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Starting Your Caregiver Journey

You are starting out on an important journey in your life — becoming a caregiver to someone who has a traumatic brain injury (TBI). You can help your service member/veteran recover as fully as possible.

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Family Caregiver Guide: Becoming a Family Caregiver for a Service Member/Veteran with TBI (Module 3)

You are starting out on an important journey in your life — becoming a family caregiver to someone who has a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A caregiver like you can help your service member/veteran recover as fully as possible.

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Military TBI: Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions after a TBI.

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Behavioral and Emotional Effects After TBI

People with a TBI may have many emotional and behavioral effects.

Communication Effects After Brain Injury

A TBI can cause changes in a person’s communication skills.

Cognitive Effects

Cognitive changes — changes in thinking — are very common after a TBI.

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Physical Effects of Brain Injury

This chapter is about possible physical effects from TBI.

Family Caregiver Guide: Understanding the Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury and What You Can Do to Help (Module 2)

Family Caregiver Guide: Understanding the Effects of TBI and What You Can Do to Help (Module 2)

This module is about the ways that a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may change a person’s body, thinking, acting, and feelings.

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Potential Complications Following TBI

Some complications are a direct result of injury to the brain.

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The Basics of TBI

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens when something outside the body hits the head with a lot of force, and no two brain injuries are exactly alike.

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Family Caregiver Guide: Welcome

This Guide was designed to empower you by offering a uniform source of information while instilling hope as you navigate life after TBI.

Family Caregiver Guide: Introduction to Traumatic Brain Injury (Module 1)

This module provides information on moderate to severe TBI.

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Traumatic Brain Injury: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans

The Family Caregiver Guide is a source of information and support for caregivers of service members and veterans with moderate to severe TBI.

Pivotal Moments and People Helped Me Recover After Combat-Related Injuries

"There have been people who didn't leave me even when I told them to, who gave me chances, who listened even during my darkest times post-injury. I couldn't have made it without them." Navy veteran Derek McGinnis shares his experience.

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A Long Beginning to a Long Road—from Combat to Recovery

Derek McGinnis: A Long Beginning to a Long Road â€” from Combat to Recovery

Derek McGinnis, an Iraq veteran, tells the story of his deployment, his combat injuries (brain, leg, hand, and more), and the road back to recovery.

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Derek McGinnis: My Wife Is Not My Caregiver

The wife of Navy veteran Derek McGinnis, in a supportive and loving way, helped him become independent after his brain and other injuries. She acted like his wife, not his caregiver.

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Connecting with Other Vets After Brain Injury on Facebook

Facebook and other social media sites are effective ways for military vets like Navy veteran Derek McGinnis to connect with other vets who are experiencing the same challenges post-injury, post-deployment.

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Getting Active and Social After a Brain and Other Injuries Can Help Veterans

Team Semper Fi has given Navy veteran Derek McGinnis and many other veterans with TBI and/or lost limbs a place to face challenges and meet them with pride and a sense of belonging.

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Where to Find Support for Wounded Service Members and Their Families

Learn everything you know about Points of Contact for all arms of the military and they can help your loved one and your whole family.

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From Surviving to Thriving: The VA Team Listens and Cares

From Surviving to Thriving: The VA Polytrauma Team Talks About Individualized Care

Above all else, the TBI doctors and therapists at the US Department of Veterans Affairs listen. They learn what makes each injured person — and his family — tick so, they can help put them back together and return them to a full life.

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From Surviving to Thriving: The Rogers Family's Story

After a severe TBI, Airman First Class David Rogers continues to work with the VA rehab staff. They set no limits for him — he even goes rock climbing.

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Decade of War Takes Major Physical, Mental Toll on US Troops, Families

"You have a whole generation of returning wounded warriors with some very unique challenges and they kind of require a little bit of patience and a little bit of tolerance as they reintegrate."

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From Surviving to Thriving: Staff Sgt. Ben Ricard USMC's Story

Watch this Marine's powerful story of recovery — with the help of his therapists at the VA and his own family.

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The Invisible Wounds of War

General Peter W. Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, is leading the Army’s efforts as it tackles the challenges of identifying and treating the signature wounds of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan — post traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

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Exit Wounds: A Survival Guide to Pain Management for Returning Veterans and Their Families

"I don't measure how far I have come by goals achieved .... For me, what counts is that pain no longer rules my life," so writes Iraq veteran Derek McGinnis.

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