A marriage is put in crisis when a Marine returns home from Iraq with Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Natasha Massimino
Marine Wife
Dr. Judith Broder
Director
The Soldiers Project
Aired: October 15th, 2008
Natasha Massimino
Natasha is the wife of Marine Sgt. Richard Massimino and the mother of three kids - Anastasia, Isabella and Devlin. The 30-year-old California native stood strongly by her husband when he was deployed first to Kuwait, and then twice to Iraq. But ever since he came back suffering from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Natasha's life, and their marriage, have been flipped upside down. Now, not only is she a wife and a mother, but she's also a caretaker. While she always wanted to be lifelong Marine wife, now, with an average of four hours of sleep a night, all she wants is a nap. Despite the daily struggles, she's determined to help her husband work through his issues and to get the old Richard back.
Sgt. Richard Massimino
Sgt. Richard Massimino joined the Marines in 1997 and served with the 1st Maintenance Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group out of Camp Pendleton. He loved the service and always wanted to dedicate his life to it. "Richard wanted to be a crusty old Marine," says his wife Natasha. "He wanted to be there until they said you have to get out, you're too old." The 30-year-old Marine served 11 years and did a tour in Kuwait and two tours in Iraq before he was medically retired in 2008. Richard returned home from Iraq damaged - his back was a mess, he had acute asthma from his days in the desert, and he suffered from severe PTSD and TBI. He had changed dramatically, and to his wife and children he was a different person.
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