In veterans, even a mild case of traumatic brain injury is linked to an increased risk of...

Has documented medical records verified showing brain injury, but VA denies service connected. Also diagnosed vertigo, sleep apnea, memory loss, depression, mood swings, and Male issues

As all of us age and live longer we all are at risk for dementia. Those w/ TBI are even more likely. Those who do not serve in combat zones have no clue about the lingering adverse experiences.
Rich

I'm sorry to say that is the tip of the iceberg. Compared to most kinds of combat injuries, there are not many things to compare to blast injuries. I could not read that whole newspaper article because I have visited the LA times 3 times already, but looking a couple clinical neurology journal articles there is not a whole lot of recovery in the first year, and usually after five years still many problems. There have been blast injuries in wars for some time, but the intensity and frequency in the Iraq / Afghanistan wars is way beyond prior experience. I think the US will never have enough money available to soldiers and veterans to help most of these troops come close to a normal life
I had a small brain injury I would like to mention. I and a friend were hiking in Colorado mountains at high altitude, and lightning struck behind us. It scared us, and for a while we thought it missed us. Within 15 minutes our thinking and feeling was off and another 15 minutes and we were changing fast- scared, laughing, then feeling stoned. We got disoriented and lost track of time and it was hard to plan. We got to a safe place around people and I realized the lightning had reached us through the ground. A couple days later that was confirmed in an ER. It took me months for it to completely wear off. That was just a brief little electric shock to the brain.
I had studied neurosurgery and sometimes neurology as part of my last civilian job for three years, and I think if you experience a minor blast and are not half way recovered in a week or few months, it is going to be a long road, with not all that good a chance for complete recovery given the state of knowledge of brain science. Sometimes circumstances can be in place for faster recovery from brain incidents, but with a blast, usually the whole brain was affected, so there is not as much of a healthy zone that can help the rest manage.
I wish someday I could be living in a city where I could be a part time voluteer or employee to help families affected with this kind of thing to navigate the health care system including mental health recovery.
If you hear of someone stuck for a good answer about brain problems, google "asia health travels" to find contact. Use the parentheses in the search. And I am the only Dan or Daniel Dlugose. I am usually in Colorado.