Signature Wounds » ptsd

Cheryl from Tennessee

Scott Gaulin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:05:11 +0000

Domenica from Washington State

Scott Gaulin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:14:25 +0000

I am the spouse of a disabled OIF Veteran, a wonderful man that deployed to Iraq as a vibrant committed soldier in 2004 and returned home in 2005 a broken spirit, and irreparably psychologically damaged. The role of the Combat Veteran spouse can be a lonely one often feeling isolated and challenged to the point of breaking it is easy to wonder if you are doing the right thing by your wounded warrior. Up and down the country, families are fighting these private battles. The only way to provide support and awareness is by addressing these issues in the public arena and having the courage to overcome the stigma and secrecy families coping with Combat PTSD feel

On the Way

Scott Gaulin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:14:52 +0000

So, I took a leave-of-abscence from my job as photojournalist (or so I thought) and was on my way to Ohio for 6 months. I was both excited and very nervous and as the weather got colder with each hour I drove I knew I was getting closer to my final destination. Receiving a fellowship such as this one is a big deal in the journalism world and I knew all eyes would be on me and the other four journalists once we arrived. But my plans were still not settled, I still had to figure out what the hell I was doing. Could I have picked a more difficult subject, emotional troubles are something most people aren’t willing to admit let alone talk about in the open. There are no visible wounds, no defined physical symptoms, no set course of diagnoses and treatments. Every case would be unique, what traumatized John may not have had the same effect on Jane. There would be no Purple Hearts given here, just the subltle or severe changes in personality that could be normal after returing from battle. It may be temporary, it may go away on it’s own, it may get better in time. My only thought was that there is no constant variable, everything is variable when dealing with emotions and feelings. With all these thoughts in my head, the exhaustion of driving all day and the darkness of an empty highway, I looked down and noticed that I was going almost 90 mph (we drive fast in Texas) I slowed down and while I was searching for the next speed limit sign, I passed the exit that would have taken me to Eric’s parents house in Arkansas. I started to think about them and the night we met. The years they lived in fear that one of their two sons might be killed or wounded while in Iraq. The joy they must have felt when Eric finally came home weary from war, but seemingly unscathed. And then back on the rollercoaster as Eric fell into depression, was diagnosed with PTSD, stop-lossed and set to redeploy. The conflicts the family faced as he struggled to get help and fell into alchoholism, the decision to not return to post and the year of worry that someday they would get a call that Eric had been arrested for being AWOL.

I finally realized there is something common here, and that’s family. If the soldier hurts, their family hurts alongside them. If 600,000 veterans return with PTSD how many people are truly suffering these signature wounds of war. one million, three million, somewhere in between? Who knows for sure. Nobody is keeping count. Well this is my story, so I’ll try to keep track, to count the thousands of spouses, children, parents and loved ones closest tothe emotional trauma . The people who know what life was like before the war, who share in their lives and care for them as they try to navigate through the healing process. This site is set-up for you, the family member, the loved one, the caregiver. It is for you to share your feelings and emotions so that we may eventually help others. Please help by posting your personal story.

How I got Here

Scott Gaulin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:29:04 +0000

While some of this is covered in the About Me page I thought I’d put it right out on the front for all you all to see. Since I’m asking for people to share their personal, emotional stories and feelings, I thought it only right to put myself out there also. I am a photojournalist for a small daily newspaper in Central Texas only 20 miles from Ft Hood. Being so close to the largest military base in the country, I am no stranger to the impact of PTSD and TBI on the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. So it was always in my mind as I applied for this fellowship program that I would do a piece on the emotional trauma caused by these wars. I just wasn’t really sure was direction to go in. I mean, there were so many different issues and so little time for in-depth reporting that I couldn’t just wrap my head around it all. At the end of October 2009 I found out that I had been selected and would join a group of only four other journalists to spend 6 months in Ohio working on our individual projects. A week later, the shootings at Ft. Hood occured and now, PTSD was thrust back into worldwide attention and the stories flowed faster then the ink could carry. Through all these news casts, articles and government reports I kept finding that there was always something missing but still hadn’t put my finger on it. I had read the extended Rand report and knew the numbers, 600,000 servicemembers with PTSD and TBI. I interviewed a few soldiers with PTSD and the stories were all quite similar to the rest of the reporting – Lack of doctors and staff. I would find nothing new here. Early in December I spoke with a young specialist suffering from PTSD, Eric Jasinski who, with his parents was in Killeen to turn himself to the post after being AWOL for a year. I photographed and interviewed Eric and his parents that night, the next day I wrote the story and soon after I began the packing and final preparations to move to Ohio. Two days after Christmas, I kissed my wife goodbye, packed the car and headed northeast for 6 months leaving her alone in Texas.

Eric’s Parents

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:09:11 +0000

Eric, Laura and Michael

Laura and Michael from Arkansas

Eric, a specialist in the Army was deployed to Iraq in 2005. Upon his return he was diagnosed with PTSD by a civilian physchiatrist and given two medications, a sleep-aid and an anti-depressant. With four months left to go in the Army and suffering from PTSD he was stop-lossed and set to deploy back to Iraq. According to Eric, the Army offered him a 90 day supply of his meds and the guarantee that he could get more in the field when those ran out. Eric didn’t deploy with his unit, instead he stayed home in Arkansas with his family. Eric was now AWOL. In December of 2009 I sat with Eric and his parents on the day before he turned himself in to the MP’s at Ft Hood. Below are some excerpts from that interview.