Hoping to bring awareness that treating PTSD early on can help reduce the risk of dementia is one Sacramento family, who wishes they had known that sooner.
Franklin is the full-time caregiver for her husband of 38 years, Doug Mitten.
Mitten is entering the late stages of his Alzheimer's diagnosis, after seeking treatment for the disease back in 2020 and first noticing signs of cognitive decline in 2017.
"The one thing you know about Alzheimer's dementia is today, it's probably the best day. From now on, it's just going to get worse," said Franklin, as she and her husband take things day by day. "It is very painful, because you see their abilities diminishing."
From medals to pins to pictures and hats, the mementos help him remember his time serving in the United States Army during the Vietnam War.
Doug Mitten, 1969"Most of Doug's PTSD comes from being a sniper and getting involved because he was such a good marksman, being involved in Army intelligence. There's a lot of things that happened there, some probably are still classified, and it was very difficult," said Franklin. "He certainly believed in the idea that you don't kill people. He enlisted to be a chaplain's assistant, where he wanted to help people. He ended up with assignments that he felt were very counter to that."
"My mother just had a fit," Mitten remembered.
"They'd come back, and they were they were booed, they were spit on," said Franklin. "There was a lot of talk about survival guilt. They felt bad because they made it back. A whole lot of them didn't. Doug wanted nothing to do with the military ever again when he got home."
Still, he wanted to bury those feelings.
"I wasn't really convinced that this is what I should do," Mitten said of seeking out PTSD treatment.
It took him 40 years and a lot of counselling to finally take that step and get help.
Mitten wanted so badly to tell CBS Sacramento his story on his own and in his own words.
He leans on his loving wife when he struggles to finish his own sentence.
"Yeah," he responded. "Go to get help."
Mitten had also become very active in the Vietnam Veterans of America organization, even serving as the chair of the organization's PTSD committee.
"I think you were finally able to understand how important your service was and what a commitment you'd made and what a personal sacrifice it was that you should respect. Yes, does that sound right?"
Franklin says knowing what she knows now about the increased Alzheimer's risk associated with PTSD, she would have pushed her husband to seek out treatment much sooner if she could just rewind the clock.
"We are going to continue to do things until it's proven that we can't. For me, that gave me a lot of good memories. Even though Doug doesn't remember them, I've got those memories, and I can share them back with him," Franklin said.
Franklin credits getting connected with a lot of local resources through the Veterans Affairs department, the Vietnam Veterans of America organization, and also Alzheimer's support groups like the Alzheimer's Association, the Alzheimer's Aid Society and the Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center for helping them navigate difficult times.
Resources for veterans with PTSD can be found on the Alzheimer's Association website.
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