Watch how a soldier who survived an RPG in Iraq lives on after ten years

Victor Medina has an actual video of the moment that changed his life forever. One day, his unit in Iraq was forced to take a detour around its planned patrol route. It was June 29, 2009, and Sgt. 1st Class Medina was the convoy commander that day. After winding through alleyways and small villages around Nasiriyah, his convoy came to a long stretch of open road. That's when an explosive foreign projectile struck the side of his Humvee.

He was evacuated from the scene and diagnosed with moderate traumatic brain injury, along with the other physical injuries he sustained in the attack. It took him three years of rehabilitation, and his wife Roxana became a caregiver – a role that is only now receiving the attention it deserves.

The footage of the attack in the first 30 seconds of the above video is the moment Sgt. 1st Class Medina was hit by the EFP, a rocket-propelled grenade. There just happened to be a camera rolling on his Humvee in that moment. The TBI that hit Medina affected his balance, his speech, and his ability to walk, among other things.

"It's referred to as an invisible wound," Victor says, referring to his traumatic brain injury. "In my case, you can't see it, but I feel it every day."

Since 2000, the Department of Defense estimates more than 383,000 service members have suffered from some form of traumatic brain injury. These injuries range in severity from ones caused by day-to-day training activities to more severe injuries like the one suffered by Sgt. 1st Class Medina. An overwhelming number of those come from Army personnel. Of the 225,144 traumatic brain injuries suffered by soldiers, most are mild. But even a moderate injury like Victor's can require a caregiver for the veteran.

This video is part of a series created by AARP Studios and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, highlighting veteran caregivers and the vets they care for. AARP wants to let families of wounded veterans know there are resources and support available through AARP's Military Caregiving Guide, an incredible work designed to start your family off on the right foot. Some of you reading may not even realize you're a veteran's caregiver. Like Victor Medina's wife Roxana, you may think you're just doing your part, taking care of a sick loved one.

But like Roxana Delgado, the constant care and support for a veteran suffering from a debilitating injury while caring for the rest of a household, supporting the household through work and school, and potentially caring for children, can cause a caregiver to burn out before they even recognize it's happening. It took Roxana eight months to realize she was Victor's full-time caregiver – on top of everything else she does. It began to wear on her emotionally and strain their relationship.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Roxana Delgado and Victor Medina before his deployment to Iraq in 2009.

(Roxana Delgado)

With AARP's Prepare to Care guide, veteran caregivers don't have to figure out their new lives on their own. The guide has vital checklists, charts, a database of federal resources, including the VA's Caregiver Program. The rest is up to the caregiver. Roxana Delgado challenged her husband at every turn, and he soon rose to the challenge. He wanted to get his wife's love back.

Before long, Victor was able to clean the house, make coffee in the morning, and generally alleviate some of the burdens of running their home. After 10 years in recovery, Victor Medina has achieved a remarkable level of independence, and together they started the TBI Warrior Foundation to help others with traumatic brain injuries. Roxana is now a health scientist and an Elizabeth Dole Foundation fellow. AARP Studios and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation are teaming up to tell these deeply personal stories of caregivers like Roxana because veteran caregivers need support and need to know they aren't alone.

If you or someone you know is caring for a wounded veteran and needs help or emotional support, send them to AARP's Prepare to Care Guide, tell them about Roxana Delgado and Victor Medina's TBI Warrior Foundation, and let them know about the Elizabeth Dole Foundation's Hidden Heroes Campaign.