Vets With Brain Injuries Receive Help

Traumatic brain injuries in veterans are finally receiving the attention they deserve, says a veteran and volunteer at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center.

"In the past, a brain injury was a hidden thing," said C.J. Lockwood, a veteran of the U.S. Army. "Now we've got men and women coming back suffering from this, and we're going out looking for them.

"TBI can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, memory loss and lack of motivation. It's a hidden wound."

Lockwood will volunteer doing art therapy for veterans, he said during an open house Tuesday for the center's new Polytrauma/TBI Support Clinic.

The VA says that polytrauma care is for veterans and returning service members with injuries to more than one physical region or organ system and could be life-threatening. The injury could result in physical, cognitive, psychological, or psychosocial impairments and functional disability. Some examples of polytrauma include: Traumatic Brain Injury, hearing loss, amputations, fractures, burns, visual Impairment.

A Traumatic Brain Injury is a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. A TBI can result in short or long-term problems, although most people with TBI are able to function independently.

Cynthia Kuehn, RN Clinical Case Manager, said the medical staff was looking forward to helping veterans.

"Our team is very excited about helping this group of individuals that is returning and getting some normalcy back in their life," she said. "It's going to be a very exciting program. We'll be helping the vets with whatever their goals are. ... It's going to be very beneficial."

Kuehn said the initiative from the VA started in 2007, when all VA medical facilities started implementing a screening protocol for TBI for any vets returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. That led to the next step.

"The development of our program started in 2008," she said. "We started hiring for that program in August of 2008. We started getting the facility and the team together."

Establishing a polytrauma/TBI center or support clinic at each VA medical center was implemented nationwide, Kuehn said.

"The program highlights are to assist them achieve their highest function and we try to reintegrate them back into the community," she said. "That includes education therapy if they want to get back into the workforce."

The goal for the clinic is to have two providers, six therapists, one caseworker and one social worker, she said.

"Another clinic in Tulsa will mirror the one in Muskogee."

Lockwood said he is happy to use his creative talents to do something for the vets.

"The type of art will be whatever they need," he said. "I'm all about helping the vets live a better life."

"I'm just trying to give back to the VA medical center for everything they've done for me," he said.

Learn more about  Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on Military.com.