Soldier Deals with Life After PTSD Breakdown

Soldier Deals with Life After PTSD Breakdown

Retha Colclasure
9/21/2011
The wounds of war aren`t always visible. More people are becoming aware of that. One year after a PTSD breakdown, one soldier`s family is glad he`s still alive.

One year ago tonight, Brock Savelkoul went into a convenience store in Watford City with guns. He then drove off, drunk, and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase that ended in a standoff in an attempt at suicide by cop.

Today, his friends and family are glad he`s still alive.

There`s nothing quite like a soldier`s homecoming. But after the hugs, the kisses and the tears of joy over the reunion, many soldiers are faced with the different reality of civilian life.

"You come back, you`re thrown into civilian life, and you`re rewired," said Joan Daigle, who`s a friend of the Savelkoul family.

That`s something Daigle found out when her son returned home and suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder.

Daigle said, "I had no clue what was coming."

Many family members don`t. That`s why when Brock Savelkoul took off in a pickup truck, drunk, with weapons and suffering from a PTS blackout his family didn`t know what to think.

"It was a complete shock," said Angie Heinze, Brock`s sister. "It was a nightmare, this can`t be my brother. I knew it wasn`t the real Brock, had to be something else going on."

Brock had been diagnosed with PTSD, but the diagnosis wasn`t enough.
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