Written by Ericka Souter.
It’s frightening to watch a loved one go off to war, but what many military families have discovered is that another battle begins once they return home. Nearly 30 percent of the 834,463 soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan that were treated at V.A. hospitals have been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
“We can’t send out men and women to kill other human beings and expect them to not suffer any ill. It’s human nature,” a mother of a soldier, who asked to remain anonymous, shared with The Stir. “We are not born killers and can’t be expected to return to normal and not be properly cared for.”
Indeed. The changes in personality PTSD causes can be terrifying for family members, who are often at a loss for what to do. Sadly, in many cases, the illness goes untreated simply because V.A. hospitals are too overloaded.
This mom first realized soldiers were getting substandard care when her own son had to wait months to see a specialist for a physical injury. “I set out on a journey to discover how our military takes care of our soldiers — I was astounded, shocked, and disgusted,” she said.
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