Combat brain injuries

[robert4rp08]

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071123/1a_lede23.art.htm?POE=click-refer

" At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY."

"VA hospitals, where Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been screened for combat brain injuries since April. The VA found about 20% of 61,285 surveyed — or 11,804 veterans — with signs of brain injury,"

"About 1.5 million troops have served in Iraq, where traumatic brain injury can occur despite heavy body armor worn by troops."

20% of 1.5 million is 300,000 soldiers that may have traumatic brain injury. That's an astonishing figure. Because according to : http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/TBI.htm

Of the 1.4 million who sustain a TBI each year in the United States:
* 50,000 die;
* 235,000 are hospitalized; and
* 1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department.

" TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age."

[pcosmar]

This coincides with the new Veterans Disarmament Bill that was just introduced. I believe it has passed the house. The NRA is pushing this as another good "reasonable "restriction.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2640
http://www.gunowners.org/a091207.htm

[Liberty Star]

This is sad.

[fsk]

I read a story that said that injured soldiers were being asked to return their signing bonuses. I forget the source.

[Corydoras]

" TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age."

Brain injuries affect the whole person and can be really hard for families to deal with. They can prevent someone from working, or at least working at their pre-injury potential, and can be very expensive medical conditions to treat. And it can be very humiliating and bewildering for someone who looks totally healthy to be dealing with such a devastating condition.
This war's cost is not just in limbs. God it's awful.
:(

[robert4rp08]

Brain injuries affect the whole person and can be really hard for families to deal with. They can prevent someone from working, or at least working at their pre-injury potential, and can be very expensive medical conditions to treat. And it can be very humiliating and bewildering for someone who looks totally healthy to be dealing with such a devastating condition.
This war's cost is not just in limbs. God it's awful.
:(

Yes, it's very expensive. It's also burdensome on family and friends depending on the severity of the injury. To add fuel to the tragedy think of all of the mental and other physical traumas our soldiers are coming home with that they exclude from stats. The cost on US soldier lives is more than a death total... it's the quality of life of those returning. That really is something that Ron Paul should emphasize more!