You will know them by their brain injuries

"signature wound..." putting those two particular words together gives me the cold chills...

Doctors say traumatic brain injuries are the signature wound of the Iraq war, a byproduct of improved armor that allows troops to survive once-deadly attacks but does not fully protect against roadside explosives and suicide bombers.

So far, about 1,000 patients have been treated for the symptoms, which include slowed thinking, severe memory loss and problems with coordination and impulse control. Some doctors fear there may be thousands more active duty and discharged troops who are suffering undiagnosed.

"People who were hit by lightning, a lot of energy goes through their systems and their brains are cooked," said Dr. Harriet Zeiner, a neuropsychologist at the VA hospital in Palo Alto. "A lot of that happens in (improvised explosive device) blasts. Your brain is not meant to handle that energy blast going through it."

my god... that's just plain horrible...

(thanks to juan cole...)

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