On November 24th Seattle based photographer Andrew Hida will be rolling out the second installment of his "Slow Healing" project, read more about what Andrew has to say about the project...
This past August I returned home to Hawaii for a brief visit to my family, but also to visit an Iraq veteran by the name of Readen Clavier. I spent 5-days with him to document his transition back from Iraq, as he recounted the many events that have unfolded since his injury 3 years ago. His life has been tragically altered after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in what was determined a vehicle rollover by official accounts (the direct result of an improvised explosive device). Daily life has transformed into a daily struggle, as he learns to adapt to the physical and cognitive deficits that now define his life living with TBI.
Readen's story is one of a number of ongoing stories I have been documenting of traumatically brain-injured soldiers. As part of the "Slow Healing" project, this multi-chaptered, multimedia documentary traces the return of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans through intimate, and emotional self-narratives. These quiet stories of survival testify to the tragedies of this prolific injury that has the ability to erode the very characters that define a person, propelling them into an unknown world deprived of their previous life."
www.slowhealing.org will be launched in a few months where all the stories will be found in a comprehensive website including clinical testimonies, and TBI resources. Please click on the following link to watch Slow Healing: Readen, Part 1:
High res (53MB):
http://www.andrewhida.com/movs/REDN/20081026_REDN_pt01_003.mov
Low res (20MB):
http://www.andrewhida.com/movs/REDN/20081026_REDN_pt01_003_lwres.mov
www.andrewhida.com
