When Ariana Del Negro's husband returned from the war in Iraq, he could barely keep his balance, much less figure out how to get the medical treatment he needed.

Her husband, a first lieutenant in the Army, suffered traumatic brain injury when a makeshift roadway bomb exploded near him in September 2006. He had a hard time walking straight and thinking clearly, although there was no physical sign of injury, Del Negro said at a congressional hearing yesterday.

"My husband describes the troubles dealing with Tripler Medical Center as painful as the injuries themselves," Del Negro said of her husband, whom she didn't name and is now stationed at Schofield Barracks in an administrative position.

Del Negro, veterans, support workers and other family members pleaded with Hawai'i's two Democratic senators yesterday for faster, better healthcare from the military after soldiers leave the service with injuries that often last for years.

Del Negro's husband got a referral to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego after a few months, but she said he should have gotten quicker help from the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dozens of witnesses at a packed O'ahu Veterans Center told Sen. Daniel Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Sen. Daniel K. Inouye about their difficulties getting medical attention at the first of three state hearings on healthcare and benefits for veterans. The others will be tomorrow in Wailuku, Maui, and Monday in Kailua on the Big Island.