JACKSONVILLE, Fla. , May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two weeks shy of his 20th birthday, Jason Ehrhart's Humvee took a direct hit from two anti-tank mines. Jason was the gunner in a convoy providing security for the first free elections in Iraq since 1953. Propelled from the turret, Jason sustained injuries so severe that upon his return stateside, he was considered to be the most seriously wounded soldier in Maryland. Among his injuries, Jason suffered from third-degree burns covering 60 percent of his body and badly shattered legs – the left would be amputated a month later. But those are just the visible wounds. Jason also sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from the blast.
Due to improvements in military medicine and technology, many warriors, like Jason, are surviving combat injuries that would have previously been fatal, including severe TBIs. TBIs, which occur when a sudden trauma or head injury disrupts brain function, are one of the signature wounds of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In an effort to bring TBIs and other mental health issues to the conversational forefront, May is now referred to as Mental Health Awareness Month.
To date, more than 52,000 service members have been physically wounded in combat, and as many as 400,000 service members live with the invisible wounds of war, including: combat-related stress, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Another 320,000 are believed to have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment. In its 2014 Annual Alumni Survey, Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) reports 43.2 percent of its injured veterans report having a TBI.
Jason represents many injured service members who continue to struggle daily with the aftermath of sacrifices made on the battlefield: physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and legally. While support and services for this injury have progressed—due in large part to the injured veterans and their families who are redefining the concept of TBI rehabilitation—they do not adequately account for long-term needs.
While all 20 WWP programs and services focus on the WWP mission, to honor and empower Wounded Warriors, the Independence Program and the Long-Term Support Trust are two that directly benefit those who are dependent upon caregivers due to their injuries. Together, the Independence Program and the Long Term Support Trust focus on immediate and long-term quality of life, and help warriors, like Jason, to live life on their own terms – as independently as possible.
Jason's story is spotlighted among other warriors in a WWP produced documentary mini-series "Wounded: The Battle Back Home," which is now available on Internet television network Netflix (visit: http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80027977?trkid=13752289), iTunes and Google Play. For the full feature article on Jason's fight for independence, please visit: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/featured-campaign/a-fight-for-independence.aspx. If you or someone you know suffered a TBI in connection with military service, please contact the WWP Resource Center at [email protected] or 888.WWP.ALUM (997.2586). To learn more about Wounded Warrior Project, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP's purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
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SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project
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