PTSD in 2006, the year after he left his 17-year army career

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201816260/insight-a-failure-to-care-for-veterans-with-ptsd

When Bill Blaikie was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004, it was the pinnacle of his military career.

Just eight years later, after living through six months in the war-torn nation, he was in an intensive care unit with a 20 percent chance of survival, after a second suicide attempt.

Mr Blaikie credits his survival to the fact his wife came home and found him, and that their next-door neighbour was a firefighter, trained in first aid.

“I was so disassociated with my family, not happy in life or anything like that, that I attempted suicide twice.”

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