College Times

Issue date: 6/25/09 Section: Blogs

The human brain is totally cool. There are parts of the brain that are contributed to vision, language, hearing, movements, memory and the list goes on. Unfortunately, a lot can be disrupted in the brain that can cause the inability for some of these regions to work properly.

Luckily, there are scientists and researchers who designate their time to understanding brain trauma. And it is even luckier that people who have brain injuries donate their brains for research after they die.

I learned through a New York Times article, that people who fight in Iraq are suffering from traumatic brain injuries from the invisible force waves of explosions.

A 32-year-old retired military member has no sign of impact but has a brain injury that will only be understood after he dies. The man gets lost on his way home and can't remember why he left home when he arrives at a grocery store.

Basically, this guy survives a massive explosion but has to live the rest of his life with no memory. This leads to my question; is fighting in this war even worth it?

People are suffering from severe brain injuries. Not just the kind that make your memory terrible. There are men and women who come home from war who are never the same. They suffer more than brain injury, they suffer from mental illness.

For instance, I learned of a man who went to war, leaving everything he knew behind. He was gone for a while, killing to "protect his country." Apparently, he took pictures of every person that he killed and had them all on a burned CD. I find that completely disturbing and a "normal" person would not save those kind of memories.

Not only did he have this "trophy" CD, but when he came back he couldn't even sleep the same. One night he and his girlfriend were sleeping and she woke up to him strangling her. The scary thing is that he was still sleeping.

Anyway, I am grateful to those who seek help when they know something is wrong. I am even more grateful for those who donate their brains when they have mental illnesses and brain injuries for research. It's nice to know people are working to get down to the bottom of such complicated issues.

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