Sen. Patty Murray hears more problems from veterans with PTSD

Vets get Sen. Patty Murray's ear during roundtable
Six local veterans brought their concerns to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in a listening session Monday at Harbor Wholesale Foods in Lacey. Murray, who chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, periodically holds the roundtables to get feedback.

MATT BATCHELDOR; STAFF WRITER
Published: 02/21/12
Returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder, but being discouraged from receiving treatment. Waiting for more than two months for a doctor’s appointment with Veterans Administration. Being afraid to write the word “veteran” on a job application.

Those were among the concerns that six local veterans brought to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in a listening session Monday at Harbor Wholesale Foods in Lacey. Murray, who chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, periodically holds the roundtables to get feedback.

Each veteran described the often difficult transition from war to civilian life.

“My unit suffered a lot of casualties,” said Sarah Lilegard, an intelligence analyst for four years who deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 with a Stryker brigade, the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

She was diagnosed with PTSD shortly after returning from combat, “and at the time I just wanted to feel kind of normal,” she said. “But when it’s you, you really don’t want to admit to it.”
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