Question

LaVerne Jordon is an Army soldier returned to the United States after a tour of duty in Iraq, where he was seriously wounded. He is 22 years old and faces a life without his right arm and leg. He suffered serious wounds to the right side of his body, and even with reconstructive surgery, his face is somewhat distorted. He survived an attack on his military vehicle, but the other soldiers in the vehicle were killed instantly. Discuss what kind of grief LaVerne may be feeling. What might the future hold?

Answer 1

Grief is the sorrow that is caused because of loss of a loved one, failure etc. Here for Laverne Jordan is in grief because of his friends dying, him loosing his arm and leg with a distorted face too. He should be having body image disturbance too.

So psychological support has to be provided for Laverne Jordan as he will be undergoing different stages of grief. There are 5 stages of grief. They are as follows

1. Denial and Isolation
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance.

Everyone grieves differently at a loss or a failure. It's important to allow the person to grieve. As a Nurse it's important that we allow the person to grieve but encourage them and provide psychological support whenever necessary.

Mr. Laverne Jordan should be in the first stage of grief that is Denial and Isolation as the incident had just happened and grief takes long time to resolve. So allow him to go through the phases of grief and be there for him through this painful moment.

As he is still young it's important to build up his self confidence and self esteem. He can go for prosthesis and function normally.Regarding his distorted face he can go for plastic surgery. And reminding him how his life is being saved.And telling him that as long as there is life there is hope. As long as there is hope there is life.,and motivating him is important. And ensuring that God will help him out through all hardships and he will be a winner will strengthen him.