Veteran's War Wounds Cut Deep Into Family

Veteran's War Wounds Cut Deep Into Family
Caregiving wife exhausted by the strain of caring for everyone but herself.
Everyday Health
By Sharon Kay
Staff Writer

Marine 1st Lt. Chris Ayres nearly bled to death from a leg wound and twice went into cardiac arrest the day his amphibious assault vehicle was ambushed in a rocket grenade attack in Fallujah, Iraq.

Military doctors in Germany and Texas patched the then 34-year-old back together after the April 2004 attack, but along the way, it was clear something had been overlooked: a change in his personality.

"The man I married died the day he was hurt,” says wife Renée Ayres. "I was prepared that I’d never see him again when he left for war, but it never crossed my mind that I’d have to take care of him, and I never fathomed he’d come home changed.”

Renée was 34 and seven months pregnant with their second child when she rushed to her husband's side at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and stayed every day until the birth of their second daughter, Faith. Although Renée delivered seven weeks prematurely because of preeclampsia — dangerously high blood pressure or hypertension during pregnancy that often requires bed rest — she was back at Chris' bedside three days after childbirth.

Renée split her days between Faith's neonatal intensive care unit and Chris' rehab hospital about 45 minutes apart. At home, Renée’s mother looked after 5-year-old Lauren, their eldest, who was born with Down syndrome. When baby Faith was discharged, Renée brought her to Chris’ bedside where they spent the next seven weeks together.
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