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November 22, 2006
PTSD follow-up
Yesterday I went down to Fresno to testify in the federal trial of my friend Dustin Costa (more about that in a few days). The jury now has the case and we'll know their verdict relatively soon. What this entry is about is the local story reported in the Fresno Bee that I happened to pick up while choking down a hasty breakfast in the coffe shop next to the federal courthouse.
I don't know if alcohol played a role in this recently deployed Marine just back from Iraq, if any drug was involved, it certainly wasn't pot. The fact that his infant son had already been treated for a broken arm in that situation means that the functionaries who returned the child to the father's care after the earlier injury were derelict, because it's virtually impossible for an infant to sustain that injury on his own and the circumstances were so suspicious. It wasn't the war in Iraq that overwhelmed this 20 year old father; it was being thrust into a situation he was emotionally unequipped to handle without more help.
I may have never seen a more emotionally obtuse response to tragedy than the one embodied in this story...
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at November 22, 2006 05:13 PM