2011

“For the first couple of months, I couldn‟t really think that straight. I would forget things and had problems picking stuff up and remembering things. I was in the hospital for a bit. So that‟s my injury that I sustained, they call it traumatic brain injury, TBI” (Sage Byrd, as quoted in St John, 2010, para. 6). As the „signature injury‟ of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is becoming a noteworthy issue facing service members and veterans (Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 2009a, para. 1). An increasing number or people are surviving traumatic brain injuries (TBI) thanks to increased awareness through medical and technological advancements. The increased use of rocket-propelled grenades, along with the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and land mines exposes military personnel to “increased risk of blast-related trauma, particularly blast-related traumatic brain injury” (Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 2009b, para. 1).