The New Army Of Caregivers

As more and more wounded veterans come home, their families have had to take on the role of caregivers. Whether they’re ready or not.

- Lydia Woolever

MOST NIGHTS, TIM MEADOWS stays up late. It’s the only time the house is finally quiet. At 3 a.m. he might read a book or take a walk outside, finally able to get a moment to himself—a break from the responsibilities that accompany the daylight. Even in the darkness, though, the 23-year-old is still on the clock. His dad, Jon, could emerge from his room at any time, asleep and wandering. There are security cameras throughout the house, but Tim does most of the watching.

“This is a constant babysitting job,” Tim says. “Just making sure he doesn’t break anything, or break himself.”

For 43 years, Jon Meadows lived a decent life. He was a truck driver and a family man; he enlisted in the National Guard in 2002. During a combat mission in Afghanistan in 2013, an IED struck the vehicle behind him. His body remained intact, but an injury to his brain’s right frontal lobe left him in need of constant care and supervision. Along with the sleepwalking, the retired staff sergeant still suffers from reduced motor skills, impaired speech and memory, seizures, narcolepsy, vision loss, and mood swings. With Jon in need of constant care, and no real recovery in sight, he and his wife, Melissa, soon gave up their house.