Iraq veteran struggles with return to normalcy

by Gina Morton

Two combat tours in Iraq have left John Fromille partially blind in his left eye and deaf in his left ear. He has been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. He is the recipient of two Purple Hearts. He missed the birth of both of his daughters and was separated from his wife for 18 months.

Fromille is only one of the 75,033 service men and women diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and one of the one-third total who has returned and been diagnosed with TBI.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 837,458 service men and women have left active duty and are eligible for health care since the fiscal year of 2002. Of that number, only 324,846 have sought help from a Veterans Affairs clinic.

Fromille is only 23 years old, and he does not regret a thing. In fact, he said he would go back to Iraq in a heartbeat if he could.  Now, he finds himself trapped in a world where he can’t relate to those around him, is unable to find a full-time job and suffers from the aftermath of war that seems to engulf his life.

The beginning
Fromille joined the Marine Corps in 2003, the culmination of a lifelong dream. He hoped to make it his full-time career.
"I planned on joining since I was a little kid," he said last week at his Middleburg home. "Especially since Sept. 11 happened. I wasn’t 18, but if I could have joined on the spot I would have."

At 18, he enlisted and was stationed with 3/8 Lima Company 3rd Platoon out of North Carolina. He married his high school girlfriend, Amanda, and was shipped to Haiti from February 2004 to June 2004 for a tour as an infantry rifleman and infantry machine gunner. He served two more combat tours, in Iraq, from January 2005 to August 2005 and from March 2006 to October 2006.
It was there that Fromille received his two Purple Hearts.

Attacked
On July 23, 2005, Fromille was outside Fallujah when the back of the humvee he was riding in was hit by an improvised explosive device, or IED. He was knocked out for two or three minutes.

Shrapnel blew out his ear drums.
Another day, a suicide bomber detonated a dump truck on his base. Bedding from the truck hit his left eye and blew out his ear drums. Fromille said he was knocked out for about 20 or 25 minutes.

Despite the permanent health problems, he said he isn’t angry. "Guys lost limbs, they gave the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives," he said. "I count myself lucky. It was worth it because of the cause over there, to give democracy and fight terrorists. If knowing the same consequences would happen again, I’d still do it."

Returning home
When Fromille was discharged and returned home, he came back to a wife, two children and a life to which he was not accustomed.
"For me it was emotional overload," he said. "It’s a whole totally different zone over there, different climate, atmosphere, culture. … The thing is, over there the environment you are in is a hostile environment. Coming home, it’s a safe environment but you aren’t in that mind set. It’s hard to readjust to that."

Trash bags on the ground remind him of hidden IEDs. He is spooked by people who talk on cell phones while driving because phones were frequently used to set off the explosives. He gets uncomfortable when other drivers tailgate or when he is in a large crowd of people. The sound of fireworks are unsettling. When he goes out to eat, he likes his back against the wall.

He can’t talk to anyone about these things, he said, because he feels as though there is no one here that can relate to the experiences he went through. As a result, he pushed away the professional help he needed to seek when returning. Fromille said with the advice of his wife, he sought professional help in February, over a year after his return, through the Veterans Affairs Center in Lebanon.

Through the government, he receives 100 percent health care, which covers the cost of medication and a psychiatrist for his post-traumatic stress disorder. He is also receiving treatment for his traumatic brain injury.

Researches say it is not uncommon for men and women of the service, like Fromille, to seek help much later than needed.
According to a study by the Army’s Fifth Mental Health Advisory Team, veterans are three times more likely to report problems 15 months after duty than then immediately upon their return home.

Making history
Today, Fromille works about 15 to 20 hours a week at a local halfway house for juveniles, which he enjoys, but said he has trouble finding full-time work because of his disabilities.

When employers hear he is a veteran, they think it’s great, he said, until they discover the nature of his disabilities. So now, it is disheartening from him to look at his life now, compared with a few years ago.

"I went from a decorated Marine to this," he said. "… When I was over there, I felt like part of a bigger cause. I was doing something productive with life, helping people out and giving something they never had before. I was part of making history and helping them make history."

Her husband’s comments are hard to accept, Mrs. Fromille said. "It breaks my heart in a way," she said. "He missed so much and was gone for so long. This is like our first year of marriage. He has me and our daughters, but I do understand. We dated in high school, so I knew what I was getting into. It’s in his blood, but it hurts at some level too."

Moving forward
Despite the hardships Fromille has faced, his wife has endured, or their two daughters — Lyn, 4, and Kiersten, 2 — have experienced, the family of four still laughs together and smiles brightly, not allowing the consequences of war to run their daily life.
"We just have to go forward," Mrs. Fromille said. "We can face it together now."

Fromille agrees, as his eyes move from one member of his family to the next. "It’s just one day at a time," he said. "You roll with the punches, good and bad."

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