Frustration of wound recovery

G

Gunz

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I haven't found an old thread dealing with this issue. I'm sure it's been a topic here, so my apologies if I'm digging up an old garden.

Wound recovery/rehabilitation can be a very frustrating ordeal. Does the military do anything to prepare wounded men or women for the mental stress of the long rehab process? It can be very disheartening for a person who takes pride in their toughness to find themselves weak as a kitten from the trauma of the wound and the trauma of surgery. A guy who used to run 6 miles a day suddenly finds himself exhausted and almost weeping with frustration after trying to get across a hospital room. Not only that but living for months with intense pain, getting loopy from pain meds, the prospect of additonal surgeries, the embarrassment of having to depend on others for just about everything. It's tough and long road. Strength returns but it can be maddeningly slow and it can effect your mood. The wounded have to be encouraged to recharge the determination that got them through the ordeals of training and combat, they have to be reminded of the slow but steady process of natural healing.

In my day, there seemed to be very little to prepare an individual for the mental challenges of recovery. I hope that's changed.
 
There are certainly members here that can speak with authority on this important topic (if they choose to do so).

I've seen it first hand and it's tough to watch, humbling and also motivating.
 
I was asked by a brother (by training, association and choice) to assist in his recovery after his second IED mishap that cost him most of a lower limb among other trauma. He happens to be an 18D (SF Medic) and was supported by the USSOCOM Care Coalition who had me there so his wife could get along with family business and her work. Not all Regiments/Services have anything like the Care Coalition - it's basically SOF specific but it gets people with the wounded, active duty care coordinators and family members so the soldier can focus on getting better. I did what I could as a former 18D to be there for the appointments, the therapy, change bandges, wound care, piss off nurses and generally be a guard dog and valet when friends came to visit. It was humbling and satisfying to be there for my brother. Not every soldier/sailor/airman gets this kind of care. The Marine Corps League (IIRC) does take care of Marines in a very similar manner.

The basic care is excellent, the extended care through the Care Coalition is outstanding, and the long term care with the assistance of not onlyslow, no issues the Care Coalition but the Green Beret Foundation, Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the Regiments themselves make all the difference. I'll always be there for my brother, no doubt - he's truly chosen family... and if he needs me (or any of a handful of his chosen family) I'll be there.

I have to admit, I saw some young Regular Army, Navy, AF guys/gals who had been turfed by their units to navigate the roiling oceans of idiocy in the WTB at WRNMMC... those are the ones who end up with the issues... and addictions... and may end up terminating themselves through despair and hopelessness.

It ain't all pretty and it also ain't all shitty.
 
As @x SF med stated, some do it better than others. My experience with the WTB was pretty up and down, a lot of mismanagement of resources, and a lot of cookie-cutter application. The biggest problem I saw was more a push for get them through the system and medically retired/discharged over get them back to their units (or other career field). Once a soldier spends a year plus being grinder down with medical problems, medications and being caught in limbo, it destroys morale and makes for some "non giving a fuck" soldiers.

Has the Army identified the issues and placed resources in place? Yes. Is the leadership and management on par? IMHO, not even close.

I imagine its night and day in comparison to the Vietnam era, but still lacking in application for a lot of soldiers.

That all said, nothing can ever be perfect and there will never be a cookie-cutter option that can be applied and work, thus some soldiers will always fall through the cracks, or not get the support they really need. Sad, but just a fact of doing business on a large scale. SOCOM does an excellent job, their numbers are also considerably smaller, which allows them to apply better management, apply more focus to the individual, and a all around better recovery environment.

WTB staff were not even allowed to talk to SOCOM soldiers, much less attempt to apply their cookie-cutter system. That's a good thing.

My$.02
 
Thank you all for your replies. x SF Med and JAB I'd give you a "Like" but my Like Button doesn't seem to work.

x SF Med, what you've written is very encouraging. It aint all pretty and it also aint all shitty...that seems to sum a lot of things up. Very good, sir, thanks much.
 
I worked at WRNMMC for two years and it opened my eyes. I am extremely thankful to have been able to see some of the good and the bad of WTB/Wounded Warrior care. In terms of the support the warriors got, I saw a lot of people come to shake hands for their own benefit and not for the warrior's. With that being said I was always taken back by the level of support that friends, family, and teammates showed. In fact there were a lot of people who travelled just to pay their respects and give thanks to the wounded. I am a better person for seeing the rehabilitation process in Bethesda. The WWP does do a great deal in terms of sports and events, but the biggest "wow (and I mean WOW) factor came from the warriors. The drive to succeed and the drive to recover was unbelievable. I spent a lot of my time in the pool and a few days a week there was a man with double below-knee amputations who would come to the pool and swim laps for hours. He never stopped until he was done. He and many others in similar situations changed who I am as a person.

I firmly believe that the care provided by the military was being given by enlisted/officers that genuinely cared and had a deep respect for their patients. I could go on about the civilians at WRNMMC, but I think there are some very incredible men/women and there are some that have a very negative effect on both the warriors and their progress.

Thank you.
 
If the allegations in the link are true, some of these people need to be in prison.

Scubadew, when I was in rehab many years ago the biggest morale boosters were visits from family members and friends I'd served with. My former Corpsman came to visit me and he--like all combat Medics and Corpsmen--had been the spiritual center, father confessor and mother hen of our little unit. His visit to me was a turnaround, a huge boost. It was always great to see the people you knew cared. Then, as you say, there were a few glad-handing "VIPs" who sashayed through the ward to get their mug in the paper...nothing but Finger for them.
 
Ocoka One said:
If the allegations in the link are true, some of these people need to be in prison.

Scubadew, when I was in rehab many years ago the biggest morale boosters were visits from family members and friends I'd served with. My former Corpsman came to visit me and he--like all combat Medics and Corpsmen--had been the spiritual center, father confessor and mother hen of our little unit. His visit to me was a turnaround, a huge boost. It was always great to see the people you knew cared. Then, as you say, there were a few glad-handing "VIPs" who sashayed through the ward to get their mug in the paper...nothing but Finger for them.
Click to expand...

I got the call because I was family in a way most people would never understand, and an SF medic, and because the pt knew, no matter what I would be there for him whatever the time... I hope that I had some small part in his extremely fast recovery, but I believe most of that is that my brother is a freak of nature with supernatural healing power, I just stood guard while his body caught up with his mind and spirit.
 
I think the reverence fighting units have for their Combat Medics and Corpsmen goes way beyond bandages and IVs. It's no accident that among the six men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, one was their Corpsman.
 
Ocoka One said:
I think the reverence fighting units have for their Combat Medics and Corpsmen goes way beyond bandages and IVs. It's no accident that among the six men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, one was their Corpsman.
Click to expand...

Our corpsman went everywhere we did and were involved in everything we did. They were one of us and part of our team. That's how we saw them then and that's how I still think of them today. There is much truth in what you posted.
 
Where to start...

@x SF med you give yourself far too little credit when it comes to my recovery. You were the only person, other than a couple of the resident physicians to change my bandages, wound vacs, central line supplies, etc... You know why you received the call so I wont repeat that again and I could never thank you enough for all you did and instead of cheapening the moment with heavy-handed words I will simply say again, Thank you. I am somewhat a freak when it comes to the speed in which my body regenerated vitalized tissue - I still havent grown that leg though.

@Ocoka One:

While you bring up a very valid topic, guys do get frustrated at the length of time their recovery takes. Having been there it comes down to the mental and emotional toughness the SM started the process with and their own ability to manage expectations. I am not going to recount my injury or the recovery road I have been down; you can find it if interested by simply searching for my screen name. Suffice to say, it wouldn't have mattered if I was up walking a week after injury I would not have been content with the time it took, not because of the recovery process but because I had team mates in harms way taking the fight to the enemy while I had to watch from a bed for 7 weeks.

The staff at WRNMMC @ Bethesda do their best to manage expectations by explaining the SMs injuries, the medical staff's plan to address those injuries/conditions, educate the patient on what personal decisions they need to make to maximize their recovery and then continue to encourage patients to keep their heads up. But at the end of the day, there is nothing the military can do to prepare a SM for the reality of a given recovery time anymore than they can prepare them for the realities of taking someone else's life in combat. Even given this I found a disproportionate number of guys bitching about their recovery timeline and about the medical staff not doing all they could when the patient themselves were negligent in doing their own part by not drinking alcohol or energy drinks, not smoking or pushing themselves too soon, not giving Phys Therapy 110% effort, missing complex wound care appointments, etc... This is generally not the case for SOF guys but I would venture to say that every 2 out of 3 GPF SMs who had complex injuries were indulging in one or more of the previously mentioned activities that directly stunted their recovery and/or didn't partake in other offered activities which would aid in decreasing their recovery. I took the opportunity to talk to guys, who had previously made comments about the speed in which I got back to "my foot," but as I pointed out the limiting factors hey themselves imposed they dismissed the science for, "well I think..." Who can argue with such conclusive facts...

@x SF med is spot on about the USSOCOM care coalition and the Marine Corps League's role in the recovery of their personnel. The other services should take a page or two from the play book of the previous two entities so SMs all around could benefit.

I will close with this, I cant begin to remember everyone who visited room 453 during my stay at Walter Reed but I appreciated each one whether I was high; they (@Marauder06) were interrupting one of my extensive conversation with my Infectious Disease Doc about complex multi-faceted approaches to antimicrobial therapy or a trauma surgeon discussing arterio-venus shunts; or if I was falling asleep after coming back from one of my frequent visits to the OR... lol. Visitors matter, emails matter, text messages matter, cards matter, someone making Thanksgiving Dinner at their home and driving it 14 hours to reheat it matters...it matter MORE than most of us would like to admit. Each one of you here knows who you are and I know I wouldn't be where I am today, one year nine months and one day later, despite my tenacity, without you guys/gals being the friends you are.
 
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@surgicalcric ... yes, you are a freak of nature in your body's ability to heal.
You know what the toughest day of my life was? Worse than, being in an open hide in the middle of winter getting snowed on at 3am watching a bridge? Here is the hint, FY, N.
My brother, you have taken what most people would have seen as a life stopper, a reason to quit, hide, jump into self medication, or any of a hundred other escapes... looked reality if the face and said, you can't fucking stop me, I have shit to do. Your spirit, your soul, and your dry wit were good medicine for you and those around you.

All the above leads me to my point, each person has to be the architect of their personal recovery. The Docs and staff and family/friends cut the roads and lay the base, but the final road surface for recovery lies in the individual. You wanted a good road, and are a hell of a Project manager for your recovery.

Visitors help, except possibly the one visit from POTUS which we won't go in to, short story is I pissed off and intimidated the Secret Service... It was remarked by the staff that Crip had an almost 24/7 parade of visitors and visited every other SOF guy in the Hospital (in-pt) that helped his recovery.

Humor is a huge help in recovery, one of our biggest laughs was very early in Crip's recovery there were 2 or 3 nurses in the room, I was changing a bandage or prepping supplies, or putting something away, turned and said "Hey, Crip ..." the friggin nurses nearly fainted and shot me the dirtiest looks that I didn't see for about a minute or two... when it hit me, "Crip" to them was horrible, derogatory, and callous thing to call Crip... and then we both started laughing and explained the situation. Or letting a doctor know his nickname is DoogieHowserWileECoyoteSuperGenius, and he takes it as the compliment it is... Dark thoughts will slow the healing process, laughter and quiet calm are keys to rapid recovery.

And for everyone, the most humbling day of your life is when you get a call from your Brother asking for nothing more than your strength, support and time because he needs somebody to hold the perimeter while he's recovering. In Judaism, such a call, and it's answer are called a Mitzvah... it is a calling from whatever power or God you believe in, to give back to the world by giving what many would consider ungiveable or untenable or just bothersome to and individual or group. If you answer, you learn a lot about yourself. I got my call, and I'll be damned if the face and voice of God weren't masked behind a set that looked a lot like Crip.

I have so much more about this that I won't bore you with... My one request for any of you, if you get asked to help in the recovery of a wounded service member... grab it. The monetary remuneration sucks. Everything else is hard work, lack of sleep, satisfaction and self healing. Not to mention, you build a friendship on top of the one that exists that can not be described to anybody.
 
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JAB said:
For fuck sake, you two need to get a room. LOL


No disrespect intended, I think what P did and what J is going through is simply humbling...
Click to expand...

Had one for nearly 6 months... and nothing happened, except Crip got a good start on his road, and our families got tighter.
 

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