The document discusses traumatic brain injury (TBI) in veterans. It describes several case studies of veterans who suffered TBIs during deployments and now struggle with memory loss, personality changes, depression, and other issues. Advanced brain scanning technologies like CAT scans and MRIs are helping doctors better understand and diagnose TBI. However, TBI symptoms are often not visible and many cases go undiagnosed. Between 160,000 to 320,000 current veterans are estimated to have some degree of undiagnosed or untreated TBI. The document also explores challenges with preventing TBI during combat, as head protection offers little help against hidden explosive blasts, and ideas like bomb-detecting dogs or radar have limitations.

1. Madison Vaughn, Claire Cooper, Eric Daniel
Mrs. Lester
Hon Lit/Comp 10
25 April 2012
Traumatic Brain Injury in Veterans
Intro: (Insert photo)
- Traumatic Brain Injury, also known as the signature wound of the Iraq war, has become a
serious condition in the lives of many soldiers, veterans, and their families.
- TBI patients and their doctors undergo various coping strategies to help those who suffer from
TBI rise above the difficulties and daily struggles that the injury renders on their lives.
- In the U.S., a TBI occurs at least every twenty-one seconds, making it the No.1 cause of death
and disability for people under forty-four.
- War veterans and their families are desperately wondering what ways there are to prevent or
overcome such injuries from happening or reoccurring.
- Advancements in technology, the development of coping skills and strategies, and preventions
of the injury should reduce the impact of Traumatic Brain Injuries in soldiers and veterans.
Body Para One:
TS: (Insert Photo) War veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury are forced to learn to
cope with the daily struggles that not only affect themselves, but also their family and their
surrounding environment.

2. CD1: In an article titled, “After Iraq, Devastating New Wounds”, Alec Giess discusses
what it is like to suffer from a traumatic brain injury he received while serving in the Iraq War in
2003. Giess was traveling in a 5-ton truck with nine of his fellow soldiers when all of a sudden
the vehicle hit an oil slick and flipped over. (Insert photo) He states, “I don’t trust myself—I don’t
trust my memory. Every day is a fight”.
CM1: After Giess’ head injury, his mind has been dramatically changed. Details about
his recent home life have become hard to remember. Certain words, movements, and actions
have been completely erased from his mind ever since the day of the accident. To get through
each day, he writes himself reminders in his date book. After soldiers
CM2: (Insert photo) TBI has left Giess with a life full of memory lapses and sensory
dysfunction. His wife, Shana, states, “It’s like raising another kid”. Occasionally, Alec will blurt
out inappropriate comments to people. Shana says, “It’s almost like being with somebody who is
drunk”. Army doctors believe his personality shift was due to post-traumatic stress disorder, or
PTSD. The relation between PTSD and TBI is obvious within this case. They both have the
ability to make physical and mental marks on a human being. Giess’ mother says, “The serenity
of our life has been disrupted in every way”. The peacefulness of their old life is now left behind
from their new life. The family’s ways of coping with the everyday struggles has left them to only
hope for some recovery.
CD2: (Insert photo) Dr. Ghada Ahmed states, “With brain injury, you are reborn. You are
not the same person you were”. Ahmed’s observation of a brain injury shows how serious the
injury can be. He also states, “A brain injury is a lifetime diagnosis”.
CM1: Scientists have discovered more about the brain in the past ten years than in the
previous ten centuries. Many soldiers and veterans are aware of the changes around them.
However, many of these changes are hard to overcome because once the brain is injured, the
aftermath leaves long-lasting effects on the individual.

3. CM2: Almost every soldier who has suffered or is still suffering from TBI has dealt with
the frustration and confusion that the injury brings. Their personal battles with their mind leave
them to wonder how they could ever fully cope with the affects.
CD3: (Insert photo) “… I was a pretty smart person before. I had straight A’s… It really
frustrates me,” says Michael Cain, a former Army Spec. who suffers from TBI.
CM1: (Insert photo) Uncertain about his future, he is stuck with symptoms such as short-
term memory loss and a tendency to startle easily. These symptoms can have a major effect on
the people around him, including his friends, family, and even his work environment. Most TBI
patients question themselves. They often ask themselves, “Why am I going through weeks of
depression at a time?’ Why can’t I keep a job?’ and ‘My wife is going to leave me if I don’t fix
things soon.’ Soldiers and veterans suffering from TBI worry about the change from their old life
to their new one.
CM2: According to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, some twenty percent
of injuries to American soldiers in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have included injury to
the brain. The need for specialized brain injury rehabilitation has increased greatly. The
importance of the causes and outcomes of a TBI injury is trying to be noticed by people across
the world. Through many coping skills and strategies, there are ways to overcome the everyday
difficulty that TBI can bring.
Body Para Two:
TS: (Insert Photo) Today’s technology has increased tremendously when it comes to showing
the effects of a veteran with a Traumatic Brain Injury. The diagnoses for veterans with a TBI
are: headaches, dizziness, ringing in ears, memory loss, mood swings and many more.
Scientist today have come up with different ways to discover how a veteran or person with a TBI
reacts when diagnosed with this injury.

4. CD 1: (Insert Photo) Scientists and Doctors have come together to help find a specific way to
understand more on how a veteran with a Traumatic Brain injury acts and feels. With the
updated technology our society has, scientists and doctors have come up with what is known as
a CAT scan.
CM1: This type of scanning is used to x-ray the brain from many different angles, feeding the
information into a computer that produces a series of cross-sectional images.
CM2: The most common test used is what we call a MRI. This type of testing is made up of
radio waves that go into the brain in a highly magnetized field that causes the brain to send forth
radio waves. The waves are analyzed by computer to create thin cross-sectional images of the
brain. The MRI provides the most detailed images of the brain and is known to be safer than
imaging methods that use x-rays. Although, MRI cannot be used with people who have
pacemakers or metal implants.
CD 2: (Transition and Insert Photo) Scientists are learning more and more about Traumatic
Brain Injuries everyday as they continue to research. A veteran with a TBI can have many
symptoms such as: memory loss, mood swings, change in sleep, dizziness, headaches, and
many more. Traumatic Brain Injury is not a physical injury, but more of a mental injury. Capt.
Mark Olesen says: “A person with a TBI can look-even immediately after the blast-perfectly
fine.”
CM1: Patients with a mild or moderate TBI does not have a lot of structural damage to the brain.
But the medical officers and corpsmen are trained to recognize the symptoms. Most treatments

5. for a Traumatic Brain Injury is symptom based. The goal is not to just treat the symptoms, but to
help the patient regain his or her former skills and functionality.
CM 2: Russell Hill states; “I didn’t know anything had happened to me in my head.” Traumatic
Brain Injury can be a very serious matter. The recovery of a TBI can be anywhere between a
few months to no recovery at all. Medical officers and Scientists continue to research today to
learn as much as they can about TBI.
CD 3: (Transition and Insert Photo) The estimation of veterans and service members that are
suffering from some degree of TBI today is from a minimum of 160,000 to a maximum of
320,000. Paul Sulivan says; “TBI is going to be the worst story in terms of returning veterans.
Most of which are unscreened, undiagnosed, and untreated.” Although it may seem like it’s very
easy to tell if someone has a TBI, misdiagnosing is very common.
CM 1: Soldiers with a TBI look healthy, but come home changed. Many are confused about their
circumstances and often are too ashamed to seek help. Many veterans today face a lack of
mental health care access in rural areas. Some contemplate or commit suicide, get divorced,
leave their jobs, and walk the streets homeless.
CM 2: Traumatic Brain Injuries in our society today is very serious. Because of this injury, we
are losing many of our veterans who have served or who are still serving for our country.
Body Para Three:
TS: (Insert photo) When war veterans come home, 10 to 20 percent of them have a
Traumatic Brain Injury. With this being said, we wanted to know are there any precautions
soldiers can take in the act of war to reduce receiving a Traumatic Brain Injury.
CD1: A Traumatic Brain Injury is usually caused by soldiers being repeatedly exposed to
blasts in war. Blast is usually hidden and explodes unexpectedly.

6. CM1: Soldiers wear a bunch of protective gear (Insert Photo) but sources show that
protective head gear does no good when exposed to a blast.
CM2: There have been ideas to use dogs for their strong sense of smell to help detect
the blasts. Unfortunately, blasts are well hidden and training would cost a lot of money.
CD2: (Insert photo) One idea that has been established has been an idea to have
vehicles that block the effects of blasts.
CM1: Money seems to always be a big issue when talking about improvements in war
combat. The money that would be needed to fund for equipment to do such a thing would be too
risky of a move.
CM2: Also there is no proven way to prevent blasts from traveling through barriers on
vehicles since it attacks sonically instead of physically.
CD3: (Insert photo) People have often wondered if some type of radar would help
identify the bombs therefore showing a way for soldiers to get around the blasts.
CM1: The use of radar does have flaws even though it does seem like a good idea.
Enemies could hack the radars and pinpoint the location of soldiers.
CM2: Since the blasts are caused from a bomb, even if the radar worked and soldiers
tried to find a way around them, there is no telling as to how far a bomb’s blast could travel.