The good ol' Washington Post has another in a series of excellent, needful articles on the hardships of being a returning veteran, or a close family member and/or caregiver, in today's paper. This story is about Michelle and Troy Turner who live in rural West Virginia, 80 miles from the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital where Troy receives his care for PTSD and other injuries. Troy finished his tour in Iraq in 2003, but Michelle must deal with the fallout. As the Washington Post says in one of its photo captions to the story, "Troy's one-year war has become his wife's endless one." Thank goodness for more coverage being given to the difficulty of caregiving. PTSD not only affects returning veterans, but also their families. Please take the time to read this story and/or watch the slideshow that accompanies it, with an audio file of the couple talking about the hardships they've gone through. Excellent, responsible reporting from the Post, continuing to focus on veterans and their care.
The Washington Post may requires registration to read the article. If you need to search for the full-text article, the title is, "A Wife's Battle: When Her Soldier Returned from Baghdad, Michelle Turner Picked Up the Burden of the War," and the byline is Anne Hull and Dana Priest, who were also reporters on the excellent series published previously in the Post. The whole ongoing series is entitled, "When the War Comes Home: Walter Reed and Beyond."
[Editor's note: Read the epilogue to the Troy and Michelle Turner story, also published in the Washington Post. Positive results from the harsh glare of the media spotlight, turned on suffering.]
