New push to address traumatic brain injuries among service members and veterans

Traumatic brain injuries are devastating to members of the armed services, whether from enemy fire or training with heavy weaponry.

To try to prevent TBIs and to better understand their long-term impact, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was in Buffalo at Western New York Heroes, a service organization for veterans, to promote legislation that would require the Defense Department to study these kinds of injuries and develop better ways to treat them.

“We need much more data and information, starting with the service member and then how to prevent these injuries to make sure we have state-of-the-art medical professionals treating these TBIS," Gillibrand told reporters at a news conference Monday.

I spoke with two veterans about their experiences with traumatic brain injuries and PTSD.

“I was under the illusion that I was completely fine and there was nothing wrong with me. I was incorrect on both of those," said Miranda Hulse, a caseworker at WNY Heroes. She served three combat tours which left their mark.

“I was having a lot of trouble sleeping. I had very severe migraines and my PTSD made me very unstable," Hulse said.

Chris Kreiger, president of WNY Heroes, survived an IED blast 20 years ago in Afghanistan and is living with the aftermath.

He strongly supports the legislation and thinks it is well past time the government passes it.

“I strongly feel that if this had come out a long time ago that there are a lot of veterans out there that probably wouldn't have taken their own life," Kreiger said.