Veteran with PTSD More Concerned About MedFlight Than Injuries

When a country sends a soldier off to war, and he returns safely, we feel a sense of closure. The soldier, however, may be just beginning the most difficult part of his mission: adjusting to the life that he left behind.

According to an eMedicineHealth.com article, the trauma that he has experienced on the field of battle may have rewired his brain, creating changes in the memory pathways that show up quite clearly on an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or PET (positron emission tomography) scan. This syndrome, labeled Post Traumatic Stress Disease, was first noticed by doctors when veterans began returning from Vietnam, and scientists are unsure if it is reversible.

The syndrome (PTSD) is certainly still affecting the life of a Capshaw, Ala., man who was trapped under his horse for 30 minutes this week. According to The Decatur Daily, on Sunday, June 3, H.L. Redding, a 75-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War was riding alone on a winding trail when his horse tripped and fell on him.

He struggled to release himself, but the horse wouldn't move. Thinking the horse might have injured itself, he finally lay still until the horse decided to get up. Then, he crawled to his cell phone and called for help. He had dislocated his artificial hip and bruised his shoulder, so MedFlight was sent to transport him to Huntsville Hospital. That's when it became obvious that Redding was still suffering from his days as a soldier.

During his tour in Vietnam, he experienced a helicopter crash that was quite traumatic. Just as the chopper lifted off, when it was several feet off the ground, it was shot and crashed. Although he wasn't hurt, Redding had not been on a helicopter again. He was so frightened by the event that over 40 years later, in severe pain and desperately in need of medical attention, he refused to fly on the MedFlight in order to receive treatment. Finally, the attendants gave him some pain medicine, and his suffering became so bad that he agreed to be transported, but it was certainly still a traumatic decision.