For years, he had worked as a funeral home director, and his children learned that death was part of the normal cycle of life — that it’s good to mourn for a loved one, and that there was no reason to fear the bodies their daddy embalmed in a workroom of their home.
But then he spent six months working at the morgue at Dover Air Force Base, Del. And then six more months in mortuary affairs at Joint Base Balad in Iraq.
After that, Loyd no longer saw death as part of a natural cycle.
Once, after an aircraft crash, Loyd spent 82 hours lining bodies side by side, the burnt remains still so hot they melted through the plastic body bags.
He took the images home with him, each of the dead competing for space in his mind. He spent hours crying on his family room floor, weeping as his dog Sophie licked away his tears, the only living comfort he could bear.
He pulled back as his sons moved in for hugs and his wife sought the snuggles they had shared daily, hourly, in the past. He lashed out with angry words to increase the distance. He had known his wife, Andrea, since they were each 16, but now he couldn’t even touch her.
They would never understand what he had been through. No one would. Loyd was living a nightmare. And now his family was living one, too.
To read the full article, please click the following link: http://militarytimes.com/news/2009/09/military_PTSD_main_092109w/
Viewed 50 times so far.
Like this? Tweet it to your followers!
Rate this article
Latest articles from Rita Lewis
- Presentation for Post Traumatic Stess Disorder posted on Monday, 30 November 2009 21:05
- Army Responds to “Near Epidemic” of Suicide posted on Monday, 30 November 2009 20:13
- Five Things You Didn't Know About Veterans (And How to Help Them) posted on Saturday, 21 November 2009 16:53
- What Is PTSD: The Post-Hassan Primer posted on Saturday, 21 November 2009 16:47
- Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD posted on Saturday, 21 November 2009 16:30
Latest 'tweets' from Freeze_Frame
- RT @freezeframe4vet Stress Beyond Belief - Freeze Frame 4 Vets http://bit.ly/QEoUE terrific NY Times editorial re: Ft. Hood Shootings Link Monday, 09 November 2009 17:02
- RT @freezeframe4vet Freeze Frame 4 Vets - The reconstruction of a soldier’s mind http://bit.ly/1WqDmf this is what the movie is all about! Link Saturday, 07 November 2009 03:32
- RT @freezeframe4vet Freeze Frame 4 Vets - American War Cancer http://retwt.me/1vioX A deeply wrenching poem. A must read Link Monday, 26 October 2009 09:17
- RT @freezeframe4vet Freeze Frame 4 Vets - Leave A Footprint In The Sand http://retwt.me/xyeS Link Saturday, 03 October 2009 08:43
- @SoBensGirl hi Terri and thank you for promoting Freeze Frame 4 Vets and the cause of veteran PTSD. Also, all your hard work on tech. Link Sunday, 20 September 2009 06:59
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Subscribe to RSS Feed
