Army Sergeant Issac Shawn Sims, a third generation Army veteran had served two tours in Iraq. His family has said he sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at the VA Medical Center in Kansas City and had been told available bed space was about a month away.
His mother, Patricia Sims, says her son badly needed treatment for traumas suffered in combat.
Sims had his eardrum blown out and has “80 percent disability from brain injuries,” his mother said. But his injuries are not just physical. Patricia Sims said her son suffered from severe depression, migraines and PTSD as a result of watching his friends die in combat.
“He had to pick up body parts, he had to move forward as if nothing happened,” his mother recalled.
Patricia said she knew her son badly needed help after she witnessed her son driving around in his Hummer like he was back in a war zone. He reportedly told his mom, “this is how we look for IEDs mama.”
Frightened and worried, they asked the VA for help. They didn’t expect to receive the response that they did. Sims had been diagnosed by the VA as having severe PTSD, yet not given treatment.
On Sunday, May 25, 2014, Sims was shot and killed by police while suffering through a Post-Traumatic Stress episode.
SGT Issac Shawn Sims lost his battle with PTS, May 25, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri. He was 26 years old.