HUFFINGTON
09.01-08.13
COURTESY OF MIKE MCMICHAEL
INVISIBLE CASUALTIES
us with that. Because I know the
plan and it’s a good plan and I
know you mean it.”
Later, she explained, “I felt if I
had not taken that threat seriously,
it would only have escalated, and
he’d been through so many bouts
of anxiety and depression and desperation that he could have easily
gone and done something.”
She dragged Mike off to the
Durham VA Medical Center. It
was 2008, almost four years after he was blown up in Iraq. His
TBI finally was diagnosed. Doctors listened. Mike got counseling, medication. He took part
in a 10-week program for veterans with PTSD at the Salem
VA Medical Center, where veterans use role-playing to re-live
traumatic combat experiences
in which they feel they failed.
“You’ll have guys telling you,
‘Dude, it’s okay, you did the best
that could be done there, it’s
okay to let it go,’” Mike recalled.
“It’s a fantastic program,” Mike
said. “I’d always said, don’t ever
take me to the VA. But I’ve had
amazing experiences with the
VA. Every once in awhile I call to
thank them for saving my life.”
‘MY HUSBAND IS A HERO’
Of course, it hasn’t been easy, and
the McMichaels’ future is uncertain. Today, almost nine years after
his wartime experiences derailed
the life that he and Jackie had imagined, Mike is still in a fragile state.
He is unable to handle financial
transactions, and still struggles with
memory. He regularly sees therapists and doctors, even acupuncturists. He does yoga for exercise and
relaxation. His medications seem to
be keeping him in balance.
Jackie taped
pictures of
Mike at eye
level around
the house
so that their
son, born just
two weeks
before Mike’s
deployment,
would
recognize
him.