WEBVTT 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.960 All across America and around the world, welcome 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:19.059 to America's number one veterans program, the 00:00:19.059 --> 00:00:23.739 voice of American veterans, Veterans Radio. And 00:00:23.739 --> 00:00:26.379 now your host for today, former chief warrant 00:00:26.379 --> 00:00:30.339 officer, 195th assault helicopter company, Republic 00:00:30.339 --> 00:00:40.810 of Vietnam, 1969, Dale Throneberry. Hello America 00:00:40.810 --> 00:00:43.109 and welcome to veterans radio as Bob was saying 00:00:43.109 --> 00:00:45.609 the number one of America's veterans program 00:00:45.609 --> 00:00:48.229 the voice of America's veterans My name is Dale 00:00:48.229 --> 00:00:52.369 Throneberry and 1969 holy mackerel 40 years ago. 00:00:52.850 --> 00:00:56.369 Oh It's getting starting to feel my age a little 00:00:56.369 --> 00:01:00.049 bit Running our board for us today is 101st Airborne's 00:01:00.049 --> 00:01:03.890 Bob Gould Bob thanks so much for doing this for 00:01:03.890 --> 00:01:06.250 us. You know, it's it's unusual. We do our whole 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:08.810 program here live So folks you got it's it's 00:01:08.810 --> 00:01:10.810 it's it's exciting and it's our adrenaline is 00:01:10.810 --> 00:01:13.290 always rushing and sometimes we get a little 00:01:13.290 --> 00:01:16.170 overexcited so you'll have to Excuse our over 00:01:16.170 --> 00:01:19.989 modulation. Sometimes my other partner is Gary 00:01:19.989 --> 00:01:22.189 modulation like that. That's that's I've been 00:01:22.189 --> 00:01:24.629 over modulated Yeah, that's a technical term 00:01:24.629 --> 00:01:27.530 Today's program the theme of today's program 00:01:27.530 --> 00:01:29.189 is invisible wounds and we're gonna be talking 00:01:29.189 --> 00:01:31.430 about traumatic brain injury, but before we get 00:01:31.370 --> 00:01:34.349 to that. My other partner on Veterans Radio, 00:01:34.489 --> 00:01:36.909 Gary Lilley, is on the line and Gary is down 00:01:36.909 --> 00:01:39.569 in Louisville, Kentucky. Good morning to you 00:01:39.569 --> 00:01:44.349 all. I'm down here for the biannual Vietnam Veterans 00:01:44.349 --> 00:01:47.549 of America National Convention where we go over 00:01:47.549 --> 00:01:51.870 resolutions, see old friends, and when the work 00:01:51.870 --> 00:01:54.150 is done we get to have a little bit of relaxation. 00:01:54.530 --> 00:01:58.670 But this is a workaholic group and we work on 00:01:58.670 --> 00:02:01.250 resolutions that are going to set the course 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:03.980 for the next two years for vietnam veterans of 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:06.819 america and we elect new officers and board of 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:09.439 directors what there gary what uh... what are 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:11.360 the issues that they're looking at this year 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:14.240 i'm uh... i was going to hit some of the high 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:17.180 ones because my gosh we've got uh... the abbreviated 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:19.520 form is about forty resolutions here and they 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.520 cover everything from agent orange and dioxin 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:25.419 uh... people believe that agent orange is uh... 00:02:25.419 --> 00:02:28.460 something from the past but they don't that two 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:32.900 four d which was One of the parts of that soup, 00:02:33.460 --> 00:02:36.840 and one of the most dangerous, is used in weed 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:39.520 control and sold over the counter. And it's the 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:43.900 most toxic dioxin never created. And you'll hear 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:47.280 Master Gardeners tell people, go after those 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.360 weeds with 2 ,4 -D. Let me jump in here for a 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:52.240 second, Gary. You just did a program on this 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:54.199 a couple of weeks ago that you can find on our 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:56.680 archives about Agent Orange. And there was a 00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:00.669 new program that came out or a new report that 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:02.430 just came out this week that talked about Agent 00:03:02.430 --> 00:03:05.830 Orange being a contributor to Parkinson's, heart 00:03:05.830 --> 00:03:09.810 disease, and high blood pressure. Exactly. That's 00:03:09.810 --> 00:03:12.830 right. And now that's the medical report. And 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:17.129 now our work is to get the VA to recognize it. 00:03:17.210 --> 00:03:19.530 And I've got a friend that's coming down with 00:03:19.530 --> 00:03:21.430 Parkinson's disease. Yeah, you're going to be 00:03:21.430 --> 00:03:25.449 on the program, Rick. Hold on. That's Bob's mic 00:03:25.449 --> 00:03:32.900 is open while he's talking on the phone. Also 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:35.659 some of the things that we're minority affairs 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:39.699 is a big one and that's recognizing the Pacific 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:42.180 Islander veterans and some of the Puerto Rican 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:45.620 veterans and some of the people that aren't Don't 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:48.219 qualify for VA healthcare, and I'm not sure that's 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:51.080 right Puerto Ricans are part of it But we're 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:54.199 you know lobbying Congress all the time to get 00:03:54.199 --> 00:04:00.780 those people who served able to collect VA compensation 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:04.159 and to get VA healthcare treatment. Oh, voting, 00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:07.840 you know, making voting more accessible to our 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:11.539 troops. But the main thing, what's turning on, 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:13.539 you know, the founding principle of Vietnam Veterans 00:04:13.539 --> 00:04:16.259 of America is never again will one generation 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:19.800 of veterans abandon another. And our main thrust 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:22.480 right now is helping out these troops of today 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.019 and the Gulf War troops. They've got issues, 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:28.540 and our lobbyists Rick Weidman and Marcia Foer, 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:30.480 these are people that really know their issues. 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:34.279 They're up there, and that's talking to Congress 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:37.779 door -to -door, and they are sharp. Boy, do they 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:43.319 know the issues. Homeless, big ones. So that's 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:46.639 a busy agenda. And when it was all over, we got 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:50.720 to see the movie. We're getting into a little 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.740 bit of the reward time. We saw Taking Chance 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:57.439 was just nominated for 10 Emmys about the colonel 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:01.180 who escorted the body of Chance Felton back to 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:05.699 his hometown. After the movie, the real colonel, 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:09.620 the guy that Kevin Bacon played, talked to us 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:12.079 and took some questions. And today he'll be one 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.519 of the keynote speakers. And the father of Chance 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:20.300 Phelps will also be there. That was a powerful, 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:25.019 powerful movie. Powerful, powerful. The whole 00:05:25.019 --> 00:05:27.459 room, there were about 500 Vietnam vets in there. 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:30.220 There must have been some sort of allergies coming 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:33.279 out of the air conditioning system because there 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:35.800 was a lot of sniffles. That's understandable 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:38.779 with that program and I would encourage anybody 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:42.410 who hasn't seen it yet to... go and find that. 00:05:42.649 --> 00:05:44.769 And one other thing I want to go and then I got 00:05:44.769 --> 00:05:46.850 to jump back into the convention is the keynote, 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:51.069 opening keynote speaker was General Honor Ray, 00:05:51.709 --> 00:05:54.069 the guy that, the two star, three star general 00:05:54.069 --> 00:05:58.069 that was sent into New Orleans to get things 00:05:58.069 --> 00:06:01.029 organized and get that mess cleaned up. He's 00:06:01.029 --> 00:06:03.389 the guy that when he, when he arrived, you know, 00:06:03.389 --> 00:06:05.990 they had trouble with shooting and snipers and 00:06:05.990 --> 00:06:09.009 shooting back and all that. He got out and there 00:06:09.009 --> 00:06:11.970 were some soldiers that had their weapons up 00:06:11.970 --> 00:06:15.230 and he started yelling at them, put those weapons 00:06:15.230 --> 00:06:17.730 down, put those weapons down. You know, we're 00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:20.970 here on a rescue mission. And another time he 00:06:20.970 --> 00:06:23.490 was up there, he's the guy that said, stuck on 00:06:23.490 --> 00:06:26.810 stupid, about the way some of these people were 00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:30.509 running the operation. He was up on the platform 00:06:30.509 --> 00:06:32.410 during a press conference and I don't know what 00:06:32.410 --> 00:06:35.759 the civilian... A guy was saying, but he turned 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:38.300 to him and said, that's a bunch of BS. That's 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:41.000 a bunch of BS. And there's the two civilian guys 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.319 trying to say how it really wasn't their fault. 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:46.139 Sounds like he tells it like it is. Well, it 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:47.500 sounds like you're having a good time. And I'm 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:49.660 anxious for you to come back and tell us what 00:06:49.660 --> 00:06:52.579 you learned at the Vietnam Veterans of America's 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:56.939 biannual convention. And one last thing. There 00:06:56.939 --> 00:07:00.000 I was after giving a little, passing out the 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.069 flyers on veterans. radio and the guy yelled 00:07:03.069 --> 00:07:06.629 to me afterwards, do you know T. Barry? Who? 00:07:06.990 --> 00:07:09.230 Dale Throneberry. I flew with him. He saved my 00:07:09.230 --> 00:07:12.970 life in country 40 years ago. Told me the whole 00:07:12.970 --> 00:07:16.110 story and he's anxious to talk to you. You guys 00:07:16.110 --> 00:07:18.269 got a chance to speak for about a minute. Yeah, 00:07:18.329 --> 00:07:22.029 and I appreciate that. That was very emotional. 00:07:22.149 --> 00:07:24.449 I was surprised how emotional it was to talk 00:07:24.449 --> 00:07:29.230 to someone that you hadn't thought of. He told 00:07:29.230 --> 00:07:31.170 me he thinks about you a lot because what you 00:07:31.170 --> 00:07:34.149 taught him saved his life. And I spoke to him 00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:36.610 afterwards, after the convention last night, 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:39.050 ran into him on the street and a buddy of his 00:07:39.050 --> 00:07:41.389 and we spoke for about 40 minutes out on the 00:07:41.389 --> 00:07:44.670 street. Well, I'm anxious to talk to Brooks and 00:07:44.670 --> 00:07:46.850 see what's going on with his life and thanks 00:07:46.850 --> 00:07:49.629 for making that connection, Gary. It's amazing 00:07:49.629 --> 00:07:52.680 what we have learned. on this program and how 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:55.220 important it is for us to be the ones to tell 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:57.139 those stories. They need to get them out. We 00:07:57.139 --> 00:07:59.800 know that. We do. And that's what we do. And 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:01.279 Gary, thanks so very much. And I'll be talking 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.220 to you next week. Talk to you then. See you then. 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:06.180 Bye, buddy. Thanks. We're just talking to Gary 00:08:06.180 --> 00:08:07.800 Lilly, who's down at the Vietnam Veterans of 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:10.779 America Convention in Louisville. And he'll be 00:08:10.779 --> 00:08:13.160 back to talk about what he learned down there 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:15.720 and what this... particular veterans organization 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:18.160 is doing to try and help out America's veterans. 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:20.680 But joining us on the line right now is an unusual 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:23.240 young man. And we're always talking about these 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:26.660 young people today. And I want to welcome to 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:30.319 our program Sam Kilburg. And Sam is doing a fundraiser 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.460 today for the Traumatic Brain Injury Association 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:36.179 of Michigan. And Sam, welcome to Veterans Radio. 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:40.240 Hey, how's it going? It's going great. Tell me 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:42.159 what you're doing today so we can get some people 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:46.039 out to your ball games. Yeah, this weekend, it's 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:48.879 a Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I'm hosting the second 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:51.279 annual Home Runs for Heroes charity baseball 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:53.779 tournament. It's for Michigan military with traumatic 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:55.759 brain injury and the benefits go to the Brain 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:57.419 Injury Association of Michigan, the veterans 00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:00.960 program. And where would people go if they want 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.440 to see some good ball games? It's in Rochester 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:07.539 Hills, Michigan. It would be either Rochester 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:09.480 High School, Rochester Adams High School, or 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.460 Stony Creek High School. Games start at 9 a .m. 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:15.659 I'm actually at a game right now, and the last 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:18.899 game's at four, and the big game is at Oakland 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:21.159 University. It's Sunday. It's the championship 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:22.879 games, and they'll start at nine, and the championship 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.600 game will be at two. I just want to point out 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:27.480 a few things about Sam, and this is what's so 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:29.159 important about the young people today that are 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:31.879 supporting America's military and supporting 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.179 our warriors is that Sam has been doing this 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:35.879 for a couple of years. He's been very involved 00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:39.240 in raising funds for the traumatic brain injured. 00:09:39.800 --> 00:09:42.759 And let me find out here that you not only are 00:09:42.759 --> 00:09:45.840 doing baseball games, but you also did another 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.759 fundraiser where you raised, oh, somewhere around 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:51.960 $5 ,000. What was that activity that you did? 00:09:52.740 --> 00:09:55.659 Yeah, I'm on the Government Youth Council in 00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:59.419 my city, and we hosted a 5K run -flash -walk 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:03.259 at one of our local parks. We had about 130 runners, 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:06.080 and everyone came out. The donations went straight 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:09.659 to the BIAMI. And we raised around, I think it 00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:13.759 was $4 ,000 and some change. All the money went 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:15.679 directly there. And it was a great time. It was 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:17.820 one Saturday. We got a bunch of donations. A 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:21.679 bunch of people came out. It was a blast. Well, 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:23.179 you're doing a great job. And you were named 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:25.299 the Brain Injury Association of Michigan Volunteer 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:29.080 of the Year for 2009. And you have worked a lot 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:31.019 with our guest that's going to be coming on in 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:33.720 the next segment, Major Rick Briggs, retired 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:36.870 Air Force. And Sam, I want to thank you so very 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:38.470 much for what you're doing, and I want to encourage 00:10:38.470 --> 00:10:40.830 everybody in the southeast Michigan area, take 00:10:40.830 --> 00:10:43.549 off up to Rochester, watch some good ball games, 00:10:43.570 --> 00:10:45.429 and tomorrow to go to your championship game 00:10:45.429 --> 00:10:48.870 at Oakland University. Thank you. Thank you very 00:10:48.870 --> 00:10:50.629 much. All right, Sam, thank you so very much, 00:10:50.649 --> 00:10:52.970 and thank you for what you do. Thank you. Have 00:10:52.970 --> 00:10:57.090 a good day. You too. Bye -bye. Bye. What a great 00:10:57.090 --> 00:11:02.299 kid. This is a... amazing what he's doing. And 00:11:02.299 --> 00:11:04.700 he's only one of how many hundreds and thousands 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:07.139 of young people out there that are raising money 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:10.580 for these troops. My heart goes out to them and 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:13.620 our wallets too. And I want everybody to go in 00:11:13.620 --> 00:11:15.259 and see what you can do to help these people 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:20.409 out. Each week on veterans radio. We always welcome 00:11:20.409 --> 00:11:22.450 home our troops We're so happy when you men and 00:11:22.450 --> 00:11:24.850 women can come home safely and Bob's got something 00:11:24.850 --> 00:11:27.470 he wants to talk about Bob Thank you very much. 00:11:27.470 --> 00:11:30.169 Welcome home each week on veterans radio We welcome 00:11:30.169 --> 00:11:32.750 home servicemen and women who've been stationed 00:11:32.750 --> 00:11:34.889 around the world in the service of their country 00:11:34.889 --> 00:11:44.559 and are returning home Dateline Pontiac, Illinois. 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:47.059 A ceremony in Pontiac, Illinois will welcome 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:49.200 home National Guard troops who were deployed 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.120 to Afghanistan. The National Guard armory will 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:54.120 honor troops who were deployed from the armory 00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:58.059 last August as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom. 00:11:58.899 --> 00:12:02.120 Soldiers, part of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:05.840 Team, form police mentor teams to train the Afghan 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.590 National Police. The soldiers were part of the 00:12:08.590 --> 00:12:11.549 largest overseas deployment of the Illinois National 00:12:11.549 --> 00:12:16.850 Guard since World War II. Dateline Washington 00:12:16.850 --> 00:12:19.929 D .C. Hundreds of U .S. servicemen and women 00:12:19.929 --> 00:12:22.149 got a hero's welcome when they returned home 00:12:22.149 --> 00:12:25.950 from deployment in Afghanistan. Family and friends 00:12:25.950 --> 00:12:28.509 gathered at Thurgood Marshall Airport for the 00:12:28.509 --> 00:12:31.649 happy homecoming. The troops spent the past nine 00:12:31.649 --> 00:12:34.350 months in Afghanistan. They were fighting the 00:12:34.350 --> 00:12:37.750 Taliban, but instead of fighting, Continually, 00:12:37.929 --> 00:12:40.750 they helped to rebuild communities all across 00:12:40.750 --> 00:12:44.309 the war -torn country. Their homecoming was emotional. 00:12:45.210 --> 00:12:48.590 I quote, we're doing a good job, said Air Force 00:12:48.590 --> 00:12:52.350 Major Aaron James. Further quote, I mean, we're 00:12:52.350 --> 00:12:55.769 trying to do what we can do to help this country 00:12:55.769 --> 00:12:59.169 out, end quote. Civilian casualties among the 00:12:59.169 --> 00:13:01.870 Afghan population have been growing sourced, 00:13:01.870 --> 00:13:04.580 and they have some. friction between the Afghan 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:07.559 government and the international forces operating 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.639 there. The unit did a great deal of positive 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:14.659 work in the war zone. I think it's really important 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:17.139 that we point that out to people that there are 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:19.120 so many troops over there that are not involved 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:20.879 directly in the fighting but they're involved 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.519 in the rebuilding of Afghanistan and in Iraq 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:25.100 they're doing the same thing and these are stories 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:28.159 that we don't normally get to see. Go ahead. 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:33.850 They were building schools and roads. improving 00:13:33.850 --> 00:13:36.830 sanitation within the villages. That's great 00:13:36.830 --> 00:13:39.549 stuff. That shows what we're all about. That's 00:13:39.549 --> 00:13:41.750 what we're really trying to do. We're trying 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:44.330 to help these people so that they can help themselves. 00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:47.389 I was talking to an Iraq veteran the other day 00:13:47.389 --> 00:13:50.080 who... you know he still goes out on patrols 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:52.279 and so forth but he said during their quote their 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:54.679 downtime they're building schools or they're 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:56.519 fixing the roads or they're trying to dig wells 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:58.740 and all these other things to help the population 00:13:58.740 --> 00:14:01.000 it's it's not all about blowing things up folks 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.379 and this is this is what is important and we're 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:05.360 back on veterans radio and there are gremlins 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:07.799 it sounds like in the control room no we've had 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:10.799 a couple of them today and i got eight hours 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:13.379 sleep too what can i say A lot of buttons, a 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:15.740 lot of buttons. All right. We're going to be 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:18.000 talking today about invisible wounds. By invisible 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.539 wounds, I mean traumatic brain injury, which 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:23.419 is said to be the signature injury of the conflicts 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:25.559 in Iraq and Afghanistan and account for over 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:29.059 90 % of our troops' casualties. And TBI can be 00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:31.019 caused by a wide range of functional changes 00:14:31.019 --> 00:14:33.340 that affect our thinking, sensation, movement, 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:36.440 language, and or our emotions. And in fact, many 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:38.799 TBI survivors also suffer from post -traumatic 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:41.799 stress disorder. Joining me on the line right 00:14:41.769 --> 00:14:45.750 Now is the, let's see, I've got to get this correct. 00:14:46.389 --> 00:14:49.610 Rick Briggs, United States Air Force Major, retired 00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:52.009 and is the manager of the Veterans Program for 00:14:52.009 --> 00:14:54.210 the Brain Injury Association of Michigan. Rick, 00:14:54.210 --> 00:14:57.110 welcome back to Veterans Radio. It's always a 00:14:57.110 --> 00:14:59.850 pleasure to be here. Well, let's talk about what's 00:14:59.850 --> 00:15:03.009 going on with the traumatic brain injury. And 00:15:03.009 --> 00:15:04.909 I know that, I don't know if you're going to 00:15:04.909 --> 00:15:07.490 have somebody try to call in or not, but we wanted 00:15:07.490 --> 00:15:10.149 to talk today about the symptoms, what causes 00:15:10.149 --> 00:15:13.350 it. and possibly what some of the treatment is 00:15:13.350 --> 00:15:18.610 for TBI. Absolutely. Well, one thing that's happened 00:15:18.610 --> 00:15:22.929 since I was last on with you, I'm also the National 00:15:22.929 --> 00:15:25.789 Campaign Director for Invisible Wounds for Operation 00:15:25.789 --> 00:15:30.330 Forgotten, and people can find out, tie directly 00:15:30.330 --> 00:15:33.909 into the BIA National, the Brain Injury Association 00:15:33.909 --> 00:15:39.049 National website through their websites. It is 00:15:39.049 --> 00:15:41.070 the invisible wounds are taking a significant 00:15:41.070 --> 00:15:43.769 toll in homelessness of course you've heard about 00:15:43.769 --> 00:15:46.929 the suicides We had more we had more suicides 00:15:46.929 --> 00:15:49.149 in January of this year than we lost in combat 00:15:49.149 --> 00:15:54.330 in Afghanistan and Iraq combined This population 00:15:54.330 --> 00:15:57.129 the broken marriages all the things going on 00:15:57.129 --> 00:16:00.909 and and the single most important trying to get 00:16:00.909 --> 00:16:04.850 out is these are invisible wounds and These young 00:16:04.850 --> 00:16:07.190 men and women can be suffering significantly 00:16:07.190 --> 00:16:10.259 from from them, though you can't see them, but 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:13.340 they are treatable. And that's the big deal. 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:16.620 There's an astigma associated with any mental 00:16:16.620 --> 00:16:21.019 health -related issue. But what people fail to 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:23.639 differentiate is post -traumatic stress disorder 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:27.740 is a psychological reaction. It's really a normal 00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:31.580 reaction to an abnormal situation. Right, yes. 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:37.379 Absolutely. Are you there? Sounds like we might 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:40.340 have lost him. I'm not sure where he went But 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:42.240 let me let me just kind of go through some of 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.419 the while we try and get back in touch with with 00:16:44.419 --> 00:16:47.139 Rick is that the traumatic brain injury, and 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:48.679 this is according to the Mayo Clinic, and I was 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:50.759 looking up to see what it was, and I think this 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:53.659 is important for all of us to understand. The 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:56.379 traumatic injury is usually a result of a sudden 00:16:56.379 --> 00:16:58.919 violent blow to the head, which launches the 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:00.679 brain on a collision course with the inside of 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:04.400 the skull. This collision can cause the brain 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:07.960 nerve fibers and cause bleeding in there. The 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:12.319 traumatic brain injury, Traumatic brain injury 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:15.119 may also result from objects such as bullets 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:17.220 or even shattered pieces of skull that would 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:21.079 enter the skull, as many of these people in combat 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:23.220 can go there. And it looks like we've got him 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:27.279 back. Rick, we got you back? Yes, sir. Am I there? 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:29.859 Yeah, I'm not sure what happened. As we said, 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:32.359 everything kind of falls apart every once in 00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:34.720 a while. But what I wanted to do is to talk about 00:17:35.349 --> 00:17:38.009 What I've been describing while you were gone 00:17:38.009 --> 00:17:42.470 is what causes TBI? What happens inside of the 00:17:42.470 --> 00:17:44.950 head when these explosives go off or they get 00:17:44.950 --> 00:17:49.190 hit in the head? Substantially what's happening 00:17:49.190 --> 00:17:51.730 is the ballistic wave is actually traversing 00:17:51.730 --> 00:17:55.609 right through the body. I'm not talking about 00:17:55.609 --> 00:18:02.130 the fireball and the other type of visible impact. 00:18:02.130 --> 00:18:05.390 I'm talking about a shockwave. right through 00:18:05.390 --> 00:18:07.849 the brain, and it's affecting at the neuron and 00:18:07.849 --> 00:18:10.829 sub -neuron level. And to tell you some of the 00:18:10.829 --> 00:18:13.529 isolate, very specific things that are going 00:18:13.529 --> 00:18:16.250 on in the brain, even though they're very, very 00:18:16.250 --> 00:18:18.609 mild, and they're not something you can really 00:18:18.609 --> 00:18:22.130 self -diagnose, we've had veterans that say their 00:18:22.130 --> 00:18:24.930 food tastes different. They come home, and their 00:18:24.930 --> 00:18:27.410 favorite meal, they don't even like the taste. 00:18:27.650 --> 00:18:30.809 I've got guys who say their diet's changed. Vegetables 00:18:30.809 --> 00:18:33.470 they didn't used to eat, they like now. You know, 00:18:33.470 --> 00:18:38.109 and that shows that the receptor perception process 00:18:38.109 --> 00:18:41.950 and strength of the brain can get altered with 00:18:41.950 --> 00:18:44.730 these shockwaves. The emotion centers, you mentioned, 00:18:45.049 --> 00:18:48.349 sensuality, sexuality, you know, the highs and 00:18:48.349 --> 00:18:50.650 lows, the peaks and valleys. Some people become 00:18:50.650 --> 00:18:55.829 more docile, some become more aggravated. We 00:18:55.829 --> 00:18:58.450 have guys who say smells smell different. Their 00:18:58.450 --> 00:19:01.490 wife's perfume smells perception -wise different 00:19:01.490 --> 00:19:05.230 than it did before. So it can be something very, 00:19:05.230 --> 00:19:09.470 very subtle, but a lot of these can really affect 00:19:09.470 --> 00:19:14.130 job performance, relationship maintenance, and 00:19:14.130 --> 00:19:19.609 sustaining a relationship. As you know, marriage 00:19:19.609 --> 00:19:22.089 and families and so on are tough enough when 00:19:22.089 --> 00:19:23.890 everything's going well, but when you have these 00:19:23.890 --> 00:19:27.250 other things impacting your perception of what 00:19:27.250 --> 00:19:30.160 is going on, You know, that's where the experts 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:32.740 need to come in. And I'm talking about certified 00:19:32.740 --> 00:19:35.799 brain injury experts that are rehabilitation 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:39.019 specialists. And there's some very specific things 00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:42.539 they do in their specialized community that you 00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:45.599 just can't walk into the local hospital and get. 00:19:46.599 --> 00:19:49.019 Right. We're talking with Rick Briggs, who's 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:52.359 with the Traumatic Brain Injury Association of 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:54.920 Michigan, and we're trying to go through some 00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:56.839 of the issues that our troops go through. If 00:19:56.839 --> 00:19:58.579 you have a question or if you've experienced 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:01.180 TBI, give us a call here at Veterans Radio at 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:08.660 877 -573 -7825. 877 -573 -7825. We know that 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:13.640 it doesn't obviously just affect I'm just looking 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:15.599 through here where they talk about mild traumatic 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:17.819 brain injuries and this could be, you know, you 00:20:17.819 --> 00:20:19.779 could be playing baseball and get hit in a helmet. 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:22.900 But you might have a brief period of unconsciousness, 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:26.230 amnesia about what happened. headache, confusion, 00:20:26.430 --> 00:20:28.750 dizziness, loss of balance, sensory problems, 00:20:28.910 --> 00:20:30.529 as you mentioned, or bad taste in your mouth, 00:20:30.630 --> 00:20:32.109 where food doesn't taste quite the same that 00:20:32.109 --> 00:20:34.970 it used to, as you mentioned, mood changes, and 00:20:34.970 --> 00:20:37.529 even memory and concentration problems. These 00:20:37.529 --> 00:20:39.849 are issues that you don't really understand if 00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:42.049 you have been, many of us have been, you know, 00:20:42.109 --> 00:20:44.589 hit in the head at some point in our lives, and 00:20:44.589 --> 00:20:48.210 we don't realize that, that it could cause these 00:20:48.210 --> 00:20:50.549 problems to us, and that's just mild, and many 00:20:50.549 --> 00:20:52.230 of these men and women are a little bit more 00:20:52.230 --> 00:20:55.150 traumatic, as you were mentioning. And that presents 00:20:55.150 --> 00:20:58.029 a great problem, and you're right about the civilian 00:20:58.029 --> 00:21:01.390 population. Just to talk about that very briefly, 00:21:01.630 --> 00:21:04.029 we're talking about over 2 % of the U .S. population 00:21:04.029 --> 00:21:06.569 has been affected with a brain injury. If you 00:21:06.569 --> 00:21:09.289 took HIV, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord 00:21:09.289 --> 00:21:11.750 injury, and breast cancer and combined them all, 00:21:12.029 --> 00:21:15.369 multiply that total number by six, that's the 00:21:15.369 --> 00:21:17.829 size of the issue you're talking about. It is 00:21:17.829 --> 00:21:19.769 the leading cause of death in young people back 00:21:19.769 --> 00:21:21.940 in the civilian. and that's not counting veterans 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:24.559 or shaken babies those numbers you can get on 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:27.819 the uh... cdc website but in a combat environment 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:29.740 with with these young men and women you know 00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:32.319 they come back to me they seem fine you know 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:34.799 something's different they're affected but when 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:37.220 you think about your reaction time your cognitive 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:40.960 processing your sequencing skills to you know 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:43.980 strategize and so on communicative skills your 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:46.680 sense of balance those are critical skills in 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:50.210 a combat environment and unfortunately uh... 00:21:50.210 --> 00:21:52.130 all too often are young men and women you know 00:21:52.130 --> 00:21:55.609 they feel Friday look normal and in a short interaction 00:21:55.609 --> 00:21:58.089 if you go up and talk to somebody who was just 00:21:58.089 --> 00:22:00.250 hit you know they might seem a little days and 00:22:00.250 --> 00:22:02.089 confused but then you know if you are later they 00:22:02.089 --> 00:22:06.230 seem fine but you really don't know the impact 00:22:06.230 --> 00:22:09.130 and and how that uh... is going to affect them 00:22:09.130 --> 00:22:12.630 long -term and in a lot of cases the shockwaves 00:22:12.630 --> 00:22:16.470 the brain has an amazing healing process that 00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:19.579 immediately starts kicking in and so on but some 00:22:19.579 --> 00:22:22.880 of these symptoms get worse with time. And that's 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:24.599 one of the things, and some of them take three 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:27.380 to five years to start really manifesting themselves 00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:30.839 and raising their ugly head. And unfortunately, 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:33.640 all too often the vets have not contacted the 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:37.460 VA and processed because at the time they're 00:22:37.460 --> 00:22:41.960 okay. They're not as good as, but just like the 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:44.579 World War II vets and Vietnam, Korea and all 00:22:44.579 --> 00:22:47.309 them, they come home They all go through it. 00:22:47.390 --> 00:22:51.150 They suck it up. They get back to work. That's 00:22:51.150 --> 00:22:53.890 the negative aspect of the military culture, 00:22:54.450 --> 00:22:57.950 is not asking for help when you should be. Right. 00:22:58.130 --> 00:23:00.789 We're talking with Rick Briggs. Rick, you were 00:23:00.789 --> 00:23:02.490 also involved, and Bob has a comment here he 00:23:02.490 --> 00:23:04.309 wants to make. He was just up at Grayling last 00:23:04.309 --> 00:23:08.130 week watching the training that the National 00:23:08.130 --> 00:23:11.210 Guard is going through. He wants to ask you a 00:23:11.210 --> 00:23:13.559 question about the helmets. Bob? Sure. Okay, 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:17.059 thank you Dale and welcome Rick Bob Gould here 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:19.799 I'm just up at Grayling and one of the things 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:23.940 that I observed Was that they wore their helmets 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:26.759 they wore their helmets and they had their chin 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:29.599 straps? Fastened I wanted to say that because 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:33.500 I look we didn't see any John Wayne Iwo Jima 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:41.350 movie with the chin straps hanging down very 00:23:41.350 --> 00:23:44.369 uncomfortable. And these new BLUs, ballistic 00:23:44.369 --> 00:23:48.150 liner upgrade units that they've installed, one, 00:23:48.549 --> 00:23:50.890 and I'm glad you highlighted that, it's very 00:23:50.890 --> 00:23:53.170 important they use them. And same thing with 00:23:53.170 --> 00:23:54.829 sports, which you mentioned earlier, football, 00:23:55.009 --> 00:23:57.750 helmets, baseball, biking, skateboarding, all 00:23:57.750 --> 00:24:00.490 that. There's no cure for brain injury, but you 00:24:00.490 --> 00:24:03.630 can prevent it. And these ballistic shockwaves 00:24:03.630 --> 00:24:07.500 can be reduced by up to 60%. with this new high 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:09.799 -density, and it's not just a foam, I mean it 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:12.559 really is technologically advanced. I think there's 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:15.660 something like 27 different layers of composite 00:24:15.660 --> 00:24:18.740 foams in there, but the helmets are so comfortable 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:23.000 now, as opposed to the old strap suspension systems. 00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:25.880 Not only does it help prevent, but these guys 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:27.680 will be sleeping in their helmets, you know, 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:29.880 I'm talking about in a combat environment, and 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:33.589 they're so much more comfortable that you know, 00:24:33.990 --> 00:24:36.670 they actually do leave them on even when they 00:24:36.670 --> 00:24:39.509 don't have to. And that's a wonderful thing. 00:24:39.609 --> 00:24:41.390 It builds up their neck muscles. They get used 00:24:41.390 --> 00:24:43.690 to it to where, you know, it's just a part of 00:24:43.690 --> 00:24:45.410 them, kind of like wearing a seat belt in a car. 00:24:46.829 --> 00:24:49.190 Well, I think as Bob had mentioned, in fact, 00:24:49.210 --> 00:24:52.269 this is really ironic. We were having our regular 00:24:52.269 --> 00:24:54.880 breakfast production meeting. And a gentleman 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:57.859 at the next table was talking about a man from 00:24:57.859 --> 00:24:59.980 Ann Arbor, and you may even know him, and I couldn't 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:01.700 remember his, he didn't mention his name, but 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:04.519 he was, he's trying to develop a new helmet for 00:25:04.519 --> 00:25:06.339 the military. He's already developed football 00:25:06.339 --> 00:25:07.859 helmets that the University of Michigan uses 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:11.720 that are safe. He's about 90 years old. And he's 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:14.319 working again on an upgrade on combat helmets 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:16.619 that he thinks will almost eliminate entirely 00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:19.809 TBIs. as a result. And I don't know if you've 00:25:19.809 --> 00:25:21.430 been in touch with them yet, but I know that 00:25:21.430 --> 00:25:22.809 they were trying to figure out, because one of 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:25.309 the people at lunch said, oh, yeah, we know Rick. 00:25:25.769 --> 00:25:28.710 So it's getting to be a very, very small world. 00:25:29.069 --> 00:25:32.410 Well, three years ago, before I went into the 00:25:32.410 --> 00:25:35.170 brain injury community, I ran the Michigan chapter 00:25:35.170 --> 00:25:37.809 for Operation Helmet, helping to get the ballistic 00:25:37.809 --> 00:25:40.369 liners, getting the government to procure them, 00:25:40.509 --> 00:25:42.609 install them. And now they're standard issue. 00:25:43.210 --> 00:25:46.049 So it took four and a half years, but we got 00:25:46.049 --> 00:25:49.000 it. You know as part of the routine equipment 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.339 now and and I'm really glad that you commented 00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:55.180 about the about the wear of the helmets because 00:25:55.180 --> 00:25:57.720 I'll give you an example. We do we just had an 00:25:57.720 --> 00:25:59.759 event here last June called heroes and helmets 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:02.619 It's part of the tips up for troops bass fishing 00:26:02.619 --> 00:26:05.059 tournament We do and all that and and the focus 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:07.819 is really on wearing helmets and we call it heroes 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:11.779 and helmets because we're saluting firemen Police, 00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:14.579 you know the Homeland Security military anybody 00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:18.079 who wears a helmet in the line of duty, you know, 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:21.519 out there protecting us and so on. Because those 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:24.740 are the real heroes in our society, and the kids 00:26:24.740 --> 00:26:26.980 look up to them, and we're trying to make it 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:28.839 cool to wear a helmet, you know, whether they're 00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:32.519 bike riding, skateboarding, you know, anything 00:26:32.519 --> 00:26:34.619 inline, rollerblades, any of that stuff. And 00:26:34.619 --> 00:26:36.779 the parents need to wear them too, because it's 00:26:36.779 --> 00:26:38.619 not much of an example. You tell them the kids, 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:40.279 they gotta wear their bike helmet, then mom and 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:43.690 dad hop on and don't, so. I can relate to that 00:26:43.690 --> 00:26:47.430 entirely. My grandson is just learning how to 00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:49.569 ride his bicycle and Papa went out and bought 00:26:49.569 --> 00:26:52.930 a bike, an old used bike, and I have to get a 00:26:52.930 --> 00:26:55.210 helmet before I can let him see me riding it. 00:26:55.529 --> 00:26:59.690 It wouldn't be good. And I have a cousin, I guess 00:26:59.690 --> 00:27:02.250 a second cousin, who was in a motorcycle accident 00:27:02.250 --> 00:27:05.250 in Florida and his helmet was not one of the 00:27:05.250 --> 00:27:07.990 better quality ones and he's still in rehab. 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:10.940 three years after the accident because of his 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:13.380 head, you know, just brain being rattled entirely. 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:17.259 We got about a minute till we come up to our 00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:19.640 first break, Rick, and I wanted to talk about, 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:23.700 we talked about some of the symptoms that can 00:27:23.700 --> 00:27:27.960 result from being hit with an explosive around. 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:31.920 What can we do as far as, what is the treatment? 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:34.880 I'm stuttering here. What is the treatment? Well, 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:36.940 what they do is, well, first of all, it's important 00:27:36.940 --> 00:27:40.839 to get in with certified brain injury specialists, 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:43.759 experts in the specific arena. Because when they 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:46.200 go through the screening process, they'll go 00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:49.839 through and they'll find out what happened to 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:52.740 your body. What area is it affected? Is it an 00:27:52.740 --> 00:27:56.619 emotion sensor? Is it a cognitive speech and 00:27:56.619 --> 00:28:00.039 audiology? Is it one of the pathologies that's 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:02.960 been impacted? And what they'll do is they'll 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:07.940 focus on whatever areas were affected, and then 00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:13.140 they'll teach you ways to, one, compensate for 00:28:13.140 --> 00:28:15.859 deficiencies and how to enhance them. They'll 00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:18.160 give you exercises, brain teasers, all these 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:20.119 types of things. Hold that thought. We're going 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:22.099 to go into, we'll be talking more specifically 00:28:22.099 --> 00:28:23.680 about the treatment when we come back. We're 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:25.599 talking about traumatic brain injury. You're 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.880 listening to Veterans Radio. The Medal of Honor 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:30.980 is the highest award for valor in combat given 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:33.119 a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:36.000 There had been over 3 ,400 recipients of the 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:39.359 nation's highest award. This is one of them. 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:42.039 Marine Sergeant Louis Kukala received not one, 00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:45.680 but two Medal of Honors during World War I. Details 00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:49.960 after this. When his company, advancing through 00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:52.559 a wood, met with strong resistance from an enemy 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:55.240 strong point, Kugler crawled out from the flank 00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:57.440 and made his way toward the German lines in the 00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:59.839 face of heavy fire, disregarding the warnings 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:02.900 of his comrades. He succeeded in getting behind 00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:05.940 the enemy position and rushed a machine gun emplacement, 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:08.400 killing or driving off a crew with his bayonet. 00:29:09.160 --> 00:29:11.500 With German hand grenades, he then bombed out 00:29:11.500 --> 00:29:13.640 the remaining portion of the strong point, capturing 00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:17.319 four men and two damaged machine guns. He was 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:19.720 awarded the Medal of Honor by both the Army and 00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:22.049 the Navy for this action. The Medal of Honor 00:29:22.049 --> 00:29:25.269 series is a production of Veterans Radio. We're 00:29:25.269 --> 00:29:27.029 back on Veterans Radio listening to a little 00:29:27.029 --> 00:29:29.349 bit of patriotic music from John Philip Sousa. 00:29:29.869 --> 00:29:31.930 We're talking with Rick Briggs, who is the program 00:29:31.930 --> 00:29:35.029 manager for the Veterans Programs for the Brain 00:29:35.029 --> 00:29:37.690 Injury Association of Michigan. And we've been 00:29:37.690 --> 00:29:40.869 talking about some of the symptoms that are connected 00:29:40.869 --> 00:29:43.329 with a traumatic brain injury and some of the 00:29:43.329 --> 00:29:45.910 things that people can do. Rick, where can people 00:29:45.910 --> 00:29:48.789 go to get some more information on this? Well, 00:29:48.789 --> 00:29:52.009 they usually just tie in. is right directly to 00:29:52.009 --> 00:29:54.309 our website actually and that that can get them 00:29:54.309 --> 00:29:57.690 into a lot of things one uh... a lot of information 00:29:57.690 --> 00:29:59.730 about the symptoms they uh... you know they can 00:29:59.730 --> 00:30:02.390 read about brain injury and they can tie into 00:30:02.390 --> 00:30:05.069 a lot of national organizations uh... right through 00:30:05.069 --> 00:30:09.630 our website and that is uh... w w w dot b i a 00:30:09.630 --> 00:30:13.769 m i that's bravo india alpha mike india stands 00:30:13.769 --> 00:30:18.069 for brain injury association m i s michigan uh... 00:30:18.069 --> 00:30:21.710 dot org b i a m i dot org And they can get a 00:30:21.710 --> 00:30:25.289 lot of information right there. Well, we certainly 00:30:25.289 --> 00:30:27.250 encourage them to do that. You were mentioning 00:30:27.250 --> 00:30:29.509 earlier that a lot of times it's family members 00:30:29.509 --> 00:30:33.029 that notice that the veteran's behavior has changed, 00:30:33.269 --> 00:30:36.470 in some cases dramatically. And so we encourage 00:30:36.470 --> 00:30:38.589 people to watch out for their men and women that 00:30:38.589 --> 00:30:40.549 are coming home. And I don't mean to stare at 00:30:40.549 --> 00:30:43.529 them. But if you notice some subtle changes in 00:30:43.529 --> 00:30:46.549 there, we know that it's a touchy subject because 00:30:46.549 --> 00:30:48.450 many of us have been there before when we came 00:30:48.450 --> 00:30:51.519 home from a conflict. And we're pretty defensive 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:54.420 about our behavior sometimes. How can they go 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:56.900 about getting through that barrier that we set 00:30:56.900 --> 00:30:59.859 up on our own? Well, that's the really tough 00:30:59.859 --> 00:31:04.680 part. What portion of their change is just because 00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:07.180 of the deployment that everybody goes through? 00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:09.960 That's the good question. Unfortunately, a lot 00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:12.460 of people say, just leave me alone. I'll get 00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:17.400 better, whatever. With 80 % of the symptoms, 00:31:18.269 --> 00:31:23.309 Being relevant to both PTSD and TBI It's really 00:31:23.309 --> 00:31:26.009 difficult to ascertain. Is this a psychological 00:31:26.009 --> 00:31:28.549 thing? Is it physiological? Is it just the normal? 00:31:29.210 --> 00:31:31.369 Hey, I'm home now. I'm back in a different environment 00:31:31.369 --> 00:31:35.690 and You know self -diagnosis is not the the best 00:31:35.690 --> 00:31:38.769 way to go right go in get checked in let go through 00:31:38.769 --> 00:31:42.589 the screening if They do some very base level 00:31:42.589 --> 00:31:46.190 screenings If there's enough flags that come 00:31:46.190 --> 00:31:48.960 up, they'll send you to the next level of screening. 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:56.240 And again, every screening level is set up to 00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:59.539 funnel it in as to what it is, all the way up 00:31:59.539 --> 00:32:03.259 to the full six, seven hour neuropsych eval. 00:32:04.680 --> 00:32:07.420 And again, you need to get with the experts. 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:10.720 Yeah, we're not saying I agree with Rick entirely 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:13.019 on this self -diagnosis thing because we all 00:32:13.019 --> 00:32:15.059 think sometimes we can become experts and stuff 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:17.220 and we're trying to make sure that you don't 00:32:17.220 --> 00:32:19.119 don't just sit there and suffer alone let's put 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:22.579 it this way and it's not just you I was thinking 00:32:22.579 --> 00:32:25.299 of you know if you go to some veterans organizations 00:32:25.299 --> 00:32:27.819 they have not they have group meetings where 00:32:27.819 --> 00:32:29.720 you can sit down and talk about some of the issues 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:31.779 that you're going through and you'll find out 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:33.480 that you're not alone and that you're not you're 00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:36.299 not the only one that can't necessarily remember 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:39.759 everything or that gets angry at what you think 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:42.119 are simple things. And I think that might give 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:44.000 you a little clue that, well, maybe somebody 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.680 can help me. And I think it's really important 00:32:46.680 --> 00:32:49.980 to do that to all of the people out there. And 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:52.700 one of the really difficult things is if you 00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:56.039 think about the symptoms with PTSD, and if a 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:58.619 guy goes through his PTSD program, but it doesn't 00:32:58.619 --> 00:33:02.880 seem to be working, there may be a physiological 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:06.329 injury, which is the cause of that. You know, 00:33:06.430 --> 00:33:08.589 I kind of liken it to pumping air in a tire that's 00:33:08.589 --> 00:33:12.049 got a hole in it. You got all this good training 00:33:12.049 --> 00:33:14.430 and so on going in, but if the brain can't process 00:33:14.430 --> 00:33:17.569 the information the way it needs to and different 00:33:17.569 --> 00:33:20.069 centers have been affected, you need to get them 00:33:20.069 --> 00:33:24.490 rehabilitated. Let the experts get to work so 00:33:24.490 --> 00:33:27.230 you can get your life back. And I'm talking about 00:33:27.230 --> 00:33:29.990 a quality of life, not just going through life. 00:33:30.670 --> 00:33:32.690 All right, I understand that. I wanted to ask 00:33:32.690 --> 00:33:34.690 you, Rick, I want to thank you so much for coming 00:33:34.690 --> 00:33:36.369 on and talking about traumatic brain injury, 00:33:36.490 --> 00:33:38.509 but I also wanted you, you mentioned that your 00:33:38.509 --> 00:33:41.029 son is coming back and is going to be starting 00:33:41.029 --> 00:33:43.009 some new training soon. Tell me a little bit 00:33:43.009 --> 00:33:45.509 about that. The people that we talked to on this 00:33:45.509 --> 00:33:48.109 program, folks, all have credibility, and Rick 00:33:48.109 --> 00:33:50.650 has got it. And so I wanted to ask you about 00:33:50.650 --> 00:33:53.019 what's going on with your son. We're very excited 00:33:53.019 --> 00:33:56.259 Jeremy got back actually a year and a half ago 00:33:56.259 --> 00:33:59.740 now from Iraq they did the over He was a MP up 00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:02.920 in Mosul and he did over 200 combat patrols He 00:34:02.920 --> 00:34:05.839 had about 12 to 15 IED exposures and all that 00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:09.019 so there were some early symptoms and signs and 00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:10.960 so on that we were Monitoring he went through 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:12.940 all the screening of course when your dad does 00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:14.559 is for living He's not going to let you get away 00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:18.280 with just that finally me alone But he you know 00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:21.829 he has his college degree he completed OCS He 00:34:21.829 --> 00:34:24.530 became the fifth Mustang in our family to go 00:34:24.530 --> 00:34:27.650 from enlisted to officer ranks, just pinned on 00:34:27.650 --> 00:34:30.170 as second lieutenant. He got a Black Hawk helicopter 00:34:30.170 --> 00:34:33.789 pilot slot, so we're... We're very happy for 00:34:33.789 --> 00:34:35.550 him, and he'll be starting that training next 00:34:35.550 --> 00:34:37.789 year. I think that's great. Of course, as a former 00:34:37.789 --> 00:34:40.130 helicopter pilot, I always think it's wonderful 00:34:40.130 --> 00:34:42.289 when those young men and women can get in there 00:34:42.289 --> 00:34:44.809 and fly. Those things are amazing. And they call 00:34:44.809 --> 00:34:47.329 that work. Can you believe it? That's just what 00:34:47.329 --> 00:34:48.849 I was talking about with somebody the other day. 00:34:48.969 --> 00:34:51.250 They paid me to fly these things. It was great. 00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:53.550 Anyway, I want to thank you so very much for 00:34:53.550 --> 00:34:55.349 being on Veterans Radio. Rick, and I know that 00:34:55.349 --> 00:34:56.869 we'll be talking again in future, and I want 00:34:56.869 --> 00:34:58.809 to get together and talk about that helmet thing 00:34:58.809 --> 00:35:02.530 with you again. So thanks very much. much for 00:35:02.530 --> 00:35:04.110 what you guys do getting the word out to the 00:35:04.110 --> 00:35:05.670 vets. Appreciate it. Thank you. We'll be talking 00:35:05.670 --> 00:35:10.489 to you again soon. Well, folks, it's another 00:35:10.489 --> 00:35:13.809 great example of what veterans are doing to help 00:35:13.809 --> 00:35:16.070 veterans. It's what the civilians are doing to 00:35:16.070 --> 00:35:17.429 help veterans out there. I mean, we're talking 00:35:17.429 --> 00:35:20.050 about a 17 -year -old young boy from Rochester, 00:35:20.050 --> 00:35:22.269 Michigan putting on a baseball tournament to 00:35:22.269 --> 00:35:24.590 raise funds for veterans that are suffering from 00:35:24.590 --> 00:35:26.710 traumatic brain injury. I think that's what is 00:35:26.710 --> 00:35:29.710 so cool. I wanted to get Bob on here for just 00:35:29.710 --> 00:35:31.510 a minute here at the end of the program because 00:35:31.510 --> 00:35:33.630 Bob and Gary, as I mentioned last week, went 00:35:33.630 --> 00:35:37.760 up to Grayling. for to to will observe the training 00:35:37.760 --> 00:35:39.940 that the National Guard is going through it and 00:35:39.940 --> 00:35:41.980 you mentioned something interesting this morning 00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:44.659 when we were looking at a picture in the in the 00:35:44.659 --> 00:35:47.079 local newspaper about the training that's up 00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:49.500 there could you could you talk about that a little 00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:54.199 bit yes I would uh... Dale when I saw that photograph 00:35:54.199 --> 00:35:58.139 in the Detroit Free Press a couple days ago I 00:35:58.139 --> 00:36:00.460 know folks this may sound funny but it actually 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:03.539 triggered something At the end of the firefight 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:06.659 that we watched and it was a firefight it had 00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:12.340 explosions a lot of noise Machine guns going 00:36:12.340 --> 00:36:15.960 off there was something that happened to my body 00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:18.440 when it was over took about 40 45 minutes for 00:36:18.440 --> 00:36:22.539 the entire exercise to play itself out I was 00:36:22.539 --> 00:36:26.320 I Was energized I almost I almost felt like having 00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:29.179 tears when it stopped and it was over just for 00:36:29.179 --> 00:36:33.519 that moment it it My whole body was reacting 00:36:33.519 --> 00:36:37.739 and what it was reacting to with the sounds the 00:36:37.739 --> 00:36:41.960 explosions the sounds of rifle fire the sounds 00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:44.980 of Of the orders being given and then all of 00:36:44.980 --> 00:36:47.900 a sudden it stopped the bad guys went away and 00:36:47.900 --> 00:36:52.840 everybody was now decompressing and I even commented 00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:56.019 to Gary I turned to him immediately because we 00:36:56.019 --> 00:36:57.679 were right in the middle of it covering it and 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:01.760 I said Did you see what I saw? Did you feel what 00:37:01.760 --> 00:37:04.579 I saw? And of course, he said, yes, he did. And 00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:07.800 we just stared at each other. Now, the other 00:37:07.800 --> 00:37:11.460 day, when I saw that photograph, it started to 00:37:11.460 --> 00:37:16.420 come back. And it wasn't anxiety. It was a rush. 00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:23.619 It was the body. Well, you witnessed it. It's 00:37:23.619 --> 00:37:25.619 just a reaction. All you're doing is it's almost 00:37:25.619 --> 00:37:28.559 like you're reliving it. Over again, and and 00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:30.980 and even though it was you know it wasn't real 00:37:30.980 --> 00:37:33.059 ammunition. It was real bullets in that right, 00:37:33.079 --> 00:37:36.019 but it's just the noise level it pumps up your 00:37:36.019 --> 00:37:38.099 adrenaline so high because you're you've got 00:37:38.099 --> 00:37:40.599 this fight -or -flee thing going on in your in 00:37:40.599 --> 00:37:43.559 your mind in your and use it the noise goes away 00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:45.699 and it's called it's like you want to touch yourself 00:37:45.699 --> 00:37:48.940 and go oh, okay, I'm still here and You know 00:37:48.940 --> 00:37:50.679 you try to go on and then you'll see a picture, 00:37:50.760 --> 00:37:53.219 and it'll come right back again. I did do that 00:37:53.219 --> 00:37:57.010 I actually during during the firefight Started 00:37:57.010 --> 00:38:00.510 to crouch down. I mean I just I didn't know what 00:38:00.510 --> 00:38:03.030 else was gonna happen. So I'm crouching down 00:38:03.030 --> 00:38:06.829 Gary crouched down and there we were and I I 00:38:06.829 --> 00:38:08.610 wanted to give that to our listeners I wanted 00:38:08.610 --> 00:38:12.010 to give that to our listeners that that is Real 00:38:12.010 --> 00:38:14.230 it does and this is and these are these are things 00:38:14.230 --> 00:38:17.409 that this is what comes back to a veteran Every 00:38:17.409 --> 00:38:19.530 time they hear a sound that sounds familiar or 00:38:19.530 --> 00:38:21.889 they smell a smell and it's just amazing We want 00:38:21.889 --> 00:38:23.889 to you know, we're coming up at the end of the 00:38:23.889 --> 00:38:25.889 program folks as usual and we just wanted to 00:38:25.889 --> 00:38:29.909 thank Rick Briggs for being on Sam Kilburg and 00:38:29.909 --> 00:38:31.710 his baseball tournament in Rochester, Michigan 00:38:31.710 --> 00:38:33.849 If you get the opportunity going up there to 00:38:33.849 --> 00:38:36.719 Oakland University We're going to be doing a 00:38:36.719 --> 00:38:38.820 live program from Eastern Michigan University 00:38:38.820 --> 00:38:42.440 on September 5th when Eastern plays West Point. 00:38:42.519 --> 00:38:44.460 We're going to be there in the morning for a 00:38:44.460 --> 00:38:45.699 show. We're actually going to have a tailgate 00:38:45.699 --> 00:38:47.780 party at the game which is going to be at 4 o 00:38:47.780 --> 00:38:50.019 'clock at Ryan Earson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan 00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:52.179 on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. 00:38:52.260 --> 00:38:53.639 We hope that all of you will come out. We have 00:38:53.639 --> 00:38:57.940 food and all kinds of things for you. I'm anxious 00:38:57.940 --> 00:38:59.559 for you to listen in next week. We've got some 00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:03.460 great programs coming up. Until then, you are 00:39:03.460 --> 00:39:14.440 dismissed. The views and opinions expressed on 00:39:14.440 --> 00:39:18.199 Veterans Radio LLC are not necessarily the views 00:39:18.199 --> 00:39:22.539 of this program, of this station, or its network.