"A Survival Guide to pain management for returning veterans and their families"
"For wounded veterans, overcoming pain is the final battle: hand-to-hand combat with an adversary we were never trained to fight. Pain can be an elusive, stubborn, and sadistic enemy. If you or a loved one has battled chronic pain, you already know this firsthand. I do, too."
Exit Wounds is a straight-forward easy to read book that will help you to become more knowledgeable about pain management, it talks about becoming an advocate for yourself or someone else who is in pain, and much more!
Derek McGinnis was wounded while riding in an ambulance on the way to pick up wounded Marines. He was a Navy Corpsman with the Marines 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in Iraq back in November of 2004.
Derek has an unfinished story that can be found here "If I quit the enemy wins….." . It will give you a peek into what Derek has gone through after IED attack left him with devastating injuries while serving as a Corpsman in Fallujah, Iraq.
Working with the Pain Management Foundation, Derek takes you forward from when he nearly died as he talks about the different treatments available, physical and mental therapy, how exercise relates to progress forward and what happens if chronic pain is left untreated.
Each chapter of Exit Wounds is devoted to a single topic with a special section "Voices of Survival" where Derek has "drawn on the voices of other veterans-from past wars as well as the ones we're fighting today-to help express the many challenges that wounded warriors face when they come home in pain." He also ends each chapter with "The Family Journey" were you will hear from Derek's wife and both his mother and father who have been "so crucial to my survival and recovery."
Living with chronic pain affects not only the person in pain, but those around them.
"Nerves carrying pain messages for long periods of time can become more sensitive to pain, which can eventually change the structure of your brain and the way you think and feel. Acknowledging that you are in pain and getting help quickly, therefore, can prevent pain from becoming 'hardwired' and more difficult to treat. In addition, people in constant pain can be difficult to live with. Just ask {my wife}Andrea!"
Many people resist taking pain medications for long periods of time, because they are worried about becoming addicted. Derek defines Tolerance, Physical dependence and Addiction. They are different. Not everyone who uses opioids over a long period of time will become addicted.
"When used correctly, opioid pain medications increase a person's level of functioning; conversely, when a drug is used by somebody who is addicted, his or her function decreases."
Physical rehabilitation, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Injection and Infusion Therapies, Implantable Devices and Treatments for Phantom Limb Pain are all covered. Not only does Derek discuss the different treatments, he discusses how to plan for relapses. He is very upfront that not all days are good days and over the years there have been some very hard days.
There is a great deal of information to be had at exitwoundsforveterans.org a companion site to his book.
He discusses ways to "master the system" when dealing with "the military and veterans health care bureaucracies. That's right-there are two bureaucracies to deal with. The Department of Defense medical system is different from-and until recently separate from- the medical system created and maintained by the Veterans Administration.
You will find several pages at the end of the book with lists of names/phone numbers/websites of over 30 different resources that are available to veterans and their families.
As in many areas of life, Derek also reminds you at several points in the book, that you must treat the whole person, not just the pain. Derek suffered from more than just the amputation of his leg above the knee, he had many other injuries including TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). Coming home from Iraq, Derek had changed physically as well as mentally. In order to move forward with his life, he had to find healing in both areas.
What I liked the best about this book is that it was straight forward, easy to read, and I learned a great deal about how many different ways there are for you to manage your pain. You will learn to be your own best advocate when dealing with the many doctors and therapists. I liked this book so well, that I intend to send several copies to friends of mine.
It doesn't matter if you are a veteran or not when it comes to dealing with pain. What matters is getting relief from that pain. That is what Exit Wounds is all about. It presents the many options for pain treatment, and how they can fit together to help you move past your pain and lead a more productive life. In case you didn't know it, Derek McGinnis now competes in not only marathons, but in triathlons as well. Derek is highly involved in many activities with his family as well as being active in sports, with his goal of attaining his Master's Degree nearly finished.
To order his book simply click on the link found below where you can buy it direct from Amazon.com.
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