The battle-scarred caretakers

[unhappycamper]

Ted Bittle, a disabled Iraq war veteran, inside his East Boston home with his 5-year-old son, Ari.


The battle-scarred caretakers
By Anna Badkhen
Globe Staff / March 24, 2008

Since a Baghdad suicide bombing in 2003 shattered the right side of Ted Bittle's face, injuring his brain and lodging shards of shrapnel in the right side of his body, the life of his wife, flight attendant Denise Bittle, has revolved around his frequent hospitalizations, incessant pain, moodiness, forgetfulness, and bouts of anger.

Unable to combine work and caring for her husband, Bittle has lost three jobs. She has moved three times - twice to be closer to the military hospital where Ted was receiving treatment, and once to pursue a job she then had to quit so that she could care for Ted - ultimately squeezing her family of three into an East Boston loft she can barely afford. Her days are consumed by taking Ted to his appointments with doctors and counselors, filing paperwork on his behalf so that he receives benefits accorded disabled veterans, and taking care of the couple's 5-year-old son, Ari.

Denise Bittle's story exemplifies the plight of thousands of relatives of veterans disabled in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have had to quit their jobs, uproot their families to be closer to hospitals, rebuild their homes to accommodate the needs of veterans with physical disabilities, and make taking care of their loved ones their full-time occupation.

"The families will be living with disabilities for the rest of their lives as well as the servicemen who were injured," said David Autry, spokesman for the Disabled Veterans of America, which is advocating for a better support system for families of disabled veterans.

More than 30,000 troops have been wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the care they receive has been a subject of national scrutiny. But little attention has been paid to their families, many of whom now have to live with maimed or traumatized veterans. Injured veterans' families and advocates say the support that exists for such families is insufficient.

Rest of article at: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/03/24/the_battle_scarred_caretakers/

[Warpy]

1. Caretakers are always supposed to be women

and women deserve no support. At least that's the thinking of the men at the top.

Besides, they can barely afford those measly service connected disability payments. Things like day and respite care for the wounded so their families (read: women) don't crack under the strain is a real budget buster, dontcha know.

Face it, this country is an inhumane place for most of us. It only works for males in their prime earning years and then only until they get sick or have their jobs offshored.