Friday, February 09, 2007
Mental Health and the VA
McClatchy has a feature article today on the state of the Veterans Administration's mental health care for returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The picture is not pretty, from spotty availability to uneven quality to lack of awareness of what is needed. To compound the problem, money or lack of it prevents the proper care from becoming available to the increasing number of new veterans who need it. The article highlights the necessity of doing more for these young soldiers who were willing to give everything for us. And we need to give so much more to prevent any more of this:
When she first saw it in December 2005, Ellen thought it was a Christmas list from her son Josh, who had just walked out the front door.
Then she read the words:
"Don't think this is because of you," it said. "You did the best you could with me. The faces and the voices just won't go away."
The note indicated Josh's imminent suicide and went on to apologize for the pain he would cause. He said he had just received a driving-while-intoxicated charge - a surprise since he rarely drank. "This kills all hope of becoming a police officer that I ever had," he wrote.
By the time Ellen realized what the note was about, she ran outside. Josh was getting in his truck. She grabbed the side mirror, yelling hysterically that he would have to run her over before driving away. He yelled back, about a friend who had been killed in Iraq.
"Your battle buddy would not want you to die," she screamed.
"Mom, you don't understand," he said. "I've been dead ever since I left Iraq."
Josh shot himself in the head a few seconds later....
.....Josh Omvig had been a happy kid who signed up for the Army Reserve the day after he turned 18. He spent an intense 10 months in Iraq and then suddenly was home again. In the space of six days, he went from serving in Iraq to sitting at his family's Thanksgiving dinner table.
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