swimmermom3 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 NPR did an eye-opening and to me, heart-twisting piece on the rehabilitation of U.S. soldiers with head trauma. Please keep our troops, both abroad and at home, and their families in your hearts. This holiday season is difficult for many of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 :crying: What a wonderful thing Bernie Marcus is doing for these guys, and yet he can only help a few dozen of the 200,000 or more soldiers who need it. I can understand why he's so angry. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 "It just doesn't make sense to me. It frustrates me. And it angers me. Kids are wandering around the streets today that will become tomorrow's criminals that were yesterday's heroes. How pathetic is that? "We owe these kids a hell of a lot more." How sad. We put them in harm's way, ask their lives of them, and then throw them away when they get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 :crying: What a wonderful thing Bernie Marcus is doing for these guys, and yet he can only help a few dozen of the 200,000 or more soldiers who need it. I can understand why he's so angry. Jackie No kidding on the :crying:. There have been some excellent pieces in Esquire magazine over the past year on similar topics. Our peace-loving, Grateful Dead-listening family tends to pay so much more attention these days because of the number of Wonderful Young Men in our lives who are in the military or who are military-bound. I think it has taken dh and I two decades to mature enough to realize that marching in protest is probably not going to change mankind's viewpoint on war, so our contribution as a family needs to be on the return and recovery end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 "It just doesn't make sense to me. It frustrates me. And it angers me. Kids are wandering around the streets today that will become tomorrow's criminals that were yesterday's heroes. How pathetic is that?"We owe these kids a hell of a lot more." How sad. We put them in harm's way, ask their lives of them, and then throw them away when they get home. It is easier and more glamorous to be supportive of the handsome, the whole, the strong than it is to be supportive of the maimed, the broken, and the ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 This strikes a nerve with me as the mother of a Marine (who is not going to be home at C-mas :crying:). Those broken men are someone's sons, husbands, brothers . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 This strikes a nerve with me as the mother of a Marine (who is not going to be home at C-mas :crying:). Those broken men are someone's sons, husbands, brothers . . . Tammy, :grouphug: I am so sorry your son will not be home for the holidays, but I know you must be very proud of him. My dd's boyfriend is home on leave. In February, he will be transferred to Ranger school and when he is finished there, he already knows he will be sent to Afghanistan. He has wanted to be a Ranger since he was a boy and has grown in so many ways since joining the Army. It's just hard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 This is so heart-warming. I see many wounded soldiers every time I'm at Walter Reed Hospital. They're such strong, decent, lovable people, and many of them are so horribly wounded. Home Depot has always been supportive of the military, and this is the icing on the cake. Thanks for posting it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Thank you for posting this. It really is terrible the lack of support some TBI soldiers receive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Thank you for posting this. We've had several friend with "mild" traumatic brain injuries due to IED's or other explosions and the care they receive is less than stellar. It makes me so mad. They deserve better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Canada is no better. Its one of the MANY things that scares the crud out of me, with my eldest going into the Navy in Jan. Substandard equipment (we bought used subs, 3 if I remember right, that then SANK, killing all aboard), low pay, little support once home... I've taught my kids from day one to support and respect our troops. Now I'm going to start teaching them that the military is NOT an option for their futures...my heart couldn't take another child joining. I'd lose my ever loving mind. Would be completely different if the government put proper supports in place all around. But they don't and wont. Terrifies me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 Canada is no better. Its one of the MANY things that scares the crud out of me, with my eldest going into the Navy in Jan. Substandard equipment (we bought used subs, 3 if I remember right, that then SANK, killing all aboard), low pay, little support once home... I've taught my kids from day one to support and respect our troops. Now I'm going to start teaching them that the military is NOT an option for their futures...my heart couldn't take another child joining. I'd lose my ever loving mind. Would be completely different if the government put proper supports in place all around. But they don't and wont. Terrifies me. Impish, I don't know if you can teach your kids that the military is not an option. We are the last family I would expect to have a child join the military. My oldest son is committed to joining the Air Force and if they won't have him, he said he'll go to the Coast Guard. We never said, "No military." We just thought given our viewpoints, it would never come up as a choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Impish, I don't know if you can teach your kids that the military is not an option. We are the last family I would expect to have a child join the military. My oldest son is committed to joining the Air Force and if they won't have him, he said he'll go to the Coast Guard. We never said, "No military." We just thought given our viewpoints, it would never come up as a choice. *sigh* I know. I just like to dream sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jld Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 Why do you think the public tolerates this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eight_gregorys Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 While I do agree with the article to some extent. I don't feel that it truly reflects the military as a whole. I was medically evacuated out of theater (Iraq) in June of 2006. I had an array of issues. Lupus, fibromyalgia, TBI, and depression.....all which became symptomatic around the same time. While I can attest that the medical care I received while I was actually in Iraq was very bad. I was accused of faking pain to get out of patrols. It was ridiculous. When they finally figured out what was wrong with me I was medically evacuated. I spent a little over 2 years at Fort Bragg receiving care for all of the above. I never had a problem attaining care. I had an occupational therapist, shrink, regular doctor, rheumatologist, nephrologist....etc. I also watched others that were very well taken care of there as well. TBI is something that is relatively new for the military and while I'm sure there are some that are not getting the necessary treatment....there are also many that are. I was medically retired in October of 2008. So don't necessarily think that this is true for the military as a whole because I can personally attest that it is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 24, 2010 Author Share Posted December 24, 2010 Why do you think the public tolerates this? I am not sure why we do. Perhaps many feel as though they are between a rock and a hard place on this issue. We make a decision as a nation to send our sons, daughters, husbands, and brothers to war. I think it is human nature when we make a difficult decision that has a painful or tragic outcome that we find those outcomes difficult to look at square on. We are often uncomfortable with people who are "marred" or "damaged." It is worse if we have a hand in that damage. I also still don't think there is enough public exposure. There is a fine line to be maintained between shedding light on a such a gross failing on our part and respecting the privacy of our service people. Perhaps others can link stories that are inspiring or opportunities to help our veterans. I always see efforts to coordinate boxes for our active soldiers but see very little about efforts to help our returned service people and their families. There should be so much more that we can do, but I think it is going to take thinking far outside the box like Marcus did in order to do the best job possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted December 24, 2010 Author Share Posted December 24, 2010 While I do agree with the article to some extent. I don't feel that it truly reflects the military as a whole. I was medically evacuated out of theater (Iraq) in June of 2006. I had an array of issues. Lupus, fibromyalgia, TBI, and depression.....all which became symptomatic around the same time. While I can attest that the medical care I received while I was actually in Iraq was very bad. I was accused of faking pain to get out of patrols. It was ridiculous. When they finally figured out what was wrong with me I was medically evacuated. I spent a little over 2 years at Fort Bragg receiving care for all of the above. I never had a problem attaining care. I had an occupational therapist, shrink, regular doctor, rheumatologist, nephrologist....etc. I also watched others that were very well taken care of there as well. TBI is something that is relatively new for the military and while I'm sure there are some that are not getting the necessary treatment....there are also many that are. I was medically retired in October of 2008. So don't necessarily think that this is true for the military as a whole because I can personally attest that it is not. Andrea, thank you for providing a balanced perspective and thank you too for your service. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season to you and your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 Where's Obama to fix this? These troops answer to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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