Home from war, veterans’ trauma still ripples through families [Video]

A mother of four fought for her family after her husband, who’d served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, came home with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Marine veteran Chuck Rotenberry’s trauma from war impacted his family. The couple’s oldest, Kristopher, tried to help his dad and shield his sisters. As his responsibilities grew, so too, did the stress, and he says he attempted suicide when he was 12. His mother, Liz, found care for her son, getting Kris into intensive therapy, then enrolling him and his sisters in a clinic for military children confronting PTSD.

“It’s hard as a military family to own that. When you’re built with such pride and strength, and you’re seen as resilient, as the word is in our community,” the mom said. “But it’s OK to not be resilient, and it’s OK, it’s OK to ask for help.”

PTSD and its impact on family members

Two million Americans …