Mother to Mother #1

 by Mavis McDowell

This is my first blog post for OperationREVAMP.inc  August 31, 2012

                The hardest part of traumatic brain injury is it’s not a readily visible wound. Often you don’t know what’s wrong or even if there is an injury. You never know the   life changing consequences you will be facing  because of  it.

                The very nature of brain injury causes memory loss. It used to be a joke in the old movies when someone was knocked unconscious and woke up saying “Where am I ? What happened?”  It’s not funny. You don’t know what you can’t remember especially if no one asks you. 

                Too many of our finest young men and women are suffering from TBI and PTSD.  All the IEDs and nature of war in Iraq and Afghanistan  is costing us too much in human suffering.

                Colonel Dr. Joe Heck’s report recommends better screening, care and therapy for the underestimated number of our troops who are suffering  TBI.   I’m proud to join Wendy Hoffman in her efforts to bring awareness and therapy to our wounded warriors.  As I said in my proposal to Wendy,  my column will offer helpful hints to other mothers - things that I have learned through experience and training.

Mother to Mother - Introduction

    MOTHER TO MOTHER

                I would like to write a column for Operation REVAMP and Blue Star Mothers that deals with helping our children through the struggle to recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The results of repeated deployments, exposure to multiple Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDS) explosions and the uncertainty of war and political objectives.

          My qualifications to write this column are;

1. I am a Blue Star Mother.

2. I have degrees in multi-level education, educable Mentally Retarded, English as a Second Language, Learning Disabilities, and Emotionally Disturbed.

 3. I taught these school populations for 20 years.

  4. I have a Master’s in counseling.

   5. Both my husband and myself come from military families that have served this country since the revolution and continue to serve with honor and distinction. Currently, 2 Navy, 1 Army, 1 Marine, and 1 Air Force serving.

 6. I learned some methods while working in a home for traumatic brain injured youth.

 7. I am certified in (CISM) Crisis Intervention Stress Management and (CERT) Community Emergency Response Training.

 8. Uniquely both my oldest son and I have survived a series of TBIs and do have PTSD. The circumstances under which we received these physical and psychological injuries I won’t share and are not going to be the focus of the column. The focus will be on the returning troops and their families who need some help now. I am willing to share with the mothers things they can do to help their children with similar problems. It would be coming from another mom who figured out what works to pull your child back to this world. The focus is giving those tools and information they can use for this fight. Some simple things that help in big and small ways to move them on to as good a recovery as possible no matter how long it takes. This is a battle the moms can win.

          We will use the latest brain research which is encouraging. We will consult military leaders like Colonel, Dr. Joe Heck, who did a study of the effects on the brain of repeated exposure to IED explosions. I have a copy.

          We will call on experts in TBI, PTSD, depression, pain relief whatever is needed. My middle son is a Navy plastic surgeon, not a neurologist, but he is very helpful to me. The relief of having a presentable face again obviously helps a recovering soldier.

          I want to help these moms and wives with the depression they will be going though, emphasizing they are the lucky ones, they have their loved one back. Miracles take a lot of work and time, but they do happen. If they want to email me that’s great, but I won’t identify them in the column unless they want me to. The column would just be one mother who has had the training and experiences to offer methods that may help, encouraging others.    

                   Thank You

                                      Mavis H. MacDowell 

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