Joe Shearer was serving as a Marine in Iraq when an enemy mortar round knocked him down and made him vomit, according to an account published by the Associated Press.

Shearer said the blast left him with a searing headache. He got back up and continued on patrol.

Months later, a roadside bomb struck his Humvee convoy. The explosion’s shock wave swept through his body, and headaches and sleeplessness followed for days.

“As long as you got back up and could go back on patrol, that’s kind of what you did,” Shearer said.

Shearer, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, links both events to traumatic brain injuries. Those injuries were diagnosed only recently.

He said the effects have continued. His symptoms include dizziness and migraines, along with difficulty remembering daily tasks and responsibilities involving his wife and children.

The account describes the delayed recognition of injuries that Shearer connects to blasts during his military service. It also shows how he continued working through symptoms after the explosions.

The Associated Press published the report from Washington on Aug. 6.