Trust offers peace of mind to seriously wounded, caregivers Each week, retired Army National Guard Sgt. Dennis Cabanting pushes himself to his limits: diagnosed with multiple sclerosis likely related to a head injury he received in Iraq in 2006, the former motor-T soldier spends countless hours in Gold’s Gym, strengthening his legs and arms so he can move himself from wheelchair to car or bed to chair. Before he regained some of his strength, Cabanting’s mother, Julieann Najar, 68, had to help him move his 215-pound frame around. “It’s gotten a lot easier to care for him now that his balance is better and he’s able to pull himself up,” Najar said. Cabanting’s path from injured warrior to living with his mom in St. Louis is as troubling a tale as it comes: After his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device Nov. 10, 2006, Cabanting was diagnosed with a concussion and hearing loss. But a year later, he developed symptoms of MS as well as delayed evidence of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. He was medically retired from the service and he moved to Hawaii, where he got married. But instead of helping care for her new husband, his wife left Cabanting in a bed in a back room of a remote house and cashed his checks, according to his mother. Eventually, Cabanting was dumped in a nursing home, where he was heavily medicated and received little or no rehabilitative care. When Najar finally tracked her son down, he was “like a zombie, on 15 different medications” and couldn’t walk or talk, she said. Now at home, Cabanting is down to one drug to manage his MS, is learning to walk again and speaks, albeit haltingly, about his new life. “Physically, I’m a lot better than I was,” Cabanting said. “St. Louis is not really a place to want to be, but it’s OK. I miss Hawaii.” Cabanting likely will need round-the-clock monitoring and care for life. But his mother worries what will happen when she is gone. Without any other family members who can assume the duties of full-time caregiver, Najar fears Cabanting will wind up in a nursing home, in a death spiral. A new program from Wounded Warrior Project appears to be the answer to her prayers. Called the Long-Term Support Trust, WWP has established a fund to provide for care for seriously injured military personnel — keeping them in their homes or communities — if their primary caregiver leaves or dies. The program dedicates 100 percent of the funds of the trust to support veterans who require around-the-clock care but are able to live outside a medical setting. Wounded Warrior Project chief program director Jeremy Chwat said the new fund, which will provide for services to augment Tricare and Veterans Affairs care and support, aims to serve at least 1,500 veterans within 15 to 20 years. The intent is to help those now enrolled in WWP’s Independence Program — an initiative that supports seriously injured or ill personnel and their caregivers to improve their quality of life — and other injured or ill veterans who qualify. “We will have a long-term plan in place for each of these individuals that will allow use to provide services in the home or in the most independent setting possible even though the family caregiver is no longer in the situation,” Chwat said. Tracy Keil’s husband Matt is enrolled in WWP’s Independence Program. The retired Army staff sergeant was paralyzed by a sniper’s bullet in Iraq in Feb. 2007. Recently, when Tracy was hospitalized in early September for a few days, the couple realized how much they rely on the program. With Tracy away, Matt was able to be at home with the couple’s three-year-old twins. “The hospitalization was absolutely unexpected. But I made one phone call to WWP, and they took care of everything,” Tracy Keil said. The Long-Term Support Trust would allow Matt to continue in his role as a father if something were to happen to Tracy, she said. “He doesn’t want his family responsibilities taken from him because of his disability. He’s an amazing father ... he can run a household with help and this is going to make sure the help is there,” Keil said. “No one else is doing this. For this program to step up, it’s a miracle.” According to Chwat, WWP will launch a nationwide fundraising effort for the trust in the coming weeks with a goal to raise $500 million. About 450 veterans are enrolled in the organization’s Independence Project. Chwat said the program and the trust serve as “wrap-arounds” for services provide by VA. “We’re trying to maximize these warriors’ quality of life. There’s a glaring need for long-term planning and support,” Chwat said. More than 1,500 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have major limb amputations and and more than 7,000 suffered severe or penetrating head injuries, although many are in long-term care because of the severity of their injuries. The Long-Term trust will help keep these service members out of VA facilities and nursing homes, he said. “There’s nothing we’re doing in this program that the VA couldn’t provide. We do try to maximize VA provision of services when looking at a warrior’s care plan. The large majority of what we provide are just things outside the box,” Chwat said.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:21:36 +0000
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