Page 282 - Total War on PTSD_FINAL

was part of my father’s life experience. So, there was no way he was going to let me just give up. When I was discharged from the hospital, I went to one of the local Los Angeles Universities and enrolled in a Master’s degree program, and earned a Master of Social Work, with a concentration in mental health, and during my time in school, learned about PTSD and its treatment, and essentially treated myself.
Understand that earning that degree was not easy. I had to do the first year from the hospital. After I was initially discharged, I developed another pressure sore, an issue which plagues me to this very day. The difference is my level of knowledge regarding my condition has increased, which is my first rule of overcome trauma, “You are your first line of defense”. Thanks to help from teachers and students, I was able to observe the lectures via computer, my wife purchased my books, and the students volunteered to have the study groups in my hospital room. With their assistance I completed the first year. I began attending class during the second semester but kept dozing off. I was taking prescription medication Vicodin (two pills every four hours) for pain. One professor informed me I would not successfully complete the program if I kept falling asleep in class, and I would have to find some other solution to my pain if I wanted to graduate. With some adaptive yoga and physical therapy, I weaned myself off the pain medications, and currently take a few Tylenol as needed once every few days. I am still completely opioid free. I would have never known it was a problem until my professor pointed it out to me. You never know the changes in your life you must undertake to complete a journey, until you actually attempt that journey. This is another reason why many people with PTSD do not get diagnosed properly until years after the life- threatening event.
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