AVBI.org

 

Although I’m outraged I’m not shocked, sadly these personal stories are all too common to me now.

 

The “signature injury” as called in the press, has been understandably called the “invisible injury” by brain injury organizations for years and those who are evaluating and rating our TBI wounded can not physically see what has happened to them.

 

Life long impairments that devastate ones life are not only difficult to see, they are difficult to diagnose and nearly impossible to make someone else understand. Even with Bob Woodruff's massive coverage of the personal stories, only those of us who live with the results grasp the full scope.

 What makes me so outraged about this story is that these disability “ratings” represent the mentality of the system as a whole. A broken system comprised of the DoD and VA that just don’t seem to totally understand how devastating an impact it leaves on a person’s life. Although, there are some individuals who work in that system that are trying to make a change, it is way too little, and way too late.

 I’m so proud of each of these service members and rival at their remarkable recoveries, yet I wish someone would understand that it’s almost impossible for our veterans to rebuild their lives, when the bricks and mortar that are supplied to them is faulty, and the foundation they are standing on..... continues to crumble.