There's another very good article in this month's issue of Social Work Today about the special considerations involved in caring for wounded warriors -- and how to mitigate the toll that takes on the caregivers themselves. The article is called, "Surviving Professional Stress in a Military Setting." Granted we're talking about the stress on professional caregivers here -- social workers at Walter Reed, etc. were interviewed for the article -- but the same principles apply, even for nonprofessional caregivers, such as family and friends. Caring for someone who's hurt, with visible or invisible wounds of war, takes its toll -- and it's important to make sure that caregivers are taking care of themselves as well, during this process. There are some amazing, superstar performers in that category -- caregivers who are family and friends -- and I hope before too long, some of those people get the props they so richly deserve.
One of the people who comes to mind is Jennifer Briest, from Yankton, South Dakota, a special education teacher in her early 20s, with two young children, who stepped up with impressive, loving determination when her husband, Sgt. Corey Briest, suffered massive head injuries in Iraq. Jenny fought tenaciously -- there is no other word for it -- with caregivers who were -- whoops! -- writing her husband off -- at the local VA, where he was getting fairly substandard care -- to securing a spot for him in private care, at Casa Colina in Southern California. With the right care, and with Jenny spearheading the push to get Corey the treatment he needed and deserved -- lo and behold, he got quite a bit better. Corey's story has been featured on CBS News, etc., but I'm proud to say I was following it personally long before it made news, on her blog about him on CaringBridge, and Jennifer is every bit as much a hero, in terms of the example she's set. It's too bad family members have to fight that hard for their veterans to get the care they need and deserve, but for as long as this is how things are, Jennifer Briest will also be a hero to me -- and many others, as well. (For those following the Briests' story, there are significant improvements after the CBS story came out; thanks to improved, specialized, and dare we say, private care.)
Editor's Note: Here's the link to the video on CBS News. For more on the concept of "compassion fatigue," which like burnout is a very real risk for caregivers, read our earlier blog post, here.
