March is Brain Injury Awareness month

I was contacted by Chelsea Travers (ctravers@caremeridian.com)to help raise awareness of this growing issue from our troops serving in combat zones. This is what Chelsea wrote to me regarding TBI:

"CareMeridian is a well known subacute and skilled nursing/rehabilitation facility located throughout the Western United States for patients suffering from traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or medical complexities such as neuromuscular or congenital anomalies. Brain injuries are becoming all too commonly associated with modern warfare. Many veterans return home with brain injuries without knowing they are suffering from them. Members of the US Department of Veterans Affairs have even coined brain injuries as the “signature wound” of the War on Terror."

"Traumatic Brain Injuries in the Military

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is becoming a common wound of modern warfare. It has even been coined the “signature wound” of the War on Terror. While TBI is becoming more prevalent in wartime activity, many service men and women continue to go undiagnosed. Institutions, like the US Department of Veterans Affairs, are working to make quick and accurate diagnoses in order to prescribe appropriate and effective treatment.
http://http://www.publichealth.va.gov/vethealthinitiative/traumatic_brain_injury.asp

TBI is caused by forced trauma to the head, either by being shaken or hit. The severity of a TBI varies from case to case, but symptoms range from mild concussions to a debilitating state. The majority of TBI’s acquired by military personnel are classified as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI). Initial symptoms of MTBI consist of loss of consciousness, disorientation, loss of memory, headache, and temporary loss of hearing and vision. They are often partnered with anxiety, irritability, difficulties processing information, limited concentration amongst other problems experienced down the road. While MTBI is most common amongst the men and women of the armed forces, more severe cases of TBI are happening much more frequently and often require the victim to attended specialty rehabilitative nursing centers, like CareMeridian. http://http://www.aboutus.org/CareMeridian.com

The most common cause of a TBI in the military is due to blasts. There are three degrees of blast injuries where a TBI is common; Primary (due to blast itself), Secondary (due to objects being propelled by a blast) and Tertiary (due to a collision with a third party object). According to the Veterans Health Initiative, active male members of the military from the ages 18-24 are hospitalized with a TBI at a rate of 231 per 100,000 and females 150 per 100,000. Based on military force projections this would mean that 4,141 military personnel are hospitalized on average each year with a TBI, and these numbers often rise during wartimes.

The best prevention for veterans to avert the long-term effects of a brain injury is to recognize the symptoms of a TBI. Once the symptoms are identified an individual should take basic precautionary measures in order to begin the healing and recovery process until a more specific diagnosis can be made.
http://http://www.mirecc.va.gov/docs/visn6/TBI-brochure-vet-family.pdf
Service men and women give so much to protect this country and they deserve to come home to a happy and healthy life. Creating awareness about TBI will help ensure their long term health. By helping our veterans, their friends and their families recognize the early warning signs of a TBI, treatment can be sought as early as possible."

Please help raise awareness for our troops and pass this information along to all and let's get the word out!!!

The Power of Words

Ya know what's great about my blog? It's mine and I don't have to be politically correct, or grammatically correct, or even correct at all. I can say what I want because it's mine, all mine. I realized today that I've missed my blog. I have been writing to a young man about to embark on a life-changing journey into the military and it occurred to me, that my words can change a life. Wow, how profound. Little old me sitting behind this computer can have such an effect on the world. The power of words can be staggering sometimes. I have forgotten how much of an outlet my blog was for me. All those months in Iraq with nothing on my hands but time. Time to think and reflect and let the power of the moment flow through my fingers in an accurate portrayal of the drama around me. I miss just letting my thoughts ramble for a short time to paint a picture of the sliver of the moment I am living. I miss the power of my words. I'm not a poet, or even a writer. I am just me being me in the presence of my thoughts and emotions. I usually don't even edit as I'm writing, but rather just let it all flow as it comes. I've missed this. I've missed my release. I keep things pent up for so long and I've forgotten that I have this wonderful outlet to let it be free. Sure I write papers for class, but those are structured and boring. This writing is as free as a bird with endless possibilities. Almost like a chose your own adventure book that I used to love as a kid. The ending was never the same thing twice. Isn't that like life? Even if you went back and did it over, you still wouldn't get the same ending twice.

The Power of Words

Ahhhh...

Fall is here. The sights and smells of autumn. Love this time of year. Leaves crunching underfoot and the wisp of wood burning in the air. The crip mornings and the sunny afternoons. Now, if only I had that special someone to share this special time with. (sigh)

Woohoo!!

After 17 years of bouncing around and 4 different College/Universities I have FINALLY graduated with my AA degree. It was official yesterday. Yippee. I can't begin to describe how proud of my accomplishment I am. It is the best feeling knowing that I finally finished something I started. Watch out no stopping me now. I'm in my first semester of my BA degree as we speak.

New Look

I've decided to give my page a new look. In with the new out with the old. Like a breath of fresh air. Anywho...I'm just about finished with my associates degree.......FINALLY!! I have not had a life the past 6 months and I'm tired. My brain is fried and it's time to party.

So, we had this freakish hail storm the other day and my little car was carefully tucked in under my covered parking space and I thought, "shew, it's safe". WRONG! Of course not, I can't get off that easy. For some strange reason Colorado hates my car. I have dumped about $2000 into my car since moving here the end of January. I'm not sure if I have angered the God's or if it's time to start thinking of getting a new car. But, boy the thought of having a car payment again is not a welcomed thought. Ugh, I digress. Ok, so I go out after the ping-pong-sized-meteors stopped pummelling my car to assess the damage and it's dark so everything looks hunky-dory. I breath my sigh of relief and go back to bed. Morning comes, I drive to work and still don't see anything. I'm thinking could I really have gotten off that easy? Nope, no way, not a chance. When I come out that afternoon, what do my wondering eyes see??? Why it's a zillion dents in the trunk of my car. Whoohoo I'm elated! I get to drop yet another large sum of money on my car to get this fixed. Yay!!! It could have been worse. Most cars have been totaled by the storm damage, so I GUESS I'm lucky.
Moving on....I'm going to the Rocky Mountain Gator Club picnic tomorrow, so I'm super excited to actually get out and be amongst the living for a couple of hours. I so need to start meeting people and get on with living instead of being my normal hermit self cooped up just doing homework.

My Own Hero

Hey buddy! Where did your blog go??? Send me an email so I can write you back.

Life

Life is finally resembling something of a more normal pattern. Work, eat, sleep, school, repeat. I like this routine. Routine is good, it's what keeps me sane. I love driving to work and passing the trees and the green grass with the dew glistening off the blades. I like looking at the mountains in the distance as the clouds roll gently down their slopes. I like my life again. I no longer feel that nagging anxiety at what may come next. I don't know and that's ok. Life is an adventure and I'm just along for the ride. I like riding the light rail and passing the abandoned buildings and wondering what great things used to be made in there. I like sitting quietly and enjoying the silence. I don't jump at loud noises anymore or think every thud is a mortar. Life is good.