Most people assume that the capacity to endure hardships and extreme situations is inexhaustible for soldiers. However, while it is in fact hard to break them, some of the experiences these service men get while in combat remain last as dark, disturbing memories. During warfare operations, service men are exposed to life-threatening events where some narrowly escape with their lives. Such experiences may include car accidents, explosions and enemy raids among other events that are characteristically deadly. In result, when exposed to such experiences, service men experience polytrauma among other forms of psychological conditions. Polytrauma refers to the resultant condition after accident victims suffer multiple trauma injuries. Given that the occasion of this type of injury is very prevalent in combat situations, many ex-service men live as victims of this condition. With the understanding of the emotional pain and suffering that ensues from such occasions, the knowledge of the military experiences and culture is of prominent importance to providing them with adequate care. This paper will, therefore, examine the experiences that led to Brat Lennon, a veteran developing polytrauma and discuss some themes that emulate from the military culture.
Having worked with the US Navy for 14 years, Brat Lennon rose to through the ranks and was made an army commander at the age of 45 years. While the ex-service man is proud to have held such a prestigious position, he now tells that on a wheelchair as he can no longer stand on his feet. When asked, Brat narrates the events of the 21st March 2014 where while most of his men were asleep and without any anticipation of an attack, their camp was attacked in what he terms as the most notorious attack he had ever seen in his life. The results of the devastating attack are apparent as he now uses a wheelchair as he lost one of his legs while the other was severely damaged. Brat also sustained serious head injuries that he believes was the cause of his new stammering condition (Kearns et al., 2016). According to the veteran, when the explosives attacked, the situation was so extreme that he thought was the last thing he would ever see. He claims that the experiences of that day have never left his mind and are a constant source of his never ending pain.
Given that access to healthcare is paramount to improving a range of health conditions, the policy of universal access to health care went a long way to improving the condition of the service man. Under universal access to health care, Brat as a patient and especially once an essential member of the American security forces benefited significantly from this program. The victim’s family was given funding to cater for the various care requirements while the patients was enlisted in a rehabilitation program in an attempt to improve his situation. However, the veteran and his family still feel that the government through its policies could have done better as so much was left undone for the man who had dedicated his life to serving his country. Brat lives with great pain and as he says, what pains him most is that his condition would not be as it is if the government had done enough to provide him with a comprehensive health insurance cover to cater for his medical bills. It should be noted that some of the therapies Brat requires to improve his condition are very expensive as their require highly trained medical experts.
When considering the various healthcare issues that surround the issue of the ex-service men, some themes become apparent regarding the healthcare of the veterans. One issue arising from the well-being and healthcare concerns for ex-service men is the lack of comprehensive health care coverage (Palmer et al., 2016). In this case, while it’s thought that all veterans are covered by their healthcare many of them go without getting this basic package from the government. According to available statistics, to this date, there is a significant number of veterans using private health coverage, most of them are young, single and African Americans (Hoge, 2010). In this case, the government is thought to take care and reward the veterans appropriately, many of these ex-service men have raised claim that the government neglected them and is partial in disbursing such crucial packages as that of health insurance.
Also, as revealed from structured opened ended questions responded to by veterans, many barriers characterize access to care for most veterans. According to obtained results, more than two-thirds of the veterans complain of the inability to use veteran healthcare services exclusively because of the existing barriers. There are only many disparities when it comes to the issue of gender in accessing veteran healthcare services, As established, the number of veterans from the female gender that uses veterans health services is very small as compared to the number of women veterans that need these services. Female veterans called for intervention from the government to reduce the gap of gender inequality when it comes to accessing veteran healthcare services. For instance, in care centers where female veterans are supposed to receive treatment and care, most of the practitioners are male and relatively small in number to adequately serve all female veterans in need of care services.
In conclusion, as established herein, servicemen are among the most affected groups of people experiencing polytrauma. It’s noted, this form of trauma is a result of multiple injuries sustained in life-threatening situations. In the case of Mr., his polytrauma came as a result of an attack with an explosion in their army base. Through the policy of universal access to health care, the victim has benefited from financial aid which came in the form of a health cover. Some of the themes emanating from the veteran healthcare issue include the issue of gender disparities in the provision of the veteran healthcare services and the existence of barriers to using the services exclusively. As revealed in this discussion, even while being the most affected group of people suffering from poly trauma, the government health policies are ineffective in addressing their problem. Like Brat, many live in with painful and lasting memories that with appropriate intervention would have been remedied. Lastly the issue of lack of comprehensively for the ex-service men medical cover is also another issue where there seems to be a bias on the grounds of marital status, age, and race.
References
Palmer, G. A., Happe, M. C., Paxson, J. M., Jurek, B. K., Graca, J. J., & Olson, S. A. (2016). Psychological predictors of neurobehavioral symptoms in a polytrauma veteran sample. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 21(2), 99-110.
Hoge, C.W. (2010). Once a warrior always a warrior: Navigation the transition from combat to home. Lyons press: Gullford, CT.
Kearns, W. D., Scott, S., Fozard, J. L., Dillahunt-Aspillaga, C., & Jasiewicz, J. M. (2016). Decreased Movement Path Tortuosity Is Associated With Improved Functional Status in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury. The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation, 31(1), E13-E19.
