Sailor shares TBI story, aids awareness

Photo By Marcy Sanchez | U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan Fauth, shares his Traumatic Brain Injury story with an audience, highlighting the importance of educating service members to better understand the causes, symptoms and treatment of TBI, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, March 3.  

LANDSTUHL, RP, GERMANY

04.03.2020

Story by Marcy Sanchez  

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

Growing up in Houston, Jonathan Fauth describes his childhood as an active one. He was the kind of child to spend every hour of sunlight outside, only to come home at dusk.

An avid baseball player and all-around athlete, Fauth was no stranger to sports injuries but never realized the impact a head injury could have on him as an adult.

“Twenty years later, you're flying along as aircrew in an aircraft, and there's a sudden loss altitude and we all go weightlessness,” recalls Fauth, now a U.S. Navy petty officer first class. “Unfortunately, I was asleep in a hammock in the back of the aircraft.”

Because this particular flight was long, the aircrew weren’t required to buckle up. While flying over the Mediterranean Sea, the aircraft pilot had performed a maneuver which would send Fauth flying into a metal crossbar inside the cargo hold, causing him to split open his head and lose consciousness. Once landed in Spain, Fauth went to see a doctor who treated the injury and instructed him to keep an eye on it. Years later during a free-fall parachute jump, Fauth found himself in a doctor’s office again after a military radio strapped to his chest made impact with his head following a forceful parachute deployment.

“It takes a toll on the body,” said Fauth, who had actually experienced another concussion following the jump.

For half his career Fauth worked as part of a C-130 Hercules aircrew survival equipment team, experiencing over 1,000 takeoffs and landings and racking up thousands of flight hours.

To help kick off Brain Injury Awareness Month, Fauth shared his story during a presentation to medical professionals, Soldiers and Airmen at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, March 3. The presentation aimed to uncover what constitutes a Traumatic Brain Injury while also educating patrons on the psychological and physiological consequences of “the invisible injury,” as it has come to be known.

“I hope the audience sees this as education, not just from my perspective, but to realize there’s not enough education,” said Fauth, who has been a patient at LRMC’s TBI Clinic for over two years. “I'm not a guy that's been blown up. I'm not an operator that's been downrange pulling a trigger. But TBI can still happen, even outside of that window and most people don't realize that. It took me years to realize that I had concussive events that happened. It doesn't have to occur in combat.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TBIs are caused by an impact or force to the head or body or a penetrating injury to the head, which affects millions of Americans each year. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center estimates over 400,000 service members have sustained a TBI since 2000, with most returning to duty with no medical intervention.

Additionally, TBI may be classified as mild, moderate or severe and can occur from injuries to the head, neck or face.

With over 10 years working as an explosive ordnance disposal technician, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Justin Beasly understands the risks involved within his career field and attended the presentation to learn what opportunities are available for individuals like him. In addition to required training, Beasly’s experience during deployments to Afghanistan and Africa have compounded brain injuries

“I've had as multitude of TBI experiences throughout my career,” said Beasly, who’s assigned to the explosive ordnance disposal flight, 786th Civil Engineer Squadron, 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. “So yes, I've been diagnosed with TBI. I think ultimately we need to educate more people on the resources and the (TBI Clinic) is a good resource.”

Beasly, a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, says a visit to the TBI Clinic is worth the trip to help individuals who suffer from cognitive and emotional changes.

“(Traumatic Brain Injury) is starting to become a bigger deal because all these (service members) that were running and gunning (participating in fast-paced operations) all those years back have slowed down (due to slower deployment rates),” said Beasly. “Our families are now identifying that we're not right.”

“(Thanks to efforts of TBI Clinic staff) I know how to cope. They gave me the tools to do that,” said Fauth. “I'm not 100 percent, and I will never be 100 percent. But I can try to get as close to it and hopefully continue to strive for normalcy.”

• Date Taken: 04.03.2020
• Date Posted: 04.03.2020 07:05
• Story ID: 366482
• Location: LANDSTUHL, RP, DE
• Hometown: HOUSTON, TX, US