Question about IED's?

[brenn15]

I'm currently working on a script and I'm doing some research on IED's before I start writing. In my script one of my characters (his name is Ethan) gets hit by an IED while serving in Afghanistan. One of Ethan's injuries is going to be a spinal injury. I've been trying to do some research online about spinal injuries related to IED's and I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for. So I'm hoping someone here will know the answers to my questions.

My first question is it possible to have a temporary spinal cord injury from an IED instead of a permanent injury? If its a temporary spinal cord injury would the person automatically regain feeling in their extremities or would it be over time?

My next question is regarding when a soldier dies in action. I know that usually a military person will come to your door to let you know (at least thats the way it used to be). Do they still do that? Do they ever call family members to tell them that their soldier died in action? I'm just wandering cause another one of my characters in my script gets hit by an IED and dies.

[ezri]

I'm currently working on a script and I'm doing some research on IED's before I start writing. In my script one of my characters (his name is Ethan) gets hit by an IED while serving in Afghanistan. One of Ethan's injuries is going to be a spinal injury. I've been trying to do some research online about spinal injuries related to IED's and I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for. So I'm hoping someone here will know the answers to my questions.

My first question is it possible to have a temporary spinal cord injury from an IED instead of a permanent injury? If its a temporary spinal cord injury would the person automatically regain feeling in their extremities or would it be over time?

My next question is regarding when a soldier dies in action. I know that usually a military person will come to your door to let you know (at least thats the way it used to be). Do they still do that? Do they ever call family members to tell them that their soldier died in action? I'm just wandering cause another one of my characters in my script gets hit by an IED and dies.

[chason58]

Shrapnel to the spine.

And No, they NEVER call over phone for something that serious of a matter. They will talk to you in person.

There were many pranks, where people called there families said there son/daughter had died. Hence why they only do it in person.

[macquaid35]

The IED could have sent shrapnel into his spine, to break it. The spine could then later heal. My research isnt great on spinal healing so you will have to look it up. From what I know it all depends on the person and the injury whether it comes back or not and how fast / slow. And yes they still come to your door, normally as soon as the soldier is confirmed KIA and the message can be sent back to base.

[teyo]

Shrapnel to the spine is pretty much the most believable IED spinal injury. A lot of people make their IEDs with bits of metal for shrapnel. Nails, BBs, pretty much anything that they can get a lot of for cheap.

Spinal chord injuries tend to be permanent. The nervous cells in the spine are what transmit the information, and those cells grow slowly. When only one or two cells are damaged, and the wound doesn't move them around much, they can often reattach in a few weeks, and the character will be healed. When a larger section of the chord is damaged, the regrowth rarely manages to reconnect the broken chord. Instead, the cells must re-grow the whole length, starting at the injured point, and working it's way down into the body at the painstaking rate of less than a centimeter a year. Of course, the higher up the spinal chord the injury occurs, the more serious the paralysis is. A general rule is that not much goes on below the point in the spine where the injury occurs. A mid- back injury will tend to leave the legs paralyzed. A neck injury will leave the person unable to do much but talk and move their eyes.

If you want the injury to heal, you will want to write in details indicating that the injury was small, and that the injured person's spine was kept in position after the injury. Shrapnel should probably be limited to small bits of metal. Also, it probably should pass directly through cartillage. When shrapnel contacts the bone of the spine, the bone tends to sort of explode. Your character will end up with a bad cartilalge disk, but those can be replaced with silicon nowadays. Normal soldier reactions to grab the injured person, and drag them away would also be bad. A nearby medical team, and the ability to say that he cannot feel some portion of his body will help.

[scirwode]

The spine question is medical and I don't know for sure how that works.

A uniformed soldier will ALWAYS be the first person to inform the next of kin if a Soldier dies. When a Dead Soldier has had his identity confirmed by DNA notice is sent to a casualty assistance team. There will be a Soldier in Dress uniform of equal or greater rank then the soldier who died as well as a chaplain they will arrive on base in uniform within 1 hour and then get their briefing and head to the next of kin. The only time they would be called is if the Soldiers name was going publish a name sooner then the family can be notified.

The preferred method for notifying for an injury is to have the injured Soldier call.

[herald]

Go down to your local VA hospital and talk with the people who run the spinal cord injury ward.

When a soldier gets killed in action, there is ALWAYS a personal visit.