Heroes Behind Heroes But Only Some Matter

I became a caregiver over 30 years ago. I had to worry about taking care of my husband and our daughter along with trying to figure out how to hold down a job while helping my widow Mom with what she needed.

Families like mine had to do everything the Internet generation of veteran families have to do today but we didn't have the support. Reporters didn't care. They still don't. Vietnam veterans had the same physical wounds along with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury but do did other generations.

For over 30 years, before most of this generation was born, advocates like me were fighting for their lives knowing that unless we did, the next generation would join in our suffering instead of being cared for and about. We saw it happen to our parents and grandparents. We saw it happen to family after family. Now it is almost as if none of the suffering OEF and OIF veterans go through happened before. I got news for you.

Had it not been for families like mine and Vietnam veterans pushing for everything, albeit less than perfect, for the new generation, they would be like us. Abandoned and alone.

The heroes behind our heroes
Suffolk News
Staff Report
January 16, 2015

Andrea Sawyer of Colonial Heights takes her husband to all of his medical appointments as often as three or four times a week. At one point, he required all-day safety supervision at home. Although his conditions have improved greatly, there are still multiple medications and appointments to manage.

Mrs. Sawyer’s husband suffers from traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress as a result of his military service in Iraq. During his service, Mr. Sawyer served overseas in Department of Defense mortuaries in Tallil and Balad, Iraq, and stateside at Dover Port Mortuary, Dover Air Force Base. While in Iraq, he sustained blast-related injuries.

For the Sawyers, their toughest journey was not during his deployment, but after Mr. Sawyer returned home. It was a long road to his diagnosis of severe PTS and TBI. During that time, Mr. Sawyer needed full-time supervision — someone to manage his medications, take him to the doctor, ensure he was safe at home, and monitor his mental health.

But it wasn’t the Department of Veterans Affairs or Tricare or representatives from the Department of Defense who stepped in to fill that role. It was Mrs. Sawyer. At 34 and with two young children, she became the primary caregiver to her husband.

She’s not alone.

All across the nation, behind our wounded heroes, there is another army of heroes: veteran caregivers. These are the spouses, parents, family members and volunteers who provide regular care to those who have served our nation.
read more here

So did we! I left this comment.

It is nice they are being helped. What isn't nice is my generation was not included in this. My generation is Vietnam veteran families and while we went through everything longer without any help, we were not included in on the Caregivers act. Gulf War families were not. Korean veterans were not. WWII veterans were not. Guess we just didn't matter to the people responsible for the bill that changed so many lives while forgetting about us.

It is more than insulting. When one group of veterans receives special treatment it says a lot. It tells the other veterans they just don't matter. Good Lord! Do they really think taking the D our of PTSD will matter when they don't have a clue how any of this actually started?