California Connected Newsroom

The San Jose Mercury News’ Mark Emmons files part of a five-part series today on traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Yesterday, Emmons focused on the story of survivor Frank Sandoval. Today, Emmons delves deeper into the medical science behind treating Sandoval’s injury.

“Military and VA doctors describe a perfect storm of contradictory factors that have contributed to a spike in the number of brain injuries compared to other recent conflicts,” Emmons reports. “Improvements in combat medicine and body armor, which protects vital organs, mean that fewer soldiers die on the battlefield….That blessing comes with a terrible catch. The survivors of these once-deadly wounds are returning home with devastating and disfiguring injuries that can require months of therapy and sometimes a lifetime of care.”

• War Stories from Ward 7-D: At the Polytrauma Unit of the VA medical center in Palo Alto, we follow four soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury who are working to rehabilitate their bodies and their minds.
• Military Recruiting: California Connected visits Sonora and San Francisco to get a firsthand look at the challenges facing today’s Army recruiters.
• Military Marriage Counseling: Marriage counseling for returning soldiers provided en masse in auditoriums.
• Twentynine Palms: The city of Twentynine Palms hosts the largest live-fire military base in the world. While Marines from the base are in on the frontlines of the war in Iraq, the community is trying to keep its economy out of the red.