Incapable of Empathy or Sympathy

New research coming out of the University of Georgia may lead to improved (TBI) treatments.*

What do you get when your President is a psychopath, a person incapable of empathy or sympathy?

Well, here is just one example for why I would not want this man to be my commanding officer.

Mr. President, how many U.S. personnel sustained injuries from the recent Iranian missile attack and what were their injuries?

"President Donald Trump had initially said he was told that no troops had been injured in the Jan. 8 strike. The military said symptoms were not immediately reported after the strike and in some cases became known days later."

"After the first reports that some soldiers had been hurt, Trump referred to them as “headaches” and said the cases were not as serious as injuries involving the loss of limbs."

What is The truth? 

This comes from a recent huffpost.com report…While no one was killed during the strike, 34 sustained traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

"…18 were evacuated from Iraq to U.S. medical facilities in Germany and Kuwait, and 16 stayed in Iraq. Seventeen of the 18 evacuees were sent to Germany, and nine remain there; the other eight have been transported to the United States for continued observation or treatment."

“The one American sent to Kuwait has since returned to duty. All 16 of those who were diagnosed with TBI and remained in Iraq have since returned to duty."

Here are some facts:

A TBI is much more serious than "just headaches".

How many of our people return from combat with TBIs?

"...TBI among returning service members range from 15.2% to 22.8%, affecting as many as 320,000 troops."

"Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) includes concussion, subconcussion, and most exposures to explosive blast from improvised explosive devices. mTBI is the most common traumatic brain injury affecting military personnel; however, it is the most difficult to diagnose and the least well understood. It is also recognized that some mTBIs have persistent, and sometimes progressive, long-term debilitating effects. Increasing evidence suggests that a single traumatic brain injury can produce long-term gray and white matter atrophy, precipitate or accelerate age-related neurodegeneration, and increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and motor neuron disease."

more here

Fortunately, we are doing more than giving aspirin to try to help TBI patients.

* New Technology Could Help Treat Traumatic Brain Injury, Mark Terry, biospace.com, 13 Dec 2019.