VA Watchdog Stuff
cups, hats, shirts
click here to
support the site





Be sure to get all four
VA Watchdog dot Org
RSS feeds --
Daily VA
News Flashes
House CVA
Veterans' News
Senate CVA
Veterans' News
VA Press
Releases

Download your
free copy of the
2007 VA benefits
handbook here...

VETERAN TELLS STORY OF RECOVERY THROUGH VA

TREATMENT -- "It taught me to identify triggers in movies,

news, conversations, people, places and things. I've learned

to catch myself. I've learned how to talk about it."

Timothy Sanders, left, talks with Scott Ferguson, assistant service officer for Kansas Veterans of Foreign Wars, during Saturday's information fair at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center. (photo: Anthony S. Bush / The Capital-Journal)

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

Story here... http://www.cjonline.com/stories/110407/loc_214817980.shtml

Story below: 

   Learn More about how to get a VA Loan today -- Click Here

-------------------------

Vet tells story of recovery

VA information fair in Topeka shines light on available services

By Julie K. Buzbee
Special To The Capital-Journal

Timothy Sanders grew up in the aftermath of the Vietnam era, playing GI Joe in his Chicago neighborhood.

But nine years in the Army, including tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, shattered his childhood illusions and much of his adult life to date. Sanders, 32, said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and endures nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety attacks.

He was one of about 25 veterans who attended a welcome home information fair Saturday for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom troops, veterans and their families at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka.

When Sanders got out of the military in 2005, he didn't seek help with problems adjusting to civilian life in Missouri, where he was living. He tried to cope on his own.

"I really wasn't too well informed when I left the military about what to do," he said.

Richard Selig understands the dilemma that Sanders and other veterans go through upon their return from war. Selig is the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom program manager for the Eastern Kansas Health Care System, which sponsored the information fair.

"You're hyper-aroused, you're hyper-vigilant," Selig says of troops. "Even if you wanted to pay attention, you really couldn't. When they come back from a combat zone, a lot of them are going to want to isolate."

Sanders, who was part of the ground force invasion in Iraq, said he isolated until his PTSD became so unmanageable that he ended up as a patient in Colmery-O'Neil's stress disorder treatment program.

"One thing about PTSD is you isolate," Sanders said. "In this program, I broke out of my shell."

As he talked, he stood to hug a fellow veteran, Bryant Mastrangelo, 27, of Wichita. Mastrangelo said he was at the fair to be around people again and talk.

"It's just time," said Mastrangelo, who has been back from Iraq for about a year.

Sanders, who has completed the treatment program, said he attended the fair in support of other veterans with whom he feels a bond.

"The branch of the service doesn't matter," he said. "You have this bond because of dedication and sacrifice."

Selig explained that this war has been different from previous wars because troops haven't had respite periods. The weapons also have differed — several kinds of treacherous remote-controlled explosive devices are being used against soldiers.

"For these guys it's 2 4/7, 365, constantly on guard. The body has to change to stay alert for those possible attacks," Selig said of explosives and snipers. "We help the soldier reclaim the body."

Sanders, who was a leader in the hospital program, says the best thing about it was that he has learned coping skills.

"It taught me to identify triggers in movies, news, conversations, people, places and things," he said. "I've learned to catch myself. I've learned how to talk about it."

Medication, he said, helps him balance his emotions and makes his body chemistry a little more stable. He has learned to not be so hard on himself, to not think of himself as a reject.

"When I found out I had PTSD," Sanders said, "I thought it was my fault."

Although he has had enough nightmares, Sanders is still fighting to get his veterans' benefits.

"I'm waiting for my compensation," he said. "I've been waiting for two years. The VFW is working on it now. I tried doing it on my own, and the administrative part of getting your compensation is a nightmare."

Selig and his co-workers want to be sure other veterans don't go through what Sanders did in Missouri. He is proud of the program in Topeka.

"Eastern Kansas does a tremendous job of reaching out to vets," Selig said. "It's our intent to make sure that absolutely no one falls between the cracks after their service to the country."

Sanders, who is living in a Christian halfway house in Topeka, says he has a lot of hope for his future.

"The experiences I'm having here pretty much make up for my experiences when I came out," he said. "My opportunities are here. I'm blessed."

Julie K. Buzbee is a freelance writer in Topeka. She can be reached
at jbuzbee59@yahoo.com.

-------------------------

Larry Scott  --

Don't forget to read all of today's VA News Flashes (click here)

Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage

email Larry

(go back to VA Watchdog dot Org Home Page)

VA Watchdog Stuff
cups, hats, shirts
click here to
support the site