Fort Drum wife had to go to media to help her PTSD TBI wounded husband

How much care is due a soldier with PTSD?

Last Update: 11:04 am

The wife of a Fort Drum soldier says a once-a-month meeting with a doctor isn't enough for her husband who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Renee Peuchot took her complaint to NewsWatch50 after a year of battling with health care officials on Fort Drum over her husband's care.

Spc. Leroy Peuchot was knocked unconscious for five minutes when an I.E.D. struck his humvee while on patrol in Iraq in April, 2006, Mrs. Peuchot said.

He continued with his tour of duty but she immediately recognized personality changes after he returned. Peuchot was diagnosed with PTSD in October, 2007, she said.

The Peuchots were told that health facilities on Fort Drum were understaffed and that Spc. Peuchot could be seen only once a month, Mrs. Peuchot said.

A request to seek off-post treatment was denied, she said.

The couple also got nowhere with their request that he have Traumatic Brain Injury Testing, according to Mrs. Peuchot.

Just recently, the soldier was admitted to a specialized treatment program at Walter Reed, but Mrs. Peuchot says that's almost entirely through her own efforts.

Fort Drum officials, asked to respond to Mrs. Peuchot's complaints, told NewsWatch50 that privacy law prevents them from commenting on an individual's case or course of treatment.

Mrs. Peuchot said that in a meeting with MEDDAC commander Col. Jerome Penner, the Col. told her the two sides "had a difference in expectations."

"To suffer the way our family has suffered is a complete and total betrayal," Mrs. Peuchot said.
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