War
And Remembrance
Article is reprinted from the Edmond Evening Sun published on
March 13, 2006.
War And Remembrance
Veteran battles Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
JAMES COBURN
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — Cynde Collins-Clark has seen her son spend days in his
bedroom because he fears his memory's unrelenting flashes of war.
Nightmares leave him drenched in sweat. He fears his jolting reaction
to loud noises might harm himself or others.
"He is afraid of himself," said Clark, Oklahoma's Mother of the Year
2006.
U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Joe Collins served honorably after volunteering
for active duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now, he wages a private
war against Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while living in his
mother's and stepfather's Edmond home.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a normal reaction to a
traumatic experience that could be experienced by almost anyone,
explained Helen Englebretsonk, a therapist and licensed clinical
social worker with the Veterans Center in Oklahoma City.
The goal of the Vet Center is to provide a broad range of counseling,
outreach, and referral services to help veterans make a satisfying
post-war readjustment to civilian life.
A study published in the February issue of The Journal of the American
Medical Association cites 12 percent of Iraq veterans have been
diagnosed with related mental disorders. And a 2004 study published in
The New England Journal of Medicine reported 95 percent of Iraq
veterans had seen dead bodies.
"If you put a million dollars in front of me and a pill that could
erase my memories of what has happened, I would say burn the money,"
said Collins, 22.
Nightmares and insomnia can be caused by the body producing excessive
amounts of adrenaline for months after returning home, said Waco
Blakley, a readjustment counseling technician at the Vet Center.
The around-the-clock constant hyper-vigilance that war-time soldiers
commonly experience can change the body's chemistry, Clark said. "Your
body is reacting to imprints that were abnormal and that haven't
processed fully," she added.
Some soldiers may find relief from hyper-vigilance while enjoying
recreational activities at an Army forward operation base. Depending
on a soldier's duty, those opportunities may be limited, Blakley
added.
"The tragedy is that Joe had such noble intentions," Clark said. "From
the day he volunteered with the rogue unit and said 'I'll go' — to the
day he got back and bought a home — the American dream. As a result of
his service (he) has lost the dream."
From the heart
Collins says he appreciates his mother's support. She serves as his
guardian with the Veterans Administration, takes him to the doctor,
buys his clothes and medicines, takes care of his finances.
Clark will be honored as Oklahoma Mother of the Year 2006 at the state
Capital on March 20. A national competition will later honor the
mother of the year chosen to represent all 50 states. The honor is a
function of American Mothers Inc., a national non-profit, interfaith
organization with supporting state associations. AMI's purpose is to
"strengthen the moral and spiritual foundations of family and the
home."
"There's nothing in my life I do for awards," Clark said. "I do it
maternally. It's from my heart. I believe in God and country and all
those boys over there and girls. And as a result of this, I just want
to support and encourage their well being."
Clark has a part-time counseling practice in Edmond and is a counselor
at Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City. Her husband, Jim, teaches
carpentry at Metro Technology Center. The couple married nine years
ago and, between them, have six children from 20 to 38 years of age.
His wife pours her heart and soul into helping her son, Jim Clark
said.
As a columnist, Cynde Clark has written about PTSD. Her son began
exhibiting symptoms in May 2005 after returning to Edmond from Iraq in
April 2004.
"The reason I accepted this opportunity really was on behalf of my
son," Clark continued. "The suffering that he has been through and
that our family has been through has been almost unbearable. And if we
can take any of that and help others — if I can use this as a forum
for that — that's the way I can make sense out of this suffering."
Clark has three degrees to her credit, two of which are master's
degrees in education and counseling from the University of Central
Oklahoma. She became a professional counselor in 2000.
"With the difficult time I've had helping Joe, I just can't imagine
some young 22-year-old that comes back and doesn't have any of that
background and trying to find help," Clark said.
Collins returned from Iraq in April 2004 after a year of service. The
Edmond Santa Fe High School graduate was with the 353rd Engineer Group
of the Army Reserves in Oklahoma. And he volunteered to serve as a
heavy machine and generator mechanic and escort in Iraq with the 285th
Engineer Co., U.S. Army Reserves out of Baton Rouge, La.
"He came back great guns," Clark said.
Collins continued working as a heavy machine mechanic with the 353rd
Army Reserves and used the savings he earned in Iraq to purchase a
home in Edmond.
"But Joe started exhibiting signs of his illness," Clark said. "They
also have within that program that if the person has over 30 percent
disability, they will lose their job."
For the Army to recognize Collins' PTSD, a neuro psychological
evaluation in November done by the Veterans Administration was one
aspect to verify his PTSD.
The VA will soon be Collins' sole option because he will soon be
without insurance. Clark said the VA Hospital became a PTSD trigger
for her son. But he continues to make his required appointments.
Wanting to heal
"If America could solicit the top five scientists in the world to
build the A Bomb," Collins said, "then they have the same power to
find the top people to come up with a cure for PTSD."
In January 2005, Collins went to a civilian psychologist that
misdiagnosed him with Attention Deficit Disorder after a brief visit,
Clark said. As a result, a civilian physician prescribed him an
amphetamine that exacerbated his PTSD, she added.
He left the physician's care and spent five days in the Two Rivers
Hospital in Kansas City in October, Clark said, and benefited from
interventions and a pharmaceutical change.
At the time, Collins did go to the VA because he was afraid he would
lose his federal civilian job if anyone knew he was sick.
Clark contacted the Vet Center in January after learning of its
services. The center is part of the Veterans Administration but not
the hospital. Collins plans on visiting the center — possibly this
week. An earlier attempt to visit the center was lost when Clark and
Collins couldn't find the address at 3033 N. Walnut in Oklahoma City.
"I was absolutely encouraged that he was willing to go down there and
see where it was," Clark said.
Blakely said isolation is one of the worst things to do for PTSD — to
do nothing. Walking the dog, playing golf and other recreational
activities that relax the mind are helpful, he added. Blakley
encourages veterans to remain active when returning from Iraq.
Blakley, 35, is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring
Freedom. The staff sergeant with the 137th Security Forces Squadron of
the Oklahoma Air National Guard joined the Marine Corps in 1990 and
was discharged as a corporal in 1994.
"My biggest thing that I was able to self-identify once I returned
home was I was very nervous driving right here with our own citizens
in Oklahoma City," Blakley said. "I was always looking to my left, to
my right, behind me."
He said his wife, family and friends noticed his driving anxiety. In
retrospect, Blakley said he could have benefited from services
provided by the Vet Center.
Cultural shock for veterans comes after returning home to an
unstructured life after the military had provided a rigid structure to
keep them alive, Blakley said. And Clark said soldiers would benefit
from a less abrupt and more gradual return to society than what is now
offered by the military.
Reintegration issues are common for servicemen returning from combat.
It may be a temporary reaction that will not necessarily lead to PTSD,
said Englebretsonk of the Vet Center.
The Vet Center encourages veterans with PTSD not to watch repetitive,
televised news reports about American casualties in Iraq. Exercise,
rest and avoidance of alcohol is needed.
Some people have a delayed reaction of PTSD occurring months or years
following the trauma, Englebretsonk said. Veterans might respond to
memories of trauma by pretending it never happened.
Collins is one of a few soldiers who has been diagnosed with PTSD
without it being documented to a specific battle. The result of his
trauma is cumulative, his mother said, and there are probably reasons
for his PTSD that he has never discussed.
Blakley said he was lucky to be about to talk to loved ones about his
nightmares and sleeplessness. War veterans may resist sharing
experiences with family members but find solace in sharing memories of
trauma with other veterans. Starting in April, the Vet Center will
initiate group counseling of Iraqi vets.
Englebretsonk identified three symptom clusters of PTSD, including
re-experiencing trauma, arousal and avoidance.
Psychological treatment for PTSD involves helping somebody regain
management of emotions.
The disorder can be triggered by stimulus that the individual cannot
control. Therapy involves making veterans aware of cues that can spark
their PTSD.
"A lot of them may not understand why it is that they're suffering
from these type of occurrences," Blakley said. "They may think they're
isolated, that it's only them when that is obviously not the case. We
give them the tools to allow them to understand they are not alone."
(Features Editor James Coburn may be reached via e-mail at jcoburn@edmondsun.com.)
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