They to Bear the Scars of War

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Caregivers of U.S. veterans bear scars of war

November 12, 2012 - Brannan Vines' husband, her high school sweetheart, was once the man she leaned on when times were tough. That all changed after Caleb Vines returned from two deployments in Iraq, having sustained injuries in multiple improvised explosive device blasts.

"He was not only dealing with PTSD, but he was also dealing with traumatic brain injury, which very much changes somebody's personality," Brannan says.

Since 2007, Brannan has been Caleb's sole caretaker, dealing with her husband's night tremors, erratic mood swings and the physical injuries that have left him permanently disabled. At the same time, she's trying to shield her 6-year-old daughter. Brannan says it's left her with scars of her own.

"I was having nightmares about Iraq -- a place I've never been, other than in pictures and that kind of thing," she says. "I got to where I didn't like crowded places, just like my husband. It was all these sorts of things where, literally, I was almost mirroring his behavior."

Brannan's behavior has been recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs as Secondary Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. read more>>>