The search for combat trauma solutions

SPECIAL REPORT: The search for combat trauma solutions
By Alysa Landry The Daily Times
Article Launched: 04/01/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT


Editor's note: Today's story is the final report in a three-part series.


FARMINGTON — The roar of machine guns echoing in the jungles of Vietnam was silent for more than 30 years before Dennis Vaughn stopped hearing it.

The Vietnam veteran was suffering from the symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, but he didn't know it.

"We just thought that's the way life was," he said. "For 30-plus years, that's just the way it was."

Vaughn, 60, joined the Army in 1968 and spent nine months in Vietnam behind an M-60 machine gun.

Thirty years and three marriages later, Vaughn came face to face with reality — in the form of a make-believe village. He was on his honeymoon in Disney World with his third wife, waiting in line for a safari ride.

The line went through a little bamboo forest and passed a miniature Montagnard village, just like the villages Vaughn had seen in Vietnam.

"Disney doesn't do anything halfway, so this was perfect," he said. "I was hyper-alert, looking for snipers, watching for ambush situations. My wife turned around and said, Are you all right?' She recognized right away that there was something wrong, and for the first time in over 30 years, I had to admit that I wasn't all right."

Vaughn was diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in 2001, more than three decades after his military service ended.

"I can look back on the 30 years and pick up incidents almost on a daily basis," he said. "And that's a lot of days."

Vaughn's symptoms included nightmares, a sense of hyper-vigilance and difficulty with interpersonal relationships. He's one of about 25 million United States veterans to be diagnosed with combat PTSD. He's also one of a growing number of people to seek help for the condition that affects as many as 40 percent of combat veterans.

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When my husband's claim with the VA was finally approved, I called to book a vacation to Disney. We hadn't been on a family vacation since we got married and I hadn't been to Disney in about 20 years. Our daughter was 11. I thought it would be a perfect way to get us all to reconnect again. I was right and we had a fantastic time. Jack's medication had him calm and enjoying himself. We had taken our niece as a companion so that she could stay in the same room with our daughter because Jack didn't sleep all night and often, there were nightmares.

Because we didn't include Sea World and Universal Studios in on the trip, we promised them we would take them back the following year.

The next summer, Jack was very different. He was sad most of the time and very jumpy. We would go to the parks and want to go back on some of the rides he really liked, but he waited outside while we went on the ride. I couldn't figure it out. I didn't understand what was so different about that trip that he was acting as if he didn't want to be with us at all. We ended up arguing a lot. By the time we got back to Massachusetts, I called his doctor. There was something not right about him. We went to the see the triage nurse. It was then that I discovered what was wrong. He stopped taking one of his medications. While I had passed off his behavior before hand as nervousness about flying again, it was the fact he was not taking his medication.

I was furious! It was the last time he tried to pull a stunt like that. Medication is necessary along with talk therapy. When they are on medication, at least when the medication has them stable once they find the right combination, nerves are calmed. They help but they are not a miracle. He still has dark days when we will go to the parks and I can feel him jump while holding his hand. One of the agreements we had when we moved to Florida was that we would have one day a week just for us. Friday is our play day unless something special comes up during the week and we have to switch days. At least once a week we get out together to just enjoy life. Most of the time money is tight but we usually use our tax refund to buy the season passes. It is part of our therapy as a couple.

He needs it because of PTSD and I need it because he has PTSD. I also need it because spending at least 12 hours a day doing this, I need to be reminded that there is a another side of life and feel "normal" again. (Actually it's more like being a 12 year old again.) It is very important that the couple living with PTSD spend time together, even if it's just going for a walk or out to dinner. Movies are usually not a good thing for a PTSD veteran. They don't like being in the dark with a bunch of strangers for a couple of hours. The most they can tolerate is a few minute on a ride because it's moving and it's over fast. In restaurants they don't like to be seated in the middle of the room and they usually need to sit in a booth. When you walk in, you will see their eyes searching for a safe place to sit. Chivalry needs to be forgotten in this situation because we have to let them pick the safest seat for them and let them sit first. Otherwise we are talking to them and they are not paying attention at all because they are too busy being on guard. Plus when we are sitting in the wrong place, my husband usually will snap at the waiter instead of being nice.

You learn what to avoid and what works as time goes on. The key is to make sure they are getting the help they need and you have to be totally committed to paying attention and remembering, they have PTSD and you have to live with it. Adapt and understand. It will help your marriage survive and help them live a better life.