Going outside the system

Today's Boston Globe has an excellent in-depth look at the epidemic of traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently over 3000 soldiers have suffered TBI during this war, which is simply catastrophic. The VA system is overwhelmed and ill-equipped to deal with such complex injuries requiring extensive rehabilitation and potentially lifetime care. And so, families are now successfully petitioning to require the VA to pay for outside rehabilitation from private facilities. It is a controversial move, but one that we will see more of.

I have worked on several TBI cases back in my personal injury days, and they are generally some of the most depressing things you will ever see. Unlike with someone who is rendered paraplegic or loses a limb, a person with TBI will often appear externally fine and will be able to walk and talk. But the effect of the injury on their brain can result in personality change, violent mood swings, dramatic loss of cognitive function, inability to articulate their condition, and severe depression. It is an injury that is often even harder on the families who have to grapple with a person they no longer know, than for the patient themselves. My heart just goes out to these people and their families and I agree that the government has an obligation to provide them with the best care with the best hope of providing meaningful rehabilitation, rather than throwing them in a VA hospital that may have little to no experience in dealing with TBI because the system is overburdened.