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PTSD In War

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An American novelist wrote, “That is what death is like. It doesn’t matter what uniforms the soldiers are wearing. It doesn’t matter how good the weapons are. I thought if everyone could see what I saw, we would never have war anymore” (Jonathan Safran Foer). According to The National Center for PTSD, VA Medical Center, soldiers who have served in war the last fourteen years, 11-20% have Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is mostly caused by a significant emotional event during a war. I worked at the NATO Role III hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan when Pfc. Keith M. Williams died on the trauma table. Williams’ death affected everyone in the trauma room that day, however, even today it has caused me horrible anguish.
On March 12th, 2014 I stepped off the plane in Afghanistan. I nervously glanced at all my surroundings and first noticed how enormous the airfield is. There’s miles of runways, plane hangars, and helipads directly in the middle of the base. Fifteen foot concrete barriers surrounded every single road, compound, and building on the base. It amazed me how a base resembling a small-scale city …show more content…

Almost every day I am forced to reminisce it. Constantly being reminded by military movies, commercials, holidays, and conversations. Watching Williams die over and over in my mind even while I sleep. Several nights I would just stay awake, not wanting to endure the trauma again. The memory became forever engraved in my mind. I couldn’t help but to feel that the medical staff could have given Williams a greater chance to live if we were further prepared or more effectively trained. I have a survivor’s guilt that I was alive and he had died. After countless therapy sessions I have only learned how to help deal with my pain, not get rid of it. I can’t stop the nightmares or the insomnia, nor erase my memories. Williams’ death will affect me now and for the rest of my

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