Page 802 - Total War on PTSD

their research to make sure it’s right for them since the military is a year's long commitment and can be a very dangerous place.
An illness acquired while deployed to Afghanistan caused the complete loss of hearing in my left ear as well as an imbalance disorder. The illness began at the tail-end of my deployment. I went home to Germany, and sometime within a week of being back, my inner ear basically exploded. I received treatment in a German hospital for 10 days. Each day in the hospital I lost more and more hearing until I was completely deaf. Because of this, I was most likely misdiagnosed and mistreated leading to my disability. The VA granted me 10% disability for the hearing loss and 0% for the vertigo. It has been 12 years and I still deal with imbalance daily. I am thankful for the small payment I receive each month, but would rather have my hearing back.
Upon departure from the military, I had the opportunity to utilized my in-service experiences and training in the civilian sector; however, I chose to follow a different path. Some people in the intelligence field get a job directly out of the military as a civilian, doing the exact same job and sometimes end up working in the same place and even at the same desk. I chose not to do that because the intelligence field wasn’t my ‘passion’. My interests were focused on healthcare. After much soul searching and research, I decided on a career in prosthetics and orthotics.
My choice to pursue prosthetics and orthotics required attending seven years of college and earning a Master's Degree. I am now a certified prosthetist and work at one of the most premiere prosthetic providers in the world, Sabolich Prosthetics. One of the most rewarding aspects of the job is the opportunity to offer life changing benefits to peoples' lives.
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