Democrat Tom Udall is running for U.S. Senate in New Mexico and his campaign has produced a television ad that can only be described as time-stopping. In it, Army Sergeant Erik Schei, who was shot in the head by a sniper in Iraq, speaks his support for Udall’s efforts to fund treatment for veterans with brain trauma.

Here’s a little context from a recent USA Today report:

The government plans to substantially increase disability benefits for veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries, acknowledging for the first time that veterans suffering from this less severe version of the Iraq war’s signature wound will struggle to make a living.

“We’re saying it’s real,” said Tom Pamperin, a deputy director for the Department of Veteran Affairs, about the significance of the change to benefits in the regulation the VA plans to publish today.

Up to 320,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered traumatic brain injury, a RAND Corp. study estimated this year. The vast majority of the cases are mild and came from exposure to an explosion, often from a roadside bomb. Most veterans with mild cases recover, Pamperin said, but some are left with permanent problems.