How do you treat an illness that you can’t see?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 11 percent of soldiers who served in Afghanistan and 20 percent of veterans of the Iraq war come home with PTSD. This ailment, which some refer to as an invisible war wound, has been linked to grave problems, including veteran homelessness and suicide. But now, testing is underway using new technologies that just might enable doctors to see the impact of both PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury.
In San Diego, the Veterans Research Alliance raised $30,000 to fund a study by the V.A. using the magnetic encephalograph and high-definition fiber tractograph (two devices that allow researchers to view and record electromagnetic waves in the brain), something that has never before been possible.
Gery Schulteis of VA Healthcare Systems tells ABC 10 News, “With a traumatic brain injury, there may be gaps in the neurological connections in the brain. These devices may be able to detect that and in turn help lead to new treatments.”
Steve Lewandowski of Veterans Research Alliance adds, “Before, people were calling this an invisible injury. After this moment, it will no longer be invisible.”
The study is starting small, involving 10 special warfare veterans. Schulteis says, “We’re still going to be a ways away from having a new treatment, but hopefully this will be the gateway to a much larger study.”
With PTSD afflicting 7.7 million American adults, according to the National Institutes of Health, any breakthrough in its treatment would be welcome.
MORE: Meet the Marine Turned Doctor Helping Veterans Overcome PTSD
Tag: TBI
When He Couldn’t Find A School for His Daughter, This Father Established His Own
Patrick Donohue’s life changed when his daughter Sarah Jane was born on June 5, 2005.
Five days later, his life changed again when he noticed Sarah Jane was noticeably lethargic and he decided to take her back to the pediatrician. A number of tests were run and a few weeks later, they discovered that she had lost 60 percent of the rear cortex of her brain — the result of being violently shaken by her baby nurse.
“I’ll never forget, the first day we took her back to the hospital and they were trying to stick an IV in her,” says Donohue, who lead a successful career as a political consultant. “Tears were rolling down her face. Her mouth was wide open but because of the brain injury she couldn’t cry. From that moment on I knew I needed to be the voice of Sarah Jane.”
Ever since, Donahue has been advocating for children with brain injuries. In 2013, he founded the International Academy of Hope, which is the only school in New York City that specializes in kids with brain-based disorders. Currently, the school has 24 students and 50 full-time staff members, causing a year’s tuition to run $135,000. The cost is reimbursed by the New York City Department of Education, but only after parents sue, claiming that there is no public school to serve their child’s needs.
When a Bomb Left This Veteran Without Legs, He Decided to Help Others with Disabilities
In 2003, Robert “B.J.” Jackson was deployed to Iraq while serving with the Iowa National Guard. While there, a roadside bomb exploded, destroying his Humvee and causing a traumatic brain injury (which left him with PTSD) and the loss of both of his legs.
Back home in Clive, Iowa after grueling rehab, B.J.’s wife Abby thought he could use a night out. The two went to a nightclub for New Year’s Eve, but the bouncer turned them away, saying that the custom tennis shoes Jackson wore on his prosthetics didn’t meet the establishment’s dress code.
Abby protested, but B.J. wanted to slink away. When the club’s owner found out what had happened, he apologized and paid to fly B.J. to a veteran’s event. More importantly, though, the incident sparked an idea in B.J., who had been demoralized by his injuries.
“That night gave me a new outlook,” he tells Daniel Finney of the Des Moines Register. “I was ready to just let it go, like there was something wrong with me. But my wife and my friends said, ‘Hey, no, that isn’t OK.’ I realized there’s a stigma on people with disabilities. And I was going to do something about it.”
B.J. and his wife, who now live in Florida with their six children, founded The Right to Bear Stumps, an organization that raises awareness about the challenges faced by people with disabilities and raises money to help them. B.J., who struggled to learn to talk again after his brain injuries, is now a motivational speaker — delivering his message at places like churches and the Harley Davidson rally in Sturgis, S.D.
Through the Right To Bear Stumps, B.J. also helps build modifications to houses to accommodate disabilities and organizes golf outings for people with prosthetic limbs. Although he still struggles with issues stemming from his injuries, he jokes with Finney, “The biggest challenge I face right now is getting all the kids in the van.”
MORE: Cheer On These Inspiring Wounded Navy SEALs As They Reach for the Sky
This American Hero Was the Victim of a Scam, But These Volunteers are Saving the Day
After sustaining arm and leg injuries from shrapnel and a traumatic brain injury from a suicide bomb attack while in Afghanistan, veteran Everett “Alex” Haworth thought that life was on the upswing: He and his wife Mallorie closed on a house in Olmsted Township, Ohio and moved in with their baby daughter.
But unfortunately, their troubles were just beginning. Their remodeled ranch home passed its inspection, but once the family settled in, they discovered rampant mold behind the new drywall — rendering the house unlivable.
The family relocated, moving in with Mallorie’s mom, but they still had to pay the mortgage on their ruined home, a difficult proposition with Alex still in rehab and Mallorie completing her master’s degree in psychology, all the while raising their daughter.
“We put money in our house and in our attorney. We ran out of money both ways,” Mallorie told Regina Brett of the Cleveland Plain Dealer back in February. “It hurts. It’s been a few months of no hope. We’re not the kind to ask for help. We want to be the ones helping.”
But this month, a group of volunteers from the Home Depot, the Carpenters Union and members of the VFW are tearing out the damaged parts of the Haworth’s home and refurbishing it, providing new bathrooms, paint and even landscaping.
Alex tells Enrique Correa of Fox 8 Cleveland, “We are gonna have more than a home; we are gonna have our lives restored…It’s amazing and very humbling to know that people you never met a day in your life before, are coming to help you out.”
These very deserving homeowners should be able to move in by the end of October.
MORE: This Community Wants Veterans as Residents, So it’s Providing the Down Payment on New Houses
Can Riding Tricycles Help These Injured Vets?
Who would have guessed that what some veterans need most is a tricycle? Portage, Mich.-based nonprofit Lest We Forget Our Vets did, and they have been providing disabled veterans with specially designed tricycles to increase their mobility and provide them with a form of exercise that accommodates their physical needs. AMBUCS, a national nonprofit that works to enhance independence in people with disabilities, initially developed the AmTryke as a therapeutic vehicle for children with disabilities, and since has expanded to adult models. The tricycle provides stability that a two-wheeled bike can’t, and each AmTryke can be pedaled either with the feet or hands.
T.W. Lane, director of Lest We Forget Our Vets, told Alex Jokich of NewsChannel 3 that the AmTrykes build strength, increase mobility, and improve self-esteem in veterans who may not have been able to get around much without them. The nonprofit provides AmTrykes to veterans suffering from physical disabilities, PTSD or the after effects of a traumatic brain injury.
Recently Lest We Forget Our Vets brought an AmTryke to Victor Van Fleet, a 95-year-old World War II Veteran, who crashed his two-wheeled bike last year and thought his cycling days were behind him. Van Fleet has been enjoying pedaling in his Kalamazoo community. “It allows you to do things you couldn’t do before,” he told Jokich. “You can observe the sky above and the sunshine and the birds and the trees. You see things that you’ve never seen before on a two-wheeler.”
MORE: Can Being Naked Help Treat PTSD?
Her Husband Fought Overseas. Now She’s Fighting for Him and All Wounded Vets
When the Army medically retired Capt. Charles Gatlin after he sustained a traumatic brain injury in Iraq in 2006, his wife Ariana Del Negro realized that her family’s fight was just beginning.
In fact, five years later, Gatlin was still suffering many problems in the aftermath of the detonation of a bomb less than twenty yards away from him, including dizziness, severe headaches, hearing loss, and anxiety, all of which left him unable to drive a car. But when he visited Montana’s Fort Harrison VA Medical Center for a complete evaluation, the VA decided to drop his disability rating from 70 percent to 10 percent, cutting his benefits significantly.
Del Negro believed the staff was incompetent at evaluating Gatlin’s complex brain injury, and she filed a complaint against a psychologist she thought was performing tests he wasn’t licensed to give. The Montana State Board of Licensing agreed with Del Negro, and as she told The Missoulian, the psychologist began referring veterans to neurologists for the appropriate tests after she “made enough noise.”
Del Negro continued to make noise, advocating for veterans and pointing it out whenever she felt her husband and others were not receiving the care they’d earned by serving our country. For her tireless efforts, she was named a fellow at the Elizabeth Dole Foundation in March. This organization focuses on helping military families, and named one caregiver from each state as fellows. Del Negro is the representative from Montana because of the improvements her advocacy work has brought about for veterans suffering from TBIs.
“I’m not an 18-year-old private,” Gatlin, who is now a graduate student at the University of Montana, told Eric Newhouse of the Great Falls Tribune. “I’ve got resources that I can bring to bear. But I’m really worried about those guys that don’t have the benefit of an education or other resources. I’ve done my part. I’d like just to go back to school and enjoy it, but that’s not happening. I’ve become an advocate because I want to make the system work not only for myself, but for others.”
Del Negro and Gatlin make an impressive advocacy team, serving on the advisory board for the Montana Brain Injury Center in Missoula. And as long as they are watching out, no veteran in Montana should go without treatment or benefits.
MORE: This Veteran Suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in Iraq. Now He’s Got a Chance to Win a Medal.