We are appealing to you to change the culture at the VA from one of “brain wounds are a mental health issue” to one of: “brain wounds like TBI/PTSD/PCS/BLAST/Concussion must be treated like a wound and healed using modern, proven, scientifically validated alternative therapies.” Brain wounds — TBI/PTSD/PCS/BLAST/Concussion — are wounds. They can be treated. The world outside the VA is treating them with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), doing the job your VA cannot and will not do.
Read More
[Ellie Souter (snowboarder, 2018); Frank Wycheck (NFL, 2025); Demaryius Thomas (NFL, 2021); Mike Webster (NFL, 2002); Kelly Caitlin (Olympic cycling, 2019); Chris Simon (NHL, 2024); Phillip Adams (NFL, 2021); Mike Day (SEAL, 2023); WWII 1000 yard TBI stare; Ryan Larkin (SEAL, 2017); Heather Anderson (AFLW, 2023); John Mackey, NFL, 2011]
What do the pictures have in common? The faces of brain injured Warriors and athletes who sacrificed, not just served. And too many dead with undiagnosed brain wounds.
We’re twenty-four years out since 9/11. On the order of fifteen thousand Americans — roughly seven thousand U.S. service members and about eight thousand U.S. military contractors — have been killed in the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and related theaters, according to the best available research. Ten times that number are dead from suicide over the same period, and 877,000+ Veterans and millions of citizens suffer with untreated brain wounds.
Read MoreThis weekend at the 1st Annual Koterra Golf Classic, I had the incredible honor of receiving the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs Commander’s Award, presented by General James S. Hartsell, Executive Director of the FDVA. To have General Hartsell stand with us, acknowledge our impact, and affirm publicly that “HBOT heals ” was a moment of validation for every family, every volunteer, every donor, and every Veteran who has walked through our doors searching for hope.
Read MoreOver 66,000 Veteran Service Organizations have sprung up since 9/11. No one can doubt the overwhelming resilience of most Veterans and the goodwill shown by foundations and volunteers, and billions of dollars of donated monies spent to restore normalcy to Veterans injured in war. No doubt the intentions of investigators on the DOD Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee meant well with their Report that encouraged “caring contacts” but said not a word about healing brain wounds. The entire tenor of the Report ignores any discussion about the physiological underpinnings of suicidal ideation. Suicide continues to be viewed as a problem fixable by more human contact, mental health programs, and psychiatric and drug interventions, not as a physiological condition brought about in any way by an untreated brain wound.
Read Morehe Hyperbaric Institute announces an award-winning documentary screening at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day from traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
Read MoreWe intend to explore realistic paths forward that can make the VA and DOD real heroes to the Veterans so in need of help for their brain wounds. The Awakening has to happen on both sides, those that resist, and those that need to understand that resistance. We need to find ways to sit with decision makers to construct the roadmap to success.
Read MoreTBI appears to compound suicide risk in veterans: those who experience TBI are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than veterans without TBI . . . . This is particularly concerning given the prevalence of TBI in post-9/11 veterans
Read MoreHere is the crux of why so many Veterans consider the VA toxic and “radioactive.” They stay away or abandon the VA because the culture and practice of the VA — medicine in general — is to treat brain wounds like they do mental health symptoms. No brain wound healing is possible in the current system. Pills and talk therapy rule.
Read MoreCoaches routinely tell players: “Move your feet.” The VA and Politicians are fond of sending “Thoughts and Prayers” to wounded Veterans. It’s a good time for Veterans to pray, but don’t just stand there. Take charge. Don’t take useless advice. You can heal, but you have to Move Your Feet.
Read More