As a veteran and a person very involved in the care of a Service Disabled Veteran relative with “Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury”, I can not thank the Congresswoman’s Office more for being the champion on this topic…

We absolutely need comprehensive brain injury and illness rehabilitation and brain related education to be mainstreamed in the USA in both the public and private medical treatment sphere.

The recovery and advocacy of persons like, Congresswoman Gifford, Mr. James Brady and Mr. Bob Woodruff gives everyone with TBI and Chronic TBI hope, we just need the legislation and funding to be put in place to help the persons in need and researchers now.

Ten years ago my 17 year old son sustained a severe Traumatic Brain Injury.  He spent 6 months in the hospital and 8 months in residential therapy on the Medical Center’s campus. Cognitive therapy needs to allocated like a Special Education student’s Individual Education Plan and not be generalized by health insurance models. Each brain injury is very unique.

My son, who was blind and could not speak after coma, has made significant cognitive improvements.  Financed by my check book and our school district.  We have received some health insurance funding by it required lawyer’s appeal.

And right there is the essential difference between a Democrat and a Republican.

Giffords takes advantage of a treatment that helps her and consequently wants to see that others have access, too.

The Republicans, however, are intent upon making health and length of life a status symbol…a way to force the plebes to recognize the social superiority of the economically-elite class that they restrict their representation to.

Thousands of Brain Injured War Zone Contractors never receive treatment of any kind despite huge insurance premiums being paid to AIG, CNA, and ACE.
I hope that bridging the gap would include forcing Defense Base Act insurance companies to provide timely and adequate treatment and rehabilitation for TBI’s (and all other injuries).
There is little to salvage after eight years without treatment of any kind.

If the government has to send people out to protect the country (be it a soldier or anybody else) than the country should do no less in return. How much simpler could it be? To expensive some might say? Right! Then stop going to wars and invading other countries! When do we start also giving back, not just take?

I have lived with a brain injury for 34 years and have been a long time advocate (27 years) for developing home and community-based services for people with brain injuries.  One of the biggest obsticles I face everyday are medical professionals and doctors within the health care delivery system and their lack of knowledge about brain injury.  You don’t have to look any further than the early 90’s to learn about the congressional investigation and FBI raids that closed down almost all of these “specialized” national for-profit head injury rehabilitation programs.  Today, much of the misinformation these companies put out about brain injury is still being used by doctors and others in the medical community today.  These lies and abuses laid the foundation for why these services aren’t availible today but most importantly why insurance companies are weary to fund them.

Ken Collins emoted: “These lies and abuses laid the foundation for why these services aren’t availible today but most importantly why insurance companies are weary to fund them.”

We have an FDA to approve drugs…seems like should be a Federal-level agency that is empowered to say “This is an approved rehabilitative treatment.  You shall pay for it.”.

Not necessarily to give it the authority to yay or nay on all treatments as they do with drugs, but rather to prevent insurance corporations from themselves declaring some rehabilitation therapy “experimental” or “not widely accepted” given that their decision is always going to be biased towards eliminating dents in their profit margin rather than towards what is best for the patent.

Ib steve 2u:
I enjoy your intelligent and informative comments on various Propublica reports.  Your short six-liner today hits the nail on the head.  I usually refrain from partisan comments in this fine forum.  However,  your short statement proclaiming the essential difference between the Parties is perfectly stated, in my opinion.    Skartishu, Granby MO

Thank you, Mr. Storer - with the caveat that I sincerely wish that circumstances were otherwise; America would be a lot better place and have a lot brighter future if both parties remembered that the saying is “A rising tide lifts all boats.” rather than “If you lift the fanciest boats high enough, the ocean will surely follow!”.

I’m so very glad she’s getting state of the art care paid for by working people.  Workers should be proud that a member of the new aristocracy gets the very best of everything on their backs.  Workers should be happy to go into debt and mortgage their futures and those of their children for high government officials.  It’s an honor.  It’s the law!

Once again, a DEMOCRAT concerned about the treatment of the people and our troops whikle the republicans could care less and block all moves and Healthcare for the people to give CORPORATE WELFARE to their DONOR BASE…They hope!

Thank you Rep Giffords…Hope the PRESIDENT can do something because the Republicans will do nothing!

Let’s remember what is going on in our government when we got to the polls to vote in 2012.  If you want the United States to belong ONLY to the elite….vote for Republicans; if not, vote either Democrat or Independent.  Either way, we need to let OUR feelings be known and not just the feelings of the big businesses who OWN our politicians and for whom they cater to!

Let’s remember that our soldiers are little more than meat. Congressmen and other special people get the best treatment money can buy.

On the other hand, grunts slinging rifles and humping rucks are second class citizens that have to deal with clowns like ASG Lt. Gen Schoomaker et al . who has made every effort to deny, dissemble and obfuscate the issue of brain injuries and psychiatric injuries with the last four years. The Army has done this for nearly a decade and no one in DC cares, Republican or Democrat. The civilian leadership is no where to be found unless they are mindlessly supporting Medcom.

Oh, the Army is researching the matter expect an answer sometime after the last jar head leave Afghanistan.

This is a congressman trying to make it look like she is with the troops. Let’s see her call on her colleagues to investigate Medcom.  Ask for the Department of Justice to step in with the FBI.  You might see something actually happen.

Brainline.org is a great website with lots of info about brain injury, including from Dr. Jim Kelly, who is on loan to the feds from CU Boulder med school, to establish the Defense ICU for TBI vets at Walter Reed Hospital location.

Biacolorado.org is the Brain Injury Association of Colorado, full of resources.

Brainiacs is our public access tv show at noon Saturdays on http://www.denveropenmedia.org with archives at http://www.denveropenmedia.org/project/6254/shows.

Colorado’s worker’s comp division needs to be updated to require cognitive rehab therapy for all head injury claimants. As well as full constitutional rights and legal representation.

THe division is an incompetent police power state agency in violation of federal law.

I’m glad Congress woman Giffords is receiving the care she so desperately needs for her rehabilitation, that said, too bad it takes a What if I were in the mainstream with/without insurance “ah ha” moment.

We’ll be happy with equal treatment for Veterans, government officials and Civilians.(definitely Veterans)  It’s not asking too much,while receiving so little money for SS Disability/Retired.and no cost of living increase in three years.

TBI is just one form of brain damage. It doesn’t have to be a bullet or a blow to the head. Many times it can be viral or bacterial damage or another pathogen. The problem comes when the issues are not as overt as those of Ms. Giffords.

Many patients with disease or trauma are dismissed as making the same complaints as those of the general population because the damage is more subtle than that of a bullet tearing through the brain. For example, another group that experiences it are subgroups of veterans with GWS.

However, it is a hidden disability problem that goes far beyond the military. Prompt and appropriate medical attention as well as funding of biomedical research would go far in keeping such patients from being on disability. How long will America be willing to pay the price?

I’m so glad Mrs. Gifford is getting the rehabilitation my daughter died without receiving. It would have meant so much during the 4 years she lived with traumatic brain injury.