Father and son Iraq veterans help each other after brain injuries

Father, son help each other after brain injuries

By JULIE WATSON
The Associated Press


Sunday, January 30, 2011; 1:00 PM
MOORPARK, Calif. -- The crisply ironed uniforms of the father and son hang side by side in what they have dubbed the "Marine Corps closet," a dark space filled with vestiges of their tours of duty.

Two Purple Hearts. A backpack full of medical records.

The father is David R. Franco; the son is David W. Aside from the name, they share so much: proud service in Iraq, and a haunting, painful aftermath.

Both survived blasts by improvised explosive devices, and both have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. They fight pain daily. They are jittery in crowds at the mall. They have memory lapses. The father has struggled to spell "the" or "to," while his son searches for words in a conversation.

Their injuries came three years apart. The elder Franco was still struggling to come to grips with his own suffering when he learned that his son had been injured in the same way.

"My heart dropped," said the father. "As a parent you want your kids to be safe. You don't want them to go through the same things you've been through."
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Father and son help each other after brain injuries