Iraq vets' caregivers seek training, compensation

While I cannot share emails I've received because of confidentiality, this is a really big issue. I can help them with emotional support but I cannot help them with what they need the most and that's financial support. There are arriving in this situation from all walks of life and all professional backgrounds. They give up jobs but what they try like hell to not give up on is the person they love just because they need help. As this report points out, many family members just get to a point where they cannot do it anymore. It's not just a matter of the stress of taking care of someone, but compounded with the loss of income plus the psychological cost of losing one's place in the world. When you have jobs outside of the home, you usually have that job as part of your identity. "What do you do for a living" is the question most of us get when we meet someone. Being a volunteer or a caregiver to a family member, that identity is often responded to with a lowering of the listeners perception of you. It happens all the time.

There is nothing to be ashamed of when you can put everything else aside for someone you love. It should be valued and honored. Too often it's ignored. It's also a sacrifice that saves the government money in the long run, but above that, the care given by loving hands aids in the quality of life of the veteran.

Iraq vets' caregivers seek training, compensation
By KIMBERLY HEFLING (AP) – 9 hours ago

WASHINGTON — On good days, Michelle Briggs has to remind her 40-year-old husband to shower and eat. On bad days, she lifts him out of bed and picks him up when he falls.

Robert W. Briggs, a former Army sergeant, was severely injured in Iraq and needs constant monitoring because of traumatic brain injury, blindness in one eye and paralysis on one side. He walks with the help of a service dog. Briggs gave up her job as a veterinarian technician to care for him and their two kids.

With tissue in hand, Michelle Briggs huddled Monday in a hotel conference room with 15 other caregivers who shared hugs and exchanged stories. They will go to Capitol Hill this week with a message to Congress: We need help.

"Mentally, it takes a very big toll on you," said Briggs, 34, of Hillsboro, Iowa, whose husband was injured in a rocket grenade attack in 2005 while serving with the Iowa National Guard. "You have to be a very strong person to get through a lot of it. It's a choice whether you stay or not. It's very much a choice."

Briggs said she's met other spouses of injured veterans who sought a divorce.

"It doesn't make them a bad person at all, but they just couldn't handle the situation because it's very, very stressful and you have to fight for the things that you're entitled to," Briggs said.

The caregivers say parents, spouses and siblings of the disabled have given up jobs, health insurance and college to care for a loved one. Yet they get no compensation to ease the burden.
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Iraq vets caregivers seek training, compensation