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POST-COMBAT STRESS HURTS FAMILIES, NOT JUST

VETERANS -- "With the kids, it's hard because they'll

want to talk to their dad. He can't process any of it,

then gets stressed and needs to be alone."

A piece produced in Charlie Fenton's art therapy class at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Charlie is an Army chaplain who suffers from chronic post traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq. (photo: Amanda Marquart / MNS)

For more about PTSD, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here... http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=ptsd&op=and

Be sure to watch the video of this story at the link below.

Story here... http://news.medill.northw
estern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=72615

Story below:

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Post-combat stress hurts families, not just vets

by Amanda Marquart

WASHINGTON -- People who are diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder aren't the only ones who suffer from the condition.

"With the kids, it’s hard because they’ll want to talk to their dad. He can’t process any of it, then gets stressed and needs to be alone," said Christine Fenton, whose husband Charlie was diagnosed with chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after being injured by explosives in Iraq, where he served as an Army chaplain major. "It's hard because someone who made decisions no longer does."

According to the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, between 12 percent and 20 percent of veterans of the Iraq War suffer from the condition.

Even though the condition is more prevalent now with veterans returning, Christine Fenton said she often encounters misunderstanding from people she meets in public.

"I spend a lot of time making excuses and explaining to people. We'll go to a restaurant, and I have to explain that we have to have a table that faces the front door, so he can see out of it. And a table where there aren't any windows beside him, so he can feel secure. Some are understanding. Sometimes they're not - they look at you, 'well, he looks fine; he must be fine.'" she said of her 48-year-old husband.

Fenton has worked with Operation Homefront, a military-family advocacy group that educates people on the potentially life-threatening effects of PTSD. The couple and their five children live in Springfield, Va.

Operation Homefront Director Amy Palmer said, "PTSD is a disease that affects the whole family. We all need to become more aware of how to help families that are dealing with it."

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Larry Scott  --

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