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- Consistency of Jell-O
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- Rupa Marya
Erik Castillo is 22 years old and is getting to know himself again. In Iraq, his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and everyone survived the blast unscathed, except for him. Because of the advances in battlefield medicine and sophicated body armour, soldiers are now surviving what used to be fatal blast injuries. Consequently, about 2/3 of the soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from what's called Traumatic Brain Injury. This piece follows Erik through his rehabilitative efforts at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration. First aired on KALW San Francisco 2/13/05.
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Piece Description
Erik Castillo is 22 years old and is getting to know himself again. In Iraq, his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and everyone survived the blast unscathed, except for him. Because of the advances in battlefield medicine and sophicated body armour, soldiers are now surviving what used to be fatal blast injuries. Consequently, about 2/3 of the soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from what's called Traumatic Brain Injury. This piece follows Erik through his rehabilitative efforts at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration. First aired on KALW San Francisco 2/13/05.
2 Comments
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Review of Consistency of Jell-OThis is a very informative piece produced without a narrator. It is well produced, with interviewees leading into each other very well. I was amazed by some of the information in this piece... how the brain heals, dumb "replacement" cells, the comparison to Jello. Amazing. It doesn't even cover HOW the brain and the cells can "remember" information, and I'm still impressed. It's a sad story that hopefully will turn out for the best. It's weird how medicine can have this effect: we are so good at saving lives, that people are living with strange new disablilities. |
Broadcast History
KALW 2/13/2005
Transcript
[Eminem’s Mockingbird]
EC: My name is Erik Castillo. I was injured in Iraq July 27th 2004. So I have a traumatic brain injury right now. When I was injured, I was prepping my vehicle to go on a mission and it just started raining mortar rounds. [music faded out by here] When it happened to, when the shrapnel hit me, the captain told my father that I was getting worse, that I was dying. My father called, or the captain called my father and father was talking to me on the phone saying “Can you hear me? Baby can you hear me?” [15:20] And all I did was give the captain the thumbs up. So he told my father, yeah he gave me the thumbs up, so whatever you asked me, yes. And that’s when I came back to life, that’s what he said, when I talked to my dad. [D3, p4]I don’t remember none of that, none of the incident. None of that day actually. That’s part of the injury.
HZ: My name is Dr. Harrie...
Read the full transcript
Musical Works
Mockingbird by Eminem exerpts
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Madeleine Bair
Posted on April 19, 2008 at 03:49 PM | Permalink
Review of Consistency of Jell-O
This is a very good piece about how a war injury has affected one soldier. It's pretty amazing how touching the piece is without trying, and how informative it is without narration. It is simply a well-mixed and very well-interviewed story told by the soldier and his doctor. Because of the flawless mixing and engaging voices, it does not feel as long as it is, and it leaves the listener pondering the subject long after it ends.