Effects of LA platform blast on victims will be traumatic and far reaching

Like those coming out of a war zone, the traumatic effects of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon disaster upon the survivors may not be fully known for a long time.

Of the 115 who made it out of the inferno alive, some were transported to area hospitals with immediately discernable injuries to their physical being. A few of them suffered serious burns.

Others, though, waved off medical attention. Maybe they felt relatively well without any noticeable burns, breaks or sprains. For them, the best prescription was to get their feet back on dry land and rest with their families and loved ones.

But in the week following the April 20 explosion, some workers have discovered that they are not nearly as well off as they initially thought.

One of them is Oleander Benton, who worked as a cook on the platform. Benton, 52, is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, has difficulty sleeping at night and is terrorized by nightmares. She described her harrowing escape to safety to the Associated Press.