11/12/2022 0 Comments Sticky notes transparent background![]() "The military works all in protocols and standards, right? So if we have an every five year time period that you have to get your cognition checked, that's the standard, everybody gets it. The first step in the five-part plan will be to identify the baseline brain health of all service members, which can then be monitored throughout their career. " this call for, 'Let's all get on the same page and synergize our efforts and coordinated tightly so we could accelerate findings and help war fighters in a quicker way,'" Lee told CBN News. Now, comes a new plan to build on that momentum with a single comprehensive strategy, known as the War Fighter Brain Health Initiative. Over the last 20-years, huge strides have been made in researching and treating traumatic brain injuries. "We had a lot of good work being done in these various areas throughout a very large Department of Defense," said Kathy Lee, a TBI Specialist with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Readiness Policy and Oversight. The Pentagon realized it had a growing problem and began to take action. And those sustaining a brain injury after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are twice as likely to consider suicide. That's not the norm, however, as recent data shows less than half of the veterans suffering this injury's lasting effects will actually seek help. Fortunately, he found state-of-the-art treatment, which provided an explanation of his long-term symptoms and even helped reverse some of the damage. He admits this took him to a pretty dark place mentally before choosing to seek help. I just had problems recalling," Coker said. So I would have to use my sticky notes, or I carried a tape recorder with me actually. It wasn't until after he retired in 2007 that he truly began experiencing symptoms from multiple injuries to his brain. "It's over-pressure from enemy fire, from door breaches, and charges," Coker explained. So, after his physical wounds healed, he went on to serve five more combat deployments, unknowingly exposing his brain to even more trauma. I've never had a migraine or anything like that and I had my head pounding for nine months constantly, non-stop," Coker told CBN News.ĭespite seeing several specialists, not one could identify the treatment Coker needed, or even pinpoint the brain injury. Among the wounds he sustained: a lingering traumatic brain injury (TBI.) He was shot down in 2004 while serving in Iraq. I was very short tempered.I was not a pleasant human being to be around," said Ret. "I was very broken and people around me could see the changes. In the early 2000s, when American troops began fighting what became a 20-year War on Terror, there was little understanding of the causes and potential impact of traumatic brain injuries.įor many dedicated warriors, these invisible wounds have become a haunting and painful reminder of their time on the battlefield. ![]()
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