A casualty far from the battlefield

[SEATJERKER]

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...My local paper is doing a series on PTSD, and thought I would include it here...

Front page, and the main headline, maybe good, maybe not, but it will open a lot of eyes in the civilian population that is unaware,...

By KATE GURNETT, Staff writer
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First published: Monday, November 13, 2006

Clifton Park-- Last month, Jeanne "Linda" Michel came home from Iraq. Back in the suburbs, she tried to feel normal.

She'd been homesick for months. She couldn't wait to see her kids, ages 11, 5 and 4. Between her husband's deployment and her own, the children had been with just one parent for nearly three years.

She was 33, with a bright smile and stubborn determination. Reuniting should be easy. In another month, she'd be discharged from the Navy after five years of service.

"She had come through a lot and she had always risen to challenges," her husband, Frantz Michel, said last week.

What her family didn't see, and what she herself may not have realized, was the enormity of what she faced.

Like thousands of others returning from Iraq, her mental state was fractured. And it went untreated. Within two weeks, Linda Michel would become a private casualty of war.

Re-entry into the world of peace can be harder than deployment, experts say. Picking up where you left off doesn't just happen.

Husbands and wives report feeling like strangers to each other at first, according to Military OneSource, a support Web site for military families.

"Family roles, rituals, dynamics have changed," said Helena Davis, deputy director of the Mental Health Association in New York State. "And the vet has changed. Bonds have been fractured and need to be re-established."

Linda Michel was no exception. A self-sufficient medic known to help others, she was uncomfortable asking for that help for herself.

But treatment and self-care are critical for returnees, Davis said. Without it, "the anxiety keeps them spiraling down." Some turn to alcohol, drugs or domestic violence. Or, Davis said, "they hurt themselves." August, three veterans in New York's Adirondack region committed suicide within three weeks, Davis told a recent gathering of mental health professionals.

And the third American female to die in Iraq, Army interpreter Spc. Alyssa Peterson, 27, of Flagstaff, Ariz., shot herself with her service weapon. A devout Mormon and Arabic interpreter, Peterson had objected to U.S. techniques after just two days of participating in interrogations.

Women experience stronger forms of post-traumatic stress disorder and have higher PTSD rates, experts say. In response, the Veterans Affairs Department launched a $6 million study of female veterans.

Seeking treatment -- seen by some as a weakness -- may be even tougher for women, who still feel the need to prove themselves to men in military service.

In Iraq, female troops experience attacks, mortar fire and critical injuries such as amputation. And, women soldiers also are more at risk for sexual assaults, up 40 percent in combat zones from last year, Davis said.

Camp Bucca, the U.S.-run military prison where Michel was stationed, was investigated after a female mud-wrestling match was staged there.

Two weeks after she got home to Clifton Park, Linda Michel shot herself to death, stunning her colleagues and family.

Like many women who are assigned to Iraq, Linda Michel wanted to serve.



She grew up in Montreal, with her parents and five sisters. In the states, she married Frantz Michel, a native of Haiti who grew up in Rockland County and became a State Police investigator. They had three children, two boys and a girl, and lived in a quiet Clifton Park development dotted with kids' bicycles and basketball hoops.
By 2004, Frantz, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army National Guard, was serving in Iraq with the 42nd Infantry Division.

Linda had joined the Navy in 2001.

"It was the best fit for her," Frantz said. It meant they likely wouldn't be deployed together. And her chances of being assigned to a combat zone were slim.

When Linda was called up in 2005, she didn't want a deferment.

"She felt she needed to do it," Frantz said. "So I couldn't stop her."

What she hadn't expected was a shortage of Army personnel that forced Navy and Air Force members into land-based and combat areas.

Linda went to Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, the largest U.S. military prison there and the site of a 2005 riot that saw four prisoners killed by guards.

Inevitably dubbed "Doc" by her patients, she worked hard "doing her part to accomplish a mission many people said the Navy could not do," Rob Hallmark of Virginia Beach, Va., wrote in her on-line memorial guest book. "She was always a bright shining light in such a dark, dark place."

"She was more than 'Just in the Navy' or just a 'Corpsman' or 'Sailor,' she was there for us," added Linda's Camp Bucca roommate, Tammy Cartwright, of Anchorage, Alaska. "She was the one that helped me get out of bed every morning when all I wanted to do was give up and go home."

But in private, Michel faced demons. She saw a Navy doctor and was diagnosed with depression. The doctor prescribed Paxil.

Frantz Michel knew his wife's days were long and grueling. But he didn't know about the Paxil.

Studies have linked Paxil to adverse effects, including suicide, sparking an FDA warning in May.

When Linda came home, the Navy discontinued her medication. Again, Frantz Michel wasn't told.

"I just wish the Navy would have done some more follow-up, instead of just letting her come home," said Frantz, who is on the division staff of the Army National Guard. "If somebody needs Paxil in a combat zone, then that's not the place for them to be. You either send them to a hospital or you send them home and then make sure that the family members know and that they get follow-up care."

Talking his way up the Navy's chain of command, Frantz sought answers. "Why wasn't she sent to a facility to resolve the issues? Not keep her in Iraq and give her some antidepressant medication and then just send her home. So those are the answers that I don't have. Which makes me a little angry because I know what is supposed to occur."

Duty Officer Chris Pratt of the Navy Operational Support Center in Albany could not be reached for comment Friday, a holiday.

Linda Michel's suicide drew pages of on-line condolences, from California to Iraq.

rising demands for counseling from veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. A 2005 Government Accountability Office study called services inadequate.
Lots of resources for vets aren't utilized, Davis said. Often, veterans don't retain what they hear during two-day stateside demobilization sessions. "They don't have the focus. All they want to do is get home."

Health care visits every four to six weeks aren't enough, she said.

Frantz Michel wishes the Navy hadn't cleared his wife for re-entry, or left her alone to withdraw from Paxil.

"You look (back) at things," he said last week. "I just wish that I had more information."

Linda Michel was given a full military funeral Oct. 23 and buried in the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery. Friends donated to a fund for the Michels' three children.

Shortly before she died, Linda attended a Navy weekend drill. Fellow reservist Robert Stanziano saw her there, and waved, but never got a chance to talk.

When she was mobilized "we were extremely proud ... and sent them care packages from time to time," he wrote in her memorial guest book. "We couldn't wait for them to return. Now she is gone and I'll never get the chance to ask her how it was over there.

"She was a great sailor, soldier, hospital corpsman, mom and a great woman of war for our country," he wrote in her memorial guest book. "Shipmate, I never had a chance to say this to you. Well done! Goodbye and farewell shipmate, you will be dearly missed."



Expert advice for returning vets:

* Go easy on yourself and loved ones who are traumatized.

* Take things one day at a time.

* Remember: Everyone has bad days.

* Make yourself connect with people you care about.

* Keep your life as simple as possible. Rest when you can.

* Stay away from alcohol and caffeine to manage moods.

* Try to eat balanced meals.

* Take time to play with your children.

* Anniversaries, birthdays and holidays will be more difficult than other days. Plan ahead for how you can make them easier. Expect your children to act out. Give them extra support. This will pass.

* If you need support, ask for it. Family members and neighbors can help. You can coach them in what you need.

* We may not share your experience, but we do care.

Sources: Courtesy of Helena Davis, Mental Health Association in New York State

What combat vets want families and friends to know about living with PTSD:

* Give me space when I need to be alone -- don't overwhelm me with questions. I'll come and talk to you when I'm ready.

* Get away from me if I am out of control, threatening or violent.

* Be patient with me, especially when I'm irritable.

* Don't personalize my behavior when I explode or get quiet.

* Learn and rehearse a time-out process.

* Don't patronize me or tell me what to do. Treat me with respect and include me in conversations and decision making.

* Don't pity me.

* Don't say "I understand" when there are some things that you cannot understand.
* Realize that I have unpredictable highs and lows, good and bad days.

* Anticipate my anniversary dates -- recognize that these could be tough times.

* I'd like to share my traumatic experiences with you, but I fear overwhelming you and losing you.

* I want to be close to you and share my feelings, but I'm afraid to -- and sometimes I don't know how to express my emotions.

* I also fear your judgment.

* Know that I still love and care about you, even if I act like a jerk sometimes.

* Don't ask me to go to crowded or noisy places because I'm uncomfortable in those settings.

Sources: Courtesy of Vietnam combat vets and the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center

There is hopeResources for veterans and their families.

BOOKS

"Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Returning Soldiers and Their Families," by Keith Armstrong, Suzanne Best and Paula Domenici (2006).

"Surviving Deployment: A Guide for Military Families," by Karen M. Pavlicin (2003).

"Helping Children Cope with the Challenges of War and Terrorism," by Annette M. LaGreca. Available for download at http://www.7-dippity.com/other/UWA_war_book.pdf

WEB SITES

National Center for PTSD at http://www.ncptsd.va.gov

S.A.F.E. Program. Support and Family Education: Mental Health Facts for Families. An 18-session curriculum on PTSD. at http://w3.ouhsc.edu/

Safeprogram "When the Letdown Doesn't Let Up" and "How to Get Back to 'Normal' " by the National Mental Health Association at http://www.nmha.org/reunions/infoBacktoNormal.cfm

FOR KIDS

Deployment Kids at http://www.deploymentkids.com Operation Purple. Free summer camps for military kids, through National Military Family Association at http://www. operationpurple.com

"Talk, Listen, Connect: Helping Families During Military Deployment." Sesame Street DVD, free to active duty personnel through Military OneSource -- (800) 342-9647 -- or at http://www.sesameworkshop.org/tlc

Kate Gurnett can be reached at 454-5490 or by e-mail at kgurnett@timesunion.com.

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