OK
so...... Just had a phone evaluation for the caregiver program and
ended up giving a lesson to the woman on the phone about PTSD and the
life we live
She asked me to rate the "burden" my husbands PTSD has put on me and our lives from 1 to 10
I was not happy with this question... I was really unhappy with the
wording. I explained to her that I dislike the wording of her question
but that I would answer anyway. I
explained to her that it is almost impossible to answer this with just a
number from 1 to 10 ..... each day and situation is different some days
would be a 5 some might be a 9.
I told her that this is my
"norm" so how do you rate something like that. Life is not just black
and white. So I told her if she asked me the same question 8 or 9 months
ago it would have been different.
I also gave her an example.... here it is :
When you bring your first baby home from the hospital the stress and
worry is a lot higher than 10, 11, or 12 months down the road. The
reason for this is because its a change and as you learn how to live
your life with this change things start to become more normal, hence
making them easier. The same with PTSD. Things are different everyday
but its just a change and with any change the more you learn, the easier
it becomes to live with it. It may not always be butterflies and
rainbows but it is a life I choose to live because I love my veteran.
She also asked me what changes if any I would make with the VA.... Well, STUPID question to ask the spouse of a Veteran! I told her there should be different, less crowded areas for people with PTSD as well as shorter wait times in those areas. Waiting hours in a crowded loud area is DEFINITELY not ideal for these vets! I added that there should be more information and support for spouses. If I didn't go to these appointments with my husband I would have been told he has PTSD and left to figure things out on my own. I told her they should have some sort of seminar for spouses to go and learn different techniques on how to handle different situations as well as the different scenarios that may come up.
I think I may have opened her eyes a bit. :)
