Hey Kay,
Yer, Evelyn and Alex are great. Alex had a gun accident, in artillery, where a gun exploded, literally, and tore through the crew he was part off. When I heard him explain the reactions of people during and after, I was a little shocked. Basically, nobody had a clue what to do, as it had never happened before. Most of them sustained injuries of some type, some minor, some major, but everyone survived... somehow??? It was all over the news here, as usual, which made it all out to be bigger than ben hur!
Here is a press release from Alex's accident, which gave him PTSD:
Quote:
SIX Australian soldiers were injured yesterday morning after a live ammunition explosion during military exercises near Townsville. The accident happened at the High Range training area - the scene of the 1996 Black Hawk disaster - when a shell detonated inside a 105mm gun, injuring the soldiers who had been handling the weapon.
The Defence Department suspended the use of the field guns pending an investigation into the accident by military police and ammunitions technical officers.
Two of the personnel, suffering shock, lacerations, bruising and burns, were taken by Black Hawk helicopter to Townsville Hospital, while the other four were taken by road to a medical centre at the barracks.
A defence spokeswoman said the injuries to the soldiers from the 4th Field Regiment were not life-threatening.
[font=Verdana][size=2]She said the 105mm ammunition has been used since the mid-1980s and had a "proven track record". The gun required a crew of five to seven. [/size][/font]
"It appears a round exploded in the bore of a 105mm field gun," she said. "Safety is paramount here, and we have suspended all use of the 105mm ammunition until the outcome of the technical inspection is known."
The High Range training area, west of Townsville, was where 18 soldiers died in the 1996 Black Hawk tragedy when two helicopters collided in mid-air during a night counter-terrorism exercise.
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Don't you just love how the military have a nac for covering up the bullshit?
Yer, I know family and actual friends, do try and understand, but honestly, unless you live it, you don't really understand it. Actually, even when you live it, you still don't understand it, hence you and I are still both learning, and everyone else with PTSD.
One of our counsellors had PTSD which she gained from being within the concentration camps during the war... yes, she is fairly old, but an expert in pain, which you spoke with us about. She works in something that relates to PTSD, but still she struggles with her own PTSD on a daily basis. When she sat down for the first time, and told us her story before she began teaching us, we all paused, and had nothing to say, from the sheer shock that she was teaching us, and she also has PTSD! She is one very very strong women to continue like that, and she has been through just about everything that we both have, besides our unique life stories getting PTSD that is.
There are some amazing people in this world, and I'm only just starting to learn that myself. I am being strong because I want to move on, and by the sounds of it, you are also. It takes a very strong person to face what we have faced, learn about it, learn how to control it, and then try and live a semi-normal life and have friends again.
I hate the no sleep nights... they really suck. I am used to sleeping 4 - 6 hours a night nowadays, and that is good for me. When you speak with someone who doesn't have PTSD, they look at you and wonder how you function... but when you ask another with PTSD, they know exactly what your talking about, as its like we sometimes become afraid to sleep for the dreams and thoughts we know are going to happen. It is often easier to stay awake, than face that stuff asleep. I have punched my wife in my sleep before, and not even known it. I tumble, toss and turn, so she tells me, without any idea. I get waken, if needed, by my feet, as I'm likely to take a persons head off if they where standing beside me. This all sounds strange to most, but I have a feeling your sitting there, and knowing exactly what I'm talking about.
Well, I'm pretty shattered myself at the moment, so I'm going to go lay in bed for a while, and see if anything happens... like sleep! Goodnight Kay, sweet dreams are better than bad dreams...