PTSD follows Army sniper home

Published: August 24, 2008 6:00 a.m.
Battle wounds
Post-traumatic stress follows ex-Army sniper home
Michael Schroeder
The Journal Gazette
Sitting at a table in Starbucks, Antonio Arciga, 29, breaks a big chocolate chip cookie for his 4-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.

She has been waiting for Dad to finish answering questions about his service in Afghanistan and Iraq – tugging his arm now and again. The two are going fishing soon, he says, recognizing her bottled enthusiasm and reminding her in soft ways that she has to wait a little longer.

A reminder from his wife, Elisa, is the only reason Arciga admits he remembered the interview in the first place. A traumatic brain injury suffered in combat – the product of multiple IED blasts – has hampered his short-term memory.

But another battle scar – post-traumatic stress disorder – has had a more profound effect on his life. Though he feels lucky that his injuries – physical and mental – are manageable, he’s still haunted by visions from combat. Two images in particular.

Arciga was an Army sniper and now receives disability compensation. He shared his story in hopes that other veterans would seek help if they need it. He goes to the VA Medical Center in Fort Wayne three times a week for a strained ligament in his right knee, a fractured collar bone, ringing in his ears – related to firing his rifle and close-range blasts – and PTSD. He sees a psychiatrist once a month and a therapist twice monthly.

He also takes medication for anxiety and depression and to control his anger. Admittedly, he’s still irritable. He has difficulty concentrating and has lost sleep to nightmares and jitteriness.

“Things are going all right. I’m getting more adjusted to it now,” he said during a subsequent interview at his home on Fort Wayne’s west side. “I’m back into the groove.”

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