against the rear-view mirror. He seemed okay, but told his family that night he was tired and went to bed early. They found him dead in bed the next morning, from the concussion.)
This is why I am so rabid on the subject of seat belts and motorcycle helmets. People just do not understand how easily the brain can be injured and how lifelong problems can result.
One common repercussion, for instance, can be personality changes. The family knows their loved one is "different" but can't explain it to doctors. They may be very irritable and quick-tempered when they never were before. Depression is a very serious concern, as frustrations mount. I studied one case of a minister who came out of his coma cussing like a sailor and could not seem to quit.
In my opinion, it's even possible that some post traumatic stress symptoms are actually, at least in part, the result of brain injury.
These are serious, sometimes crippling problems that people need to understand, especially when we demand that Congress make certain that, as long as they're going to pony up a couple trillion bucks to FIGHT wars ,then they'd better fork over funds to help these returning vets cope with these injuries.
My point is that it has become almost routine for combat soldiers and Marines on patrol in vehicles to get "blown up." My own son survived such an IED explosion during his last deployment. He was medivacced out, checked over, sent back into combat.
Who knows how many soldiers and Marines have suffered long-term problems because of the brain injuries they survived?
And that does not even count the numbers of soldiers and Marines who were horribly, terribly injured and survived, but who languish in hospital and rehab centers, unable to speak or feed themselves.
Woodruff says that science is learning that, whereas the accepted wisdom has been that you can see improvement in patients for eighteen months to two years before a plateau occurs, they now believe it is possible for improvement to go on for years--maybe even life.
Distraught military families who are dealing with the same challenges faced by the Woodruff family must also, at the same time, fight an indifferent bureacracy over the money to treat their loved one's injuries. They must fill out scores of forms and deal with their loved one being transferred from, say, one facility where he or she is receiving good care to one where he is not, simply because it is less expensive. They have to fight and fight for the help that, let's face it, came easily to the Woodruff family. I suspect that, during this entire time, he has been on the ABC News payroll--and while I have absolutely no problem with that at all--my point is that, for soldiers whose families depend upon them for their livelihoods, they may never be able to adequately support their children again due to these problems.
As pointed out in the series of articles published in the Washington Post, many vets with very serious brain injuries--one comes to mind, who had to carry around a pad with him at all times to write down words to remember--are turned down for veteran's benefits. In that soldier's case, the doctors maintained that because he had that little pad, he was okay.
In another case, doctors claimed that one soldier--who had done poorly in high school but not too poorly to be admitted into the Army--was rejected for benefits because they said his severe memory problems were basically caused by his being stupid--not by the truck door that crushed his skull in Iraq.
This is a matter that should concern every single American citizen, not just those of us with loved ones directly affected.
We can't just support our troops with yellow ribbon magnets and care packages while they are at war.
We MUST support them during the long, arduous, journey home.
Many of you may remember the handsome news anchor who was "blown up"--as the troops call it--by an IED while out searching for good news stories in Iraq to report for ABC Evening News.
Woodruff was gravely injured, with some 200 rocks embedded in his face and skull, his skull crushed, jaw broken, and so on, resulting in Traumatic Brain Injury that kept him in a coma for some 36 days.
When he awoke, he could not remember his children's names or anyone else's, for that matter; could not identify simple pictures of items such as scissors or cup; could not speak except in gibberish. His family was told that he would possibly never talk again, and his ability to walk was also in doubt.
The father of four children, ranging in age from six to fifteen, was taught language by his little girls, and brought back to where he is today by the love of his family, and by--it must be stated--the very best medical care, the cost of which was paid in full by the network.
The reason I think this is so important is that Woodruff came to know, and care for, other "TBI" patients during his recovery period, all of whom were soldiers and Marines. Woodruff points out that, although the official count is more than 23,000 injured in the war in Iraq, there are probably far more who have suffered brain injury that have not been included in the count, simply because their injuries did not appear that bad at the time.
In fact, his cameraman was also bleeding after the bomb, and thought he was all right. He remembers smoking two cigarettes, and then waking up in the hospital after major brain surgery.
It has become a cause dear to Woodruff's heart, and he wants to draw attention to this sub-class of injured war veterans, even as he continues to struggle with short-term memory and other problems from his brain injury. On "Good Morning, America," he could not remember the words for the Vietnam War and had to ask Dianne Sawyer to remind him.
Some years ago, I spent many months researching traumatic brain injury--particularly closed-head brain injury--for a book, "Freefall."
I learned then the insidiousness of this terrible injury. For one thing, in the less serious cases, a patient can walk around and appear to be normal to people who do not understand. They're called the "walking wounded." But the frustrations they face on a daily basis, just trying to recall words, things they knew only a few minutes before, and so on, can severely cripple their ability to work and to support themselves.
Most people are unaware that, say, a simple whiplash, can cause brain bruising when the brain smacks up against the skull. Swelling can result and that is where the problems begin. (In high school, I had a friend who had a fender-bender and banged his forehead against the rear-view mirror. He seemed okay, but told his family that night he was tired and went to bed early. They found him dead in bed the next morning, from the concussion.)
This is why I am so rabid on the subject of seat belts and motorcycle helmets. People just do not understand how easily the brain can be injured and how lifelong problems can result.
One common repercussion, for instance, can be personality changes. The family knows their loved one is "different" but can't explain it to doctors. They may be very irritable and quick-tempered when they never were before. Depression is a very serious concern, as frustrations mount. I studied one case of a minister who came out of his coma cussing like a sailor and could not seem to quit.
In my opinion, it's even possible that some post traumatic stress symptoms are actually, at least in part, the result of brain injury.
These are serious, sometimes crippling problems that people need to understand, especially when we demand that Congress make certain that, as long as they're going to pony up a couple trillion bucks to FIGHT wars ,then they'd better fork over funds to help these returning vets cope with these injuries.
My point is that it has become almost routine for combat soldiers and Marines on patrol in vehicles to get "blown up." My own son survived such an IED explosion during his last deployment. He was medivacced out, checked over, sent back into combat.
Who knows how many soldiers and Marines have suffered long-term problems because of the brain injuries they survived?
And that does not even count the numbers of soldiers and Marines who were horribly, terribly injured and survived, but who languish in hospital and rehab centers, unable to speak or feed themselves.
Woodruff says that science is learning that, whereas the accepted wisdom has been that you can see improvement in patients for eighteen months to two years before a plateau occurs, they now believe it is possible for improvement to go on for years--maybe even life.
Distraught military families who are dealing with the same challenges faced by the Woodruff family must also, at the same time, fight an indifferent bureacracy over the money to treat their loved one's injuries. They must fill out scores of forms and deal with their loved one being transferred from, say, one facility where he or she is receiving good care to one where he is not, simply because it is less expensive. They have to fight and fight for the help that, let's face it, came easily to the Woodruff family. I suspect that, during this entire time, he has been on the ABC News payroll--and while I have absolutely no problem with that at all--my point is that, for soldiers whose families depend upon them for their livelihoods, they may never be able to adequately support their children again due to these problems.
As pointed out in the series of articles published in the Washington Post, many vets with very serious brain injuries--one comes to mind, who had to carry around a pad with him at all times to write down words to remember--are turned down for veteran's benefits. In that soldier's case, the doctors maintained that because he had that little pad, he was okay.
In another case, doctors claimed that one soldier--who had done poorly in high school but not too poorly to be admitted into the Army--was rejected for benefits because they said his severe memory problems were basically caused by his being stupid--not by the truck door that crushed his skull in Iraq.
This is a matter that should concern every single American citizen, not just those of us with loved ones directly affected.
We can't just support our troops with yellow ribbon magnets and care packages while they are at war.
We MUST support them during the long, arduous, journey home.
posted by Deanie Mills at 6:56 AM
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