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USAF Opens Brain Clinic in Alaska

It will handle serious cases

Mar 19, 2009 16:08 GMT  ·  By
The USAF is managing an Alaska clinic, built for the sole purpose of helping American soldiers get passed their combat experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan
   The USAF is managing an Alaska clinic, built for the sole purpose of helping American soldiers get passed their combat experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan

Brain injuries are among the most severe kind, especially those that leave people scarred for life. Some may experience ringing sensations in their ears for years on end, while others may simply have a two- or three decade-long headache. These types of afflictions can only be cured with cutting-edge surgery, which is both very difficult to perform, and doesn't even guarantee a positive outcome in case the patient makes it. That's why the TBI Clinic was opened at the Elmendorf hospital in 2007.

In addition to complicated procedures, the clinic mainly deals with helping American troops that just returned home from Afghanistan and Iraq get over their injuries. For instance, a statistic released by the Department of Defense says that about 1.8 million US troops returned from their tours of duty in the Middle East with some form of brain injury. While most of them suffer from concussions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), others are in more serious conditions, after having passed through car bombing or similar experiences.

 

“I wouldn't say my memory really is getting any better, but my ability to adapt to the fact that my memory's really not getting any better has gotten a lot better,” shared Fort Richardson, Anchorage-based sergeant Dan DeRosam, who was the victim of a roadside bombing in Iraq. The 26-year-old is currently trying to recover at the center, as his head aches all of the time, and his ears ring with a sound similar to that left behind by a rock concert.

 

“When I first came here, I always had a headache. I was always worn out, tired. I couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate. I couldn't remember my cell phone number, couldn't remember how to get home. Seeing the different specialists has helped a lot,” said Staff Sgt. Gabriel Fierros, a 28-year-old soldier from Marengo, Illinois, who has received countless Botox injections to the face, after being involved in a gunfight. He was previously treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for about seven months, and now is starting to learn how to manage his PTSD, and the nightmares and irritability that come with it.