Injured without scars: The hidden wounds of battle from traumatic brain injury, PTSD

[unhappycamper]

Laboran Pickens is fighting to get medical treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder after 10 years in the military and two tours in Iraq. His wife, Cyntia, back, stands with their children Derice, 13, left, Destiny, 7, center, and Devonte, 11, on Sunday in the backyard of their home in Hinesville.


Injured without scars: The hidden wounds of battle from traumatic brain injury, PTSD
Pamela E. Walck | December 2, 2007

Laboran Pickens sits inside the busy Savannah coffeehouse.

He flinches every time the grinders whine so strangers can walk away with frothy, caffeinated beverages.

He looks nervous. He assures his company he's fine.

He's on medication from Georgia Regional Medical Center.

~snip~

Sometimes the spell is prompted by a loud noise or errant thought. It makes him space out. He moves like he's in a dream. He often disappears from his Hinesville home, sometimes for hours.

His wife spends those hours frantic, wondering where he is. She worries each time will be his last. That he won't come back to her and their three children.


Rest of article at: http://savannahnow.com/node/408152

[flashl]

1. This recent National Academies PTSD study should help

Free Executive Summary, PTSD Compensation and Military Service

Committee on Veterans’ Compensation for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, National Research Council
ISBN: 978-0-309-10548-4, 262 pages, 6 x 9, (2007)