Army wife battles military over husband's post-traumatic stress disorder

FAYETTEVILLE

Crystal Reilly, a mother of two, says she took her concerns about her husband's post traumatic stress disorder to the Army, and was virtually ignored.

So Thursday, she did something that couldn't be ignored. Almost anything you could imagine was for sale at Reilly's home in the 1600 block of Lakeway Drive in Fayetteville.

If you a double take, you realize the house and its owner are crying out.

A sign on the home reads, "The Reilly family is done with the guinea pig Army system. Get us real help."

Reilly has been married to the Army for 15 years, but it became apparent in 2009 that her husband, Sgt. Charles Reilly, was starting to change.

"The rage, the anger, the adrenaline surges he would have," said Reilly.

The fast moving, debilitating disease is called PTSD.

During Reilly's sixth war deployment came the official diagnosis and suggestion for clinical help.

"He was supposed to be sent home from down range, which is Afghanistan, to here and be put in a hospital immediately," said Reilly. "They didn't do that."

Instead their home became the hospital.

"For four months I was on suicide watch with him," said Reilly.

The rage, she says took over resulting in three back to back demotions and pay cuts. Reilly is now counting on the yard sale to survive.

"To be able to keep my lights on and my water running and food on my table," said Reilly.

With demotion pay.

"Our paycheck is $349 for May 1," she said.

But her diary of frustration she wants the world to see.

"Due to the military's PTSD/TBI plan, all my belongings must be sold to pay bills," said Reilly. "If the military doesn't do what they need to do for these guys, we have an epidemic on our hands," said Reilly.

Reilly says she and her husband have separated in the past few weeks because of the ordeal.

ABC11 reached out to Sgt. Reilly and Fort Bragg command, but they have not responded yet.

See It On TV | Report A Typo |  Send Tip |  Get Alerts | Send us photos
Follow @abc11 on Twitter  |  Become a fan on Facebook

Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.