Charla Nash: A True Victim And Candidate For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

I came across this article on AOL yesterday. It tells the story of Charla Nash who was the victim of a savage chimpanzee attack.  The article suggests the type of emotional trauma Charla experienced makes her a candidate to develop PTSD.  I would have to say that is an understatement.  The physical injuries she received are too much for me to comprehend and I am amazed that she has come forward to let Oprah Winfrey interview her.  This woman deserves our admiration and prayers.

I will link to the AOL article if you desire to watch the footage of Charla’s interview with Oprah.  I WILL WARN YOU AHEAD OF TIME THAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE BRIEF INTERVIEW CHARLA REMOVES A VEIL SHE IS WEARING.  OPRAH ASKED HER TO DO SO AND HER INJURIES ARE DIFFICULT TO VIEW.  DO NOT VIEW THE VIDEO IF YOU AREN’T SURE YOU CAN HANDLE IT!! People who commit acts of terror are not victims of PTSD.  I am running this story to present to you a real candidate.   Allan

Taken from  AOL Health.

Last February, the owner of a 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis asked Charla Nash to help lure the chimp back into her house in Stamford, Connecticut. In the process, Travis went berserk, attacking Nash and ripping off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids.

Nash — still hospitalized and healing from her traumatic injuries — recently found out that she will never be able to see again. She believed regaining her sight was still a possibility until only a few weeks ago, when doctors had to surgically remove her eyes due to an infection, according to The New York Post. Nash appeared on The Oprah Show Wednesday to talk about the attack, how she’s adjusting, how she maintains her spirit and what the future holds. This was Nash’s first media interview.

Two of the first emergency medical workers on the scene, Bill Ackley and Matt Groves, described Nash’s survival as a miracle. They told The Associated Press in February that the extent of her injuries were so severe — her hands looked like they were wrecked by a machine and her face and scalp injuries so extensive — all the blood obscured whatever parts were left. Lying face down in the owner’s driveway, they couldn’t even tell if she was a man or a woman. By then, Travis had already been shot by police. He later died. Medics rushed Nash to Stamford Hospital, where four teams of surgeons operated for more than seven hours to stabilize the 56-year-old Stamford resident. She has spent the months since the assault hospitalized at the Cleveland Clinic where she is a candidate for face transplant surgery. Beyond her crushing physical injuries, Nash certainly has had a lot of psychological healing to do. Jeffrey L. Brown, a cognitive behavioral psychologist in the department of psychology at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., says that people who go through a traumatic experience like this often experience a “flight or flight” response as it is happening, but have no way to do either — they’re trapped. “This can be terrifying and bring on feelings of hopelessness,” he says. Such an attack may have caused post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), not unlike what soldiers or victims of terrorists attacks go through. “An assault like this is certainly outside the realm of normal human experience,” Brown points out. “If she has PTSD, it wouldn’t be unusual for her to avoid thinking or speaking about the incident, yet it may creep into her thoughts or her dreams.” Brown goes on to note that while it is challenging to make a full recovery from this type of incident, cognitive behavioral therapy to help reshape thinking and emotional control, medication and strong social support, can help victims learn to cope. Connecticut officials were repeatedly warned about the dangers posed by this animal for at least three years before the attack. One biologist warned that Travis was “an accident waiting to happen.” Nash is suing both Travis’s owner and the state for failing to take action.

Click   HERE to see the entire article with video.