2006 VFW Magazine - Veterans of Foreign Wars

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Caring for the Wounded in the Long Haul In addition to limb amputations and severe burns, brain injuries are more prevalent in the Iraq War than in wars past. When today’s troops leave their families and friends for war, they depart as healthy individuals of sound mind and body. Tragically, a significant number of these same warriors are coming home with missing limbs; others terribly burned. Those with severe brain injuries need to re-learn how to speak and even swallow sips of liquid. These wounds, many of which are unseen, will be with these men and women long after the last U.S. troops have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. Such conditions also beg the question: Will the government be there for them in the long haul Minneapolis doctor Ronald Glasser put it best: “The true legacy of this war will be seen not in the memorials to those lost forever,” he wrote in Harper’s Magazine, “but in the cabinets of files in the neurosurgical and orthopedic wards at Washington’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and in the backlog of cases at Veterans Affairs.” In part, Glasser is referring to traumatic brain injury (TBI), a phrase coined by the Pentagon to describe the pervasive, non-penetrating head injuries seen frequently among the wounded. As of February, more than 17,500 Americans had been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some 1,700 of those wounded in Iraq sustained brain by Janie Blankenship injuries, half of which are severe enough that they may permanently impair thinking, memory, mood, behavior and the ability to work. There is “a large number of survivors with permanent physical and emotional scars, not to mention profound disabilities,” Loren Thompson, head of security studies at the Lexington Institute in Alexandria, Va., told the Christian Science Monitor. “Not only are some wartime wounds uncommonly complex to treat, but the range of treatments provided—including counseling, assisted living, disability benefits, and so on—can be quite extensive.” Researchers at Harvard and Columbia conducted a study, which found that the government could spend at least $14 billion over the next 20 years on medical treatment for brain injuries from the Iraq War. “We are looking at an epidemic of brain injuries,” Jill Gandolfi, co-director of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit of the Palo Alto VA Health Care System, told the New York Times. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, about 22% of the wounded evacuated through Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany are expected to eventually be diagnosed with TBI.“Traumatic brain injury is the signature wound of this war,” says neurosurgeon Lt. Col. Rocco Armanda. ‘Like Being Born Again’ By mid-February 2006, the Pentagon reported that 13,694 GIs had been wounded in various types of explosions. The jarring effects of the explosions are likened to shaken-baby syndrome. Resulting “closed-head” injuries are more likely to affect the brain’s frontal lobe, which controls the ability to make plans, manage time and solve simple problems. “It’s like being born again,” Sgt. Edward Wade told USA Today. The 82nd Airborne soldier lost his right arm and suffered TBI in an explosion last year near Fallujah. Due to the overwhelming number of brain injuries, the government established polytrauma centers at four VA medical centers last April: Palo Alto, Calif.; Minneapolis; Richmond, Va.; and Tampa, Fla. These rehabilitation centers are staffed with specialists and therapists from several medical fields. According to Dr. Steven G. Scott, the Tampa center’s director, a typical patient has head injuries, vision and hearing loss, nerve damage, multiple bone fractures, unhealed body wounds, infections, and emotional or behavioral problems. “These soldiers were kept alive,” Scott told the New York Times.“Now it’s up to us to try and give them some meaningful life.” Still relatively new, the polytrauma centers are a work in progress. The average patient stays 40 days, but many patients remain for months and some for more than a year. “We expect to follow these patients for the rest of their lives,” Scott said.“But 16 • WWW.VFW.ORG • © 2006 VFW Magazine
PHOTO COURTESY PALO ALTO (CALIF.) VA MEDICAL CENTER With occupational therapist Daniela Lita looking on, Marine Cpl. Jason Poole moves an object across an arch in his occupational therapy session at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in California in the fall of 2005. Poole, who was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, was wounded on his second tour in Iraq, just 10 days shy of coming home. A roadside bomb sent shrapnel through his left ear and it came out just below his right eye. I have a great deal of concern about our country’s long-term commitment to these individuals. Will the resources be there over time” Prosthetics Research on the Rise Another struggle for some of the wounded returning from war derives from limb amputations. The number of amputees continues to rise. As of Jan. 3, there were 345 amputees, 59 of whom had lost more than one limb. There also are four triple amputees (see p. 44). Improved body armor protects the torso, but not the limbs. In some cases, the armor saves troops who would have died in previous wars. Prosthetic research is in high demand. That’s why the 2006 Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Act (P.L. 109- 114), signed by President Bush on Nov. 30, 2005, calls for $412 million for medical and prosthetic research. Artificial legs are quite advanced. Some run on computer chips and closely replicate human movements. However, prosthetic hands and arms lack the same kind of sophistication. In fact, the Defense Department says there hasn’t been much improvement on upper extremity prostheses since WWII. Some $35 million will be spent throughout the next four years to develop artificial arms that will perform like a real arm, guided by the central nervous system. Furthermore, a $10 million Military Amputee Training Center will open in 2007 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, even though the hospital itself is slated to close in about five years. “The transitional center is necessary to provide the best possible care for our amputee patients in the five years between now and 2011, when Walter Reed is scheduled to move to Bethesda and merge some functions with the National Naval Medical Center,” Walter Reed officials told the Washington Times. The 30,000-square-foot training center will include a running track, a climbing and repelling wall, and a virtual-reality center. A military vehicle simulator is planned to help those who wish to return to active duty. Brooke Army Medical Center at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, will serve as home to the much-anticipated National Armed Forces Physical Rehabilitation Center (also known as The Center for the Intrepid) scheduled for completion in January 2007. The $40-million facility is privately © 2006 VFW Magazine • WWW.VFW.ORG • 17
Page 2 and 3: contents SPECIAL ISSUE All the majo
Page 4 and 5: mailcall Young Vets in the Limeligh
Page 6 and 7: issuesupfront Succeeding in the Civ
Page 8 and 9: washingtonwire News from VFW’s Wa
Page 10 and 11: ‘Just Don’t Forget Me’ Societ
Page 12 and 13: New generation subjected to ‘Wack
Page 14 and 15: Student Veterans Battle Financial H
Page 18 and 19: funded by the Intrepid Fallen Heroe
Page 20 and 21: Society’s Obligation to War Veter
Page 22 and 23: State Benefits for National Guard a
Page 24 and 25: Recognizing and Remembering Today
Page 26 and 27: youngvetsinfocus Inspiring Others:
Page 28 and 29: soundoff Views of VFW readers on to
Page 30 and 31: VFW Magazine’s Coverage of the Wa

2006 VFW Magazine - Veterans of Foreign Wars

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