Category: E03: Critical Reading

E03: Critical Reading- alaska

Section 1.

Brannan Vines has never been to war. But she’s got a warrior’s skills: hyperawareness, hypervigilance, adrenaline sharp quick-scanning for danger, for triggers.

  • We can assume that Brannan doesn’t want to go to war.
  • She has a good set of skills to make her aware of her surroundings.
  • These skills can be used by athletes, fighters, etc.

 

Skills on the battlefield, crazy-person behavior in a drug store, where she was recently standing behind a sweet old lady counting out change when she suddenly became so furious her ears literally started ringing.

  • “Crazy-person behavior” can be assumed that her PTSD has caught up to her and is making her freak out.
  • When she is standing in line her symptoms become worse.

 

Being too cognizant of every sound—every coin dropping an echo—she explodes inwardly, fury flash-incinerating any normal tolerance for a fellow patron with a couple of dollars in quarters and dimes.

  • Brannan is having trouble because she is too aware of the things around her so the noises make her freak out and become more agitated.

 

Her nose starts running she’s so pissed, and there she is standing in a CVS, snotty and deaf with rage, like some kind of maniac, because a tiny elderly woman needs an extra minute to pay for her dish soap or whatever.

  • “Deaf with rage” can be assumed that she is so angry that she doesn’t listen to the things around her only things that irritate her.

 

Brannan Vines has never been to war, but her husband, Caleb, was sent to Iraq twice, where he served in the infantry as a designated marksman.

  • Brannan’s husband has been to Iraq twice. So, we assume he has PTSD.
  • Caleb was in the infantry which was combat on foot.

 

He’s one of 103,200, or 228,875, or 336,000 Americans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and came back with PTSD, depending on whom you ask, and one of 115,000 to 456,000 with traumatic brain injury.

  • Caleb came back with PTSD.
  • He has had a traumatic brain injury in the military.

 

Imagine there’s a murderer in your house. And it is dark outside, and the electricity is out. Imagine your nervous system spiking, readying you as you feel your way along the walls, the sensitivity of your hearing, the tautness in your muscles, the alertness shooting around inside your skull. And then imagine feeling like that all the time.

  • The author gives you a scene so the reader can understand what is going on.
  • We assume this is how Caleb feels with PTSD.
  • Feeling like he is closed off and is having trouble with his head.

E03: Critical Reading-LifeisSublime

Section 8

“She hasn’t seen any other therapist, or a therapist trained to deal with PTSD—Brannan knows what a difference that makes, since the volunteer therapist she tried briefly herself spent more time asking her to explain a “bad PTSD day” than how Caleb’s symptoms were affecting the family.”

  • “or a therapist trained to deal with PTSD-“- this is putting emphasis on the fact that this child hasn’t been helped from a specialist she needs to see
  • “volunteer therapist she tried”- implying that Brannan has seen a therapist, a volunteer therapist
  • “spent more time asking her to explain a ‘bad PTSD day’ than how Caleb’s symptoms were affecting the family.”- this statement is referring to the kind of help the therapist was giving Brannan, asking her more about herself then the affect of what is happening, leading Brannan to believe this is affective in treatment and wants that for her daughter

“Katie was not covered by the VA under Caleb’s disability; actually, she wasn’t covered by any insurance at all half the time, since the Vineses aren’t poor enough for subsidized health care and the Blue Cross gap insurance maxes out at six months a year. “

  • “actually she wasn’t covered by any insurance at all half the time,”- again the author is putting more of an emphasis to Katie’s wellbeing by starting with the fact that she’s not covered and ending in not being covered most of the time
  • “since the Vineses aren’t poor enough for subsidized health care”- their family isn’t qualified for the lowest form of health care because they exceed the financial requirement
  • “the Blue Cross gap insurance maxes out at six months a year.”- this is implying to how much money it is to have Blue Cross insurance, the Vineses can’t afford it

“I’m not for taking her somewhere and getting her labeled. I’d rather work on it in softer ways,” like lots of talks about coping skills, and an art class where she can express her feelings, “until we have to. And I’m hoping we won’t have to.”

  • “and getting her labeled.”- Brannan is talking about taking Katie to a therapist and having her daughter diagnosed with PTSD, this could cause some problems for her child that she wants to avoid
  • “I’d rather work on it in softer ways,”- Brannan means taking her daughter to art class to express her feelings and learn coping skills to deal with her aggression
  • “And I’m hoping we don’t have to.”- Brannan doesn’t want Katie to go through all that comes with therapy: the label, the stress, interference with school and her childhood

“Certainly she seems better than some other PTSD vets’ kids Brannan knows, who scream and sob and rock back and forth at the sound of a single loud noise, or who try to commit suicide even before they’re out of middle school.”

  • “she seems better than some other PTSD vet’s kids Brannan knows,”- Katie isn’t as bad as she could be, there are other children from war vets who are worse than she is currently
  • “who scream and sob and rock back and forth at the sound of a single loud noise,”- what might happen to kids of war vets that are worse than Katie, the sound of a loud noise could trigger a reaction like screaming or crying
  • “who try to commit suicide before they’re out of middle school.”- implying that some kids have suicidal attempts because of their secondary PTSD from their parent

“Brannan is a force of keeping her family together.”

  • this statement is referring to Brannan being the person that keeps the family together
  • she keeps them on tract and gets done what needs to be done
  • she takes care of both Katie and Caleb

“That’s typical parent stuff, but Brannan also keeps Caleb on his regimen of 12 pills—antidepressants, anti-anxiety, sleep aids, pain meds, nerve meds, stomach meds—plus weekly therapy, and sometimes weekly physical therapy for a cartilage-lacking knee and the several disintegrating disks in his spine, products of the degenerative joint disease lots of guys are coming back with maybe from enduring all the bomb blasts, and speech therapy for the TBI, and continuing tests for a cyst in his chest and his 48-percent-functional lungs.”

  • “Brannan also keeps Caleb on his regimen of 12 pills-“- in addition to helping her daughter, Brannan makes sure that Caleb takes all the pills he need to take: for depression, anxiety, help with sleep, pain medication, medication to help with nerves, and stomach medication for nausea
  • “plus weekly therapy,”- Caleb is seeking treatment for his PTSD from serving in the military
  • “weekly physical therapy for cartilage-lacking knee and the serval disintegrating disks in his spine,”- Caleb also goes to physical therapy for some injuries he got in the war, he has a lack of cartilage in his knee and a couple of disks in his spine that don’t allow his to move in the right way
  •  “products of the degenerative joint disease lots of guys are coming back with maybe from enduring all the bomb blasts,”- this is making a claim that some men from war are returning with degenerative joint disease as a result of being around bomb blasts
  • “and speech therapy for the TBI”- a TBI is a traumatic brain injury, where speech can in fact be affected, like it has for Caleb
  • “continuing testing for a cyst in his chest”- this cyst could be cancerous so the continued testing could be to check if it is
  • “his 48-percent-functional lungs.”- Caleb’s lungs are only working 48 perfect out of the normal 100 percent

“She used the skills she learned as an assistant to a state Supreme Court justice and running a small newspaper to navigate Caleb’s maze of paperwork with the VA, and the paperwork for the bankruptcy they had to declare while they were waiting years for his disability benefits to come through.”

  • “She used the skills she learned as an assistant to a state Supreme Court justice”- Brannan has gained skills by working as an assistant to a Supreme Court justice, these skills help her better help Caleb
  • “running a small newspaper to navigate Caleb’s maze of paperwork with the VA,”- Brannan also ran a small newspaper which has helped her gain skills to keep Caleb’s paperwork with the VA organized/ better understand them
  • “and the paperworks for bankruptcy they had to declare while they were waiting years for his disability benefits to come through.”- the Vineses have declared bankruptcy in anticipation for disability benefits that Caleb is entitled to but hasn’t received yet

“She also works for the VA now, essentially, having been—after a good deal more complicated paperwork, visits, and assessments—enrolled in its new caregiver program, which can pay spouses or other family members of disabled vets who have to take care of them full time, in Brannan’s case $400 a week.”

  • “She also works for the VA now,”-  Brannan now works the VA which should help her with Caleb
  • “enrolling in its new caregiver program, which can pay spouses or other family members of the disabled vets who have to take care of the full time.”- Brannan now works in the caregiver program with the VA, this pays her to take care of Caleb full time
  • “in Brannan’s case $400 a week.”- Brannan gets paid $400 a week to take care of Caleb through the VA caregiver program

E03: Critical Reading — 11collegegirl

Section 3

BEGIN THE ONE HOUR EXERCISE

  1. “Even doctors can’t say for sure exactly why he has flashbacks…”
  • Even indicates that they are comparing what they researched and could not find out to what doctors still are unable to find out about Caleb’s injuries.
  • Doctors- doctors is plural in this sentence, which means that he has been seen by more than one.
  • this claim reveals that Caleb has took it as far as seeing doctors to maybe get some type of answers regarding his injuring and they still cannot give him a positively correct diagnosis to his injuries because they just are not completely sure.

2. “Sometimes he starts yelling, and often he doesn’t remember anything about it later.”

  • Sometimes- adverb used to indicate an event or something that happens only occasionally.
  • Often- adverb as well, used to indicate an event or something that happens more frequently.
  • this claim is made to show how often or occasionally Caleb’s injuries affect his life on a daily and how sometimes because of his injuries, he cannot reconcile for them afterwards.

3. “They don’t know why some other guys in his unit who did and saw the same stuff that Caleb saw are fine but Caleb is so sensitive…”

  • They- from the word they, we can assume that the author is talking about more than one person and at least two people
  • the word “they” is referring back to the doctors who have tried to diagnose Caleb
  • the author is making a comparison between Caleb and the guys who were also in his unit
  • this claim reveals that the author is curious as to why the War affected Caleb but not others even though they saw and heard the same things.

4. “Whatever is happening to Caleb, it’s as old as war itself.”

  • this claim reveals that the author is comparing what Caleb is going through with his injuries to war
  • Old- in this case, the word “old” meaning that they are getting tired of something
  • the claim also reveals that they are getting tired of Caleb’s injuries, how long they have lasted and how no one can come up with a solution as to what is wrong with him

5. “Civil War doctors, who couldn’t think of any other thing that might be unpleasant about fighting the Civil War but homesickness, diagnosed thousands with “nostalgia”.”

  • doctors- is plural, which indicates that there was more than one doctors who could not think of any other diagnosis
  • the word unpleasant in this case means something that caused discomfort to the people in the service
  • nostalgia- another word for homesick
  • this claim reveals that the doctors were not only un educated regarding what may happen to soldiers in war, but unaware of the symptoms they may have due to the experiences they may go through

6. “But whatever people have called it, they haven’t been like to gasp or respect it.”

  • They, can either be related to the other war survivors with PTSD or the other doctors
  • this claim seems to reveal that people who deal with PTSD, have not been able to relate or understand what they are going through.
  • this claim reveals the authors personal opinion about people with PTSD

Critical Reading – rainbow987

Section 14

1.) James was so anxious and so suicidal that he couldn’t even muster the self-preservation to get into inpatient treatment.

  • So anxious and so suicidal – It is expressed that James suffered severe symptoms due to his debilitating PTSD.
  • Couldn’t even – This statement implies that the following action is insignificant and trivial, which the author did not have the right to assume.
  • The author implies that it is a simple task to gather the courage to enter inpatient treatment through the phrase “couldn’t even muster the self-preservation to get into inpatient treatment.” Therefore, this statement expresses the author’s opinion on the topic.

2.) With three kids, eight, five, and two, and Kateri’s full-time job—as a VA nurse, actually—she could no longer manage his emotional plus physical problems: rheumatism consults, neuro consults for TBI, plus a burning rash on both feet he got in Fallujah in 2004.

  • This statement implies that Kateri has a busy schedule.
  • Could no longer – Kateri must have attempted to handle her husband’s disability on her own for a period of time.
  • Rheumatism consults, neuro consults for TBI, plus a burning rash on both feet he got in Fallujah in 2004 – This categorical claim lists the emotional and physical complications that Kateri’s husband dealt with.

3.) Finally they enrolled him in a private clinical trial to get a needleful of anesthetic injected into a bundle of nerves at the top of his collarbone.

  • Finally – It took Kateri and her husband a while to begin this process.
  • Enrolled – Kateri’s husband most likely had to fill out some sort of application to get involved in the trial.
  • Private – The trial was probably not well known.
  • Clinical trial – The trial was experimental. Therefore, there was a chance it could not work.

4.) That’s when her symptoms got worse, precipitating another meltdown, this time at a steak house where she took him to celebrate his newfound calm.

  • Kateri’s secondary PTSD symptoms intensified after her husband’s procedure, which helped him.
  • Precipitating another meltdown – Kateri felt on edge while waiting to see if her husband would begin showing PTSD symptoms once again.
  • Kateri experienced these symptoms in an environment that is not typically considered stressful. Therefore, this could be sign that her secondary PTSD symptoms are quite severe.

5.) They’d “assumed the normal positions,” she with her back to the restaurant, he facing it so he could monitor everyone, and suddenly, a server dropped a tray out of her periphery, setting her circulatory system off at a million miles a minute.

  • Assumed the normal positions – The way in which Kateri and her husband sat in restaurants was a usual event for them.
  • The action of Kateri’s husband facing the restaurant so he could monitor everyone was so that he could be aware if something dangerous occurred.
  • Suddenly – The dropping of the tray was not expected and was potentially shocking.
  • Periphery – The server was not in Kateri’s direct line of view.
    The server dropping the tray made Kateri so nervous because she was anticipating her husband having a “meltdown,” as she called them.

6.) “He just ate his steak like nothing,” she says.

  • This statement implies that Kateri’s husband would have reacted differently while eating at a restaurant if a tray was dropped before his procedure.
  • Kateri expresses surprise.
  • The statement shows that the procedure worked, at least initially, by helping Kateri’s husband to stay come when the tray dropped instead of having a flashback.

7.) “When you’ve become hypervigilant, the place you are most functional is on the battlefield,” McGill’s Brunet explains.

  • Brunet states that when you are extremely aware of sensory details, which can bring on anxiety, that you are able to function in high stress situations, which is the battlefield.
  • This statement expresses the idea that Brannan’s husband, Caleb’s, mind is still prepared for war through hypervigilance.

8.) Caleb, despite his injuries and his admission that war was pretty excruciatingly awful, told me he wishes he could go back.

  • Caleb’s injuries are so severe that he can no longer serve in the military.
  • Caleb wishes that he could return to the military, which is surprising considering the daily struggles that he endures now due to the war.

9.) Kateri, despite wishing her system hadn’t learned to run at a heightened state, at this point is like a drug addict, needing stimulation to maintain it.

  • Learned – Kateri’s body has adjusted to her hypervigilance.
  • At this point – Kateri’s symptoms have progressively worsened and proved problematic.
  • Like a drug addict – By comparing Kateri to a drug addict, the author is implying that Kateri cannot function without constantly being at a heightened state of mind.

E03 PTSD Claims

Section 16

Concussions need time to heal.
– This is a factual claim, backed up by facts that scientists have proven over and over again. After serious trauma to the brain it needs time to heal.
-Need is a claim in itself, meaning that it is imperative. Not suggested, it is a necessity.

Some of the Army’s best doctors implied that if soldiers were told they needed rest after concussions, it was going to usher in an epidemic of fakers, or retired guys claiming disability way after the fact.
– This is an opinion claim, stating that the guys in the army will want to fake concussions so they get rests.
-Best doctors is a claim in itself because they are not just ordinary doctors. They are doctors employed by the US government, and they are the some of the best at what they do.
-Usher is a term used to show something being brought in. When hearing the term usher, you think of maybe an usher at church, or an usher at a fancier event that shows you to your seat. The term usher has significant meaning because it gives us the mental image of soldiers being taken in with fake concussions, just to get leave from their duty.
– Epidemic was another word used. When we think of an epidemic, we do not just think of the definition of widespread, but we think of widespread disease, and that the diagnosis of concussions would plague the armed forces.
– to claim disability after the fact is another claim used by the author, talking about the soldiers would use this diagnosis to their advantage, and get more money out of the government

It would take a neuroscientist—or the top medical brass of an Army that builds laser cannons—to figure out that if 25 mph punches to the head cause brain damage, IED blasts that hit at 330 mph probably do too.
-This is a claim that is kind of sarcastic, but still factual at the same time.
– You can hear the sarcastic tone in the beginning, by talking about how top guys in their field, or neuroscientists can figure out a simple thing that all of us could figure out without the expensive schooling.

Eventually, Hovda’s cause prevailed.
-This is a claim explaining that all of the hard work Hovda did, did not go unnoticed, and he succeeded
-The author used the word prevailed as more of an accomplished tone.

Reforms came seven years into the Iraq War, after Caleb and a million other soldiers were already home.
– This claim shows that Caleb and the rest of the millions of soldiers didn’t reap the harvest of the groundwork that they laid.

When people ask Hovda if they’re gonna get better, he encourages them that they’re gonna get different.
– This claim by Hodva is his opinion on the subject, and how his experiences have affected his life.

The human brain has an enormous amount of plasticity. New cells are born every day. New connections can be made. The good news is, teleologically speaking, if we didn’t have the ability to recover from brain injury, we’d have ended up as somebody’s breakfast.
-This is a long, factual claim made by Hodva, talking about the human body, and his experience with the rehab that was necessary for him to function day to day, and get his life back on track.
-New connections can be made is a claim, talking about how PTSD isn’t exactly curable, but things can be fixed little by little.
-We’d have ended up as somebody’s breakfast is a strong, visual image that is a claim. Hodva puts the image of a braindead person being eaten by someone else for breakfast into our minds. This is done to show how lucky we are that our minds can repair themselves.

E03 Critical Reading–todayistheday

Section 19

“There’s a little town with no stoplights by the name of Republic.”

  • Little town with no stoplights: gives image of quaint small town with a southern drawn out peaceful pace.
  • Visual: creates an image of a quiet, calm atmosphere where the hustle and bustle of traffic does not exist. 
  • Republic: this word means that members have equality amongst them.  From the tone of the article you can sense there isn’t equality amongst all members of this community. The name of the town provides irony towards the message.

“-her husband’s disability pay ended when he killed himself in 2001.”

  • ended: can be used for both the disability and his life.
  • disability pay ended: this is concerning but not shocking.
  • killed himself: shocking and disheartens reader.
  • Author uses the death of woman’s husband to disarm the reader in the morbidity of the situation. This tactic although morbid is successful.  It tilts the balance in favor of the author’s perspective.

“VVW now has more modest but no less determined facilities-“

  • More modest but no less determined: What is the measurements for more and no less? How do you compare modest and determined?
  • Categorical claim: Measuring previous VVW facilities to their current mobile and log cabin, claiming one is more modest but both are determined.
  • Claim not entirely necessary to make point clear that VVW works hard.

“Danna smiles easy but moves pretty slow because she threw her back out again.”

  • may be hurt physically but her spirit and outlook are intact.
  • Comparison: exterior smile and her interior pain.
  • Relevance between exterior of veterans and their interior pain (PTSD).

“Money has to be first. You can’t breathe without it.”

  • money is fundamental, but we were taught money shouldn’t be everything.
  • Can’t breathe without it: you suffocate with its absence.
  • Causal claim: You need money to survive.
  • Categorical: Placing money into the same category as life necessities such as food, water, shelter, oxygen.
  •   Relevance is underlying because without benefits and disabilities the only way to get better is to fork up a lot of cash.

“She NEEDS therapy”

  • wife: this article focuses on the trauma of war vets families.
  • NEEDS: in all capital letters really highlights the importance.
  • relevance to article is critical because it shows the importance of getting help for secondary trauma sufferers.

“-may take years for the verdict to come in on whether secondary trauma will be officially acknowledged as its own unique personal hell.”

  • May: suggests an unknown estimate
  • Years: plural can mean more than one year. But suggests several from the way statement is worded.
  • Verdict: judgement cast down on criminals; guilty or innocent.
  • Hell: conjures images of fiery pits of torture that we are sentenced too.
  • Substitution for verdict and hell would be more accurate as evidence and diagnose. The author carefully uses words with negative impacts. 
  • Successful

“-will cost the VA 1.7 million if he lives until 80.”

  • Will: definite
  • If: indefinite.
  • Categorical claim: he does or he doesn’t live until 80.
  • Author uses will and if into claim to cast doubt, price tag is definite but life expectancy is questionable.

 

END OF HOUR

EO3: Critical Reading-Flyerfan1974

Section 2

  1. “Caleb has been home since 2006, way more than enough time for Brannan to catch his symptoms.”
  • Home- Caleb is home after coming back from Iraq with PTSD. Home is a confined space where Caleb and Brannan spend their lives together.
  • Enough Time- The author is telling us that the couple has been in this home for so long that Brannan has caught her husbands mental disorder.
  • Catch his symptoms- Brannan never went to war, however being with her husband in their home everyday, she has contracted the illness

2. “When a sound erupts—Caleb screaming at Brannan because she’s just woken him up from a nightmare, after making sure she’s at least an arm’s length away in case he wakes up swinging—the ensuing silence seems even denser.”

  • When a sound erupts- When any sound erupts, Caleb suddenly feels as if he is back in the war, reacting with some violent actions
  • Screaming- Caleb screams to the anger he is feeling
  • Nightmare- Caleb may be having nightmares due to his experiences in war
  • In case he wakes up swinging- Caleb’s nightmares put him in a defensive state, and Brannan must make sure she is out of range to avoid being injured

3. “Their German shepherd, a service dog trained to help veterans with PTSD, is ready to alert Caleb to triggers by barking, or to calm him by jumping onto his chest.”

  • Alert- The dog helps Caleb by showing him if a trigger is near
  • Triggers- These are factors that can aggravate Caleb’s PSTD

4. “This PTSD picture is worse than some, but much better, Brannan knows, than those that have devolved into drug addiction and rehab stints and relapses.”

  • PTSD is a serious problem that plagues may Americans, some have it not so serious, but many have very serious PTSD
  • Picture- The author uses this word to describe Caleb and Brannan’s situation
  • Drug addiction- Due to deep depression and other symptoms, many PTSD victims turn to drugs to ease the pain. The author adds this part to show what can happen to PTSD sufferers if they do not receive help
  • Relapses- This word is added to show how powerful PTSD can be, it has the power to keep people unhealthy and make them keep turning to drugs

5. “Sometimes I can’t do the laundry,” Brannan explains, reclining on her couch. “And it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m too tired to do the laundry,’ it’s like, ‘Um, I don’t understand how to turn the washing machine on.’ I am looking at a washing machine and a pile of laundry and my brain is literally overwhelmed by trying to figure out how to reconcile them.”

  • Brannan cannot do the laundry do to her PTSD from her husband. She physically forgets how, and becomes overwhelmed.
  • The author included this quote to show how Brannan, who was never in the war, is affected by PTSD
  • Overwhelmed- The PTSD causes stress which makes her panic and not be able to do the laundry
  • Reconcile- Reconcile means to restore friendly relations between. This word is added in the article to show how her brain tries to put together that laundry goes into the washing machine

6. “When we hear Caleb pulling back in the driveway, we jump up and grab their strings, plunging the living room back into its usual necessary darkness.”

  • Jump up- These words are added to show the severity of his arrival. Brannan must act fast not to trigger her husband
  • Plunging- This word is added to show how the darkness makes the room a dark, unlikeable place to be
  • Necessary darkness- It is vital for the room to be dark so that Caleb is not triggered

7. “Now, he’s rounder, heavier, bearded, and long-haired, obviously tough even if he
weren’t prone to wearing a COMBAT INFANTRYMAN cap, but still not the guy you
picture when you see his “Disabled Veteran” license plates.”

  •  rounder, heavier, bearded, and long haired- This is added to describe how Caleb has let himself go, the PTSD is affecting his health, and physical appearance
  • prone to wearing a COMBAT INFANTRYMAN cap–  If Caleb wore this hat, he would be triggered
  • Disabled Veteran license plate- Caleb is a strong man who you would never think is disabled by his physical appearance, but no one really knows what is going on inside

 

Critical Reading – Yoshi

Section 21

  1. I can feel him slipping down—it’s like this…vortex, this hole. And I try to grab him, like, ‘No! Don’t go down there!’ He can still get really depressed.
  • I can feel him slipping down: Charlen knows when Steve  is about to enter one of his flashbacks and depressed stages.
  • Vortex: Charlen is talking about Steve and how she knows when he is falling into mass of whirling fluid
  • ‘Don’t go down there’: Charlen tries to pull him out of the depressed state he is going to enter.
  • Depressed: Steve enters a state where he feels helpless. Categorical.
  1. Charlene has long, graying dark hair parted down the middle and super-serious eyes, which she has to lower to compose herself for a minute when I ask her, alone, if she saved Steve’s life. “He loves me a lot,” she answers. “I’ve never known love like this. He is…awesome.”
  • Super-serious eyes: She is probably very concerned with Steve and everything he does.
  • if she saved Steve’s life: Charlen saved steven from depression because of his PTSD?
  • “He loves me a lot,”: She he loves her alot because she saved his life and helped him throughout the years of their marriage
  • I’ve never known love like this: He loves her more than she’ll ever feel because she saved him.
  1. “She saved my life,” Steve says of Charlene, without my asking.
  • -Casual claim because of his PTSD his wife saved his life
  • -Steve suffers from PTSD
  • – He would’ve fell into depression without his wife.
  • – He didn’t ask she willing put up with it
  1.  VA rated Steve at 100 percent PTSD disabled, but he’s found his way to his version of a joyful life
  • 100 percent PTSD disabled: Definition claim saying Steve is 100% PTSD disabled
  • Found his way: Steve has found another way to do life
  • joyful life: Steve lives life another way so he enjoys it
  1. In the Vines’ household in Alabama, at any unpredictable time of night, the nightmare starts in Iraq.
  • -Nightmares: Categorical claim
  • – The nightmares Steven has because of his PTSD
  • – any unpredictable time of night: PTSD occurs randomly
  1. Someone’s yelling for the medic and an indiscernible string of noises seeps out of Caleb’s mouth while he’s dying.
  • Categorical claim: flashbacks are a part of PTSD
  • Indiscernible string of noises: the noise someone makes when they’re in pain
  • He’s dying: PTSD is bringing flashbacks of his friends dying.
  1. she wakes up, shaky, the next morning. “Still don’t get how I can so vividly dream of somewhere I’ve never actually been.”
  • Brennan caught PTSD
  • Brennan has never went to war so we assume PTSD is contagious
  • She wakes up shaky: because she had such a vivid dream about Iraq

 

Critical Reading – theintern

Section 18

1.”But here we’ve got lasagna, and salad with an array of dressing choices, and a store-bought frosted Bundt cake with chocolate chips in it!”

  • Dressing choices: We can assume the word dressing choices indicates that there was a variety of dressings and the people wouldn’t have to just choose one.
  • The store bought cake can be assumed that Brannan does not know how to bake a cake or just doesn’t have the time to bake a cake.
  • By having an exclamation point end with chocolate chips means that Brannan loves chocolate chips and is excited to have them in the cake.

2. “There is no dining-room table—when they bought the house years ago, they thought they’d finish it up real nice like they did with another house, before the war, but nobody’s up for that now, so we all huddle around the coffee table in the living room.”

  • Years ago: It seems like they were financially stabled because as they said that they finished it up real nice.
  • War: This war really screwed the whole family up. The family thought that they would be same even after the war but it left heart broken because the man of the house Caleb was suffering from PTSD which back pedaled their plans.
  • No dining room table could mean that they are not financially stabled and can’t afford to buy one or that the house that they bought did not have the space for the table.
  • Huddled: By the word “huddled” the author means that the family had to make the best out of where they ate and that was on a coffee table in the living room.
  • Nobody’s up for it now: By this phrase the author sums up what the family goes through on a daily basis with the father/husband’s PTSD and that no body is normal enough or has the free time to fix up the house.

3. “And it’s lovely. Dinner lasts for hours. Brannan tries to calm Katie down despite the excitement of the visitor at dinner, while Katie shows me games and drawings as we eat.”

  • Lovely: The author describes how it’s lovely in the sense of how peaceful the environment is and how much love is being shared.
  • Visitor: The word “visitor” is used to allow the audience know the author’s acquaintance with the family.
  • Seems like Katie never sees other older people because maybe the family does not have the time/patience to meet and greet with other parents.
  • The author expresses Katie as too excited that Brannan has to calm her child down because a visitor is over where she offers the author to look at her games/drawings.

4. “Caleb makes jokes that it does indeed feel like he and Brannan have been married for-ever.”

  • Joke: The author notices that Caleb still has a sense of humor.
  • Caleb acknowledges and remembers that Brannan is his wife and that it has been a long time they’ve been married.
  • Caleb “feels” that he is married to her for-ever with the numbers in his head actually knowing.

5. “he laughs when he says this, she laughs, and swats at him from where she’s curled herself into his armpit with his arm around her.”

  • The love and joy is still in the air because they both laugh at Caleb’s joke and are not laughing at each other.
  • Swat: The author uses the word “swat” because it’s an action verb that represents playfulness and teasing each love couple does to one another for affection.
  • Curled: This word is used to show how comfortable Brannan is with Caleb and how she can curl into his armpit with his arm around her.
  • Armpit: The author used the word “armpit” even though some people might find it disgusting to hear but does it really matter when you love someone and that’s what the author tried to show the audience, the compassionate love they had for each other.

6. “At the front door, we all beam at each other in the warm way people do when they’re separating after a nice meal.” 

  • Why the front door, some people open the garage door to leave and others go through the side door.
  • Beam: The author uses the word “beam” as sense of fear but he rephrased it and said in a warm way because usually beam means to look at someone with long glance and have fear develop inside the person you stare at.
  • Separating: This word is a harsh word to use because it means to separate from someone and never see them again in which has done.
  • It is confirmed that the author went to Caleb’s house for a nice meal, observed his surroundings and left with a warm beam looking at them.

7. “Caleb is in such a good mood that Brannan asks if he’s up for putting Katie to bed so she can go lie down.” 

  • Good Mood: The author uses this word to describe how Caleb is feeling at the time concerning he has PTSD which means at times he has break downs and starts screaming where he always feels he is in danger.
  • Ask: It is hard for Brannan to ask Caleb for anything because he is not right in the state of mind and doesn’t want him to feel stressed out about anything.
  • Lie Down: The author uses this word “lie down” instead of sleep because the author knows that it won’t be long till Caleb starts screaming which means she can only “lie down” for a few minutes while sleeping means to doze off for more than an hour.
  • Seems like the audience can estimate how old Katie is and that she needs someone to tuck her in at night.

8. “Not two days after that, he tells her he’s leaving her. “I’m going to get it over with and do it so you don’t have to,” he says,” 

  • Not: The word “not” is used to say that is hasn’t been long till something has happened.
  • After a long time of being married, Caleb is leaving his wife because of the pain she goes through to be with him.
  • Get it over with: This phrase is used to mean that the person wants to be done with any deed and not regret anything.
  • The author explains that Caleb was strongly using “you” towards Brannan and not the audience.
  • Caleb ended the relationship because he knew that Brannan would not end it, even though Caleb felt horrible he did not want Brannan to suffer anymore.
  • We can tell that Caleb is getting better because he can make more decisions on his own with out being too mad about it.

9. “when he weighs the pain of being alone versus the pain of being a burden.”

  • Weighs: The author expresses this word as the weight he mentally and physically carries.
  • His weight consists of being alone and the heavy load some he must carry all due because of his PTSD.

 

E03: Critical Reading – Princess 45

Section 13

“The amount of progress in Caleb’s six years of therapy has been frustrating for everyone. “

  • Caleb has been in therapy for six years
  • He has been making minimal progress

 “we have reason to be reasonably optimistic. Psychotherapy does work for typical PTSD.” The VA tends to favor cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy—whereby traumatic events are hashed out and rehashed until they become, theoretically, less consuming. Some state VA offices also offer group therapy. For severe cases, the agency offers inpatient programs, one of which Caleb resided in for three months in 2010.

  • We can have hope, psychotherapy has been proven to work for PTSD.
  • There are multiple methods but the VA prefers the cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy.
  • Other methods: group therapy, for severe cases: inpatient programs

 

‘The VA also endorses eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), which is based on the theory that memories of traumatic events are, in effect, improperly stored, and tries to refile them by discussing those memories while providing visual or auditory stimulus.”

  • EMDR also offered by the VA is based off the theory that memories of traumatic are in effect but improperly stored and attempted to be restored.

 “There’s a fairly strong consensus around CBT and EMDR,” Brunet says. While veterans are waiting for those to work, they’re often prescribed complicated antidepressant-based pharmacological cocktails.”

  • There seem to be a lot of people who agree with CBT and EMDR
  • While veterans are depending on the progress of CBT and EMDR they’re prescribed antidepressant based pills with who knows what else is in them

“Currently, the agency is funding 130 PTSD-related studies, from testing whether hypertension drugs might help to examining the effectiveness of meditation therapy, or providing veterans with trauma-sensitive service dogs, like Caleb’s. The Mental Health Research Portfolio manager says the organization is “highly concerned and highly supportive” of PTSD research.”

  • The VA is very concerned about their PTSD patients and are researching all methods
  • Testing of drugs to increase effectiveness of therapy’s
  • Testing if service dogs are an alternative
  • Health Research Portfolio is concerned and supportive of their PTSD research

“But a lot of FOV members and users are impatient with the progress. Up until 2006, the VA was spending $9.9 million, just 2.5 percent of its medical and prosthetic research budget, on PTSD studies. In 2009, funding was upped to $24.5 million. But studies take a long time, and any resulting new directives take even longer to be implemented.”

  • Family of Vet members are impatient with progress of the different therapy’s
  • The concern for PTSD victims has risen and funding for research has been upped
  • Research and validating new methods take time and anything proven to help will still have to be put into action