aw jeez - Wounded Vet dies at home at Ft Bragg - alone...?

[frogcycle]

They are all tough, but these seem somehow worse

http://www.newsobserver.com/1565/story/654415.html

The Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. - A soldier from Oklahoma who was recovering at a North Carolina hospital from wounds suffered in roadside bombing in Iraq has died, according to his family.

Army Staff Sgt. Jack D. Richards, 39, was on medical leave and receiving treatment at Fort Bragg when he died, said his sister, Pam Schultz of Broken Arrow. Richards nearly lost a leg when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee in 2004.

"They've been trying to repair him for three years, and they were still in the process when we lost him," Schultz told the Tulsa World.

As part of his treatment, Richards had been using a machine since Wednesday that administered morphine, she said. He was found at his home Sunday, but family members had not been able to reach him for several days, Schultz said.
-snip-

Somehow the system should have been able to get this guy through this. He was back stateside, dealing with injuries, and, well, sounds like he couldn't take it any more.

Damn damn damn.

Shit, I hope he didn't see the chimperator all chipper and upbeat about how great they do with their "new legs." Depending on what demons he was wrestling with, that could have pushed him over the edge.
Damn damn damn.


There is so much to fix in this administrations wake of devastation. It's easy to say we need to focus on the top priorities - get the occupation ended, so more won't also be killed and maimed, get the son of a bitch out of office so he cannot do any more damage, etc. etc. But for many of the wounded vets the clock is ticking. PTSD treatment is complicated. I for one don't have a clue what I could do or say to help someone. But if there is anything we can do on a personal basis to help, maybe intervene in a case like this like an AA sponsor or something...

Damn. These guys are hurting and dying and I don't know what to DO.

I am going to look into it tomorrow. Tammy Duckworth is the Director of the IL Department of Veterans' Affairs. The gov appointed her right after the election. I haven't heard if she plans to run again. Maybe there are programs the untrained civilians can help with. I urge DUers to check locally and see what might be possible.

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1. a little more

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070730_1_A1_EWorl32887




The Humvee driven by Army Staff Sgt. Jack Richards of Broken Arrow is pictured after it was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004. Richards recently died in North Carolina.

[me b zola]

2. .

[frogcycle]

3. self-kick for the morning crowd

[Tsiyu]

4. ...

:kick:

[here_is_to_hope]

5. ...