The story is about the Bennett family , a Navy family , going through yet another adventure-filled year . Grace is an awesome military spouse who supports her husband’s career choice , makes many PCS moves,trying t and making new friends while trying to stay in touch with old friends. They have 3 children who are also dealing with regular military brat lifestyle issues – missing their dad, getting used to living without him while he’s on the ship, etc.

I thought the book was just absolutely fantastic and well-written. It really showed what our military lifestyle is like and not something that can be wrapped in a 30 minute television show. It showed the true realities of being a military family that not everything is hunky-dory. There is happiness, tears, worry, etc.  I really loved getting a peak inside of a Navy family and what they endure during their deployments, which  are just as difficult as the ones that us Army families go through yet a bit different.

I recommend everyone- military and civilians alike – pick up this book and read it.

Traumatic Brain Injury in the Military

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is becoming a common wound of modern warfare.

While TBI is becoming more prevalent in wartime activity, many service men and women continue to go undiagnosed. Institutions, like the US Department of Veterans Affairs, are working to make quick and accurate diagnoses in order to prescribe appropriate and effective treatment.

TBI is caused by forced trauma to the head, either by being shaken or hit. The severity of a TBI varies from case to case, but symptoms range from mild concussions to a debilitating state. The majority of TBI’s acquired by military personnel are classified as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI). Initial symptoms of MTBI consist of loss of consciousness, disorientation, loss of memory, headache, and temporary loss of hearing and vision. They are often partnered with anxiety, irritability, difficulties processing information, limited concentration amongst other problems experienced down the road.

While MTBI is most common amongst the men and women of the armed forces, more severe cases of TBI are happening much more frequently and often require the victim to attended specialty rehabilitative nursing centers, like CareMeridian.

The most common cause of a TBI in the military is due to blasts. There are three degrees of blast injuries where a TBI is common; Primary (due to blast itself), Secondary (due to objects being propelled by a blast) and Tertiary (due to a collision with a third party object).

According to the Veterans Health Initiative, active male members of the military from the ages 18-24 are hospitalized with a TBI at a rate of 231 per 100,000 and females 150 per 100,000. Based on military force projections this would mean that 4,141 military personnel are hospitalized on average each year with a TBI, and these numbers often rise during wartimes.

The best prevention for veterans to avert the long-term effects of a brain injury is to recognize the symptoms of a TBI. Once the symptoms are identified an individual should take basic precautionary measures in order to begin the healing and recovery process until a more specific diagnosis can be made.

Service men and women give so much to protect this country and they deserve to come home to a happy and healthy life. Creating awareness about TBI will help ensure their long term health. By helping our veterans, their friends and their families recognize the early warning signs of a TBI, treatment can be sought as early as possible.

This post was submitted and sponsored by Care Meridian

courtesy of http://ihasahotdog.com

Day 11 - My new Flip Video Camera

I guess you could say that I’m a “Sears brat “! You see , my dad worked for Sears for 30+ years and I spent lots of time in a Sears Store as a kid!  : ) Heck I even worked there myself  in the 90’s and have shopped there a lot over the years as an adult.

A couple of months ago, I signed our family up for the Sears’ Heroes at Home program. It is a program created to give back to military families.

Over the course of 3 months , we received gift cards worth a total of $322.00

It was a much appreciated and welcomed gift.

Since this was all extra $$ that we certainly weren’t expecting to receive, we bought stuff for the house, a Wii Spongebob game for the girls and a Flip video camera (which I’ve wanted for a REALLY long time)

I have to say this camera is the coolest handheld camera I’ve used in a long time. It’s so easy to use Beck can use it with ease. It’s completely plug in pay… there is a USB connector built into the camera.(yes video is coming very soon )

So a BIG heartfelt thank you to Sears (and all those that donated to the program) !! You guys do so much for our military and their families!

Keep up the great work.

UPDATE – 12/21/09 @10pm EST

The party was so much fun… and we managed to raise $550 in ONE HOUR for the Wounded Warrior Project!! Much thanks to all those that participated and Whitefence.com for sponsoring as well as donating!!

Yes you read that right … I’m excited for a Monday. You see… This Monday I’ll be co-hosting a Twitter Party with WhiteFence.com , starting at 9pm EST.

If you aren’t familiar with WhiteFence, I highly recommend you check them out. WhiteFence is a free service that helps people who are moving or looking to find the best deals on phone, Internet, television, electricity, natural gas and other home services.

Now this is no normal Twitter Party, there will be no gifts to give away. However there it is opportunity to have some awesome conversation, share our tips/tricks and help our wounded warriors …
you see every tweet that includes the party hashtage (#wfparty) a $1 donation will go to the Wounded Warrior Foundation. (up to $2000)

So how can you help get involved and raise money?
Well @whitefence and I will be talking about how how to make the holidays special when you’re loved one is overseas.  All you have to do is join in the conversation on Twitter (make sure to include the hashtag )

Make sure you follow me (@tammymunson) and Whitefence (@whitefence) so you don’t miss this fun event!!!

So spread the word to not only raise  money but awareness as well. If  you would like to make your own donation to the Wounded Warrior Project , you do do so at the WWP site as well!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at tammy @ armyhousehold6.com

Hope to see you there !

Tammy

Thursday was not only Thanksgiving – but it was also SGT Daddy’s birthday!  I was a little worried that he wasn’t going to receive his present on time…  but he got it the day before! WHEW!

It was a special day for another reason.. you see SGT Daddy received a coin from  Dr. Joseph Westphal,  Under Secretary of the Army – and Major General Scapriotti, Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force 82- Afghanistan.

Here are some pics–

]]> http://armyhousehold6.com/2009/11/30/update-on-sgt-daddy-2/feed/ 4 http://armyhousehold6.com/2009/11/12/and-the-winner-is/ http://armyhousehold6.com/2009/11/12/and-the-winner-is/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:39:23 +0000 Tammy http://armyhousehold6.com/?p=1592 …. all of our Wounded Warriors and Project VALOUR-IT!!

The Project Valour-IT fundraiser (and friendly bloggers’ competition) has come to a close. It was a fun time and some friendly ribbing among all the teams! (even though Team Army didn’t win this year )

All the teams managed to raise a grand total of  $103,246.00

Basically that means that over 170 wounded warrior will get to participate in the program!