The VA’s Pinocchio Problem
A major newspaper coined a new category for repetitive falsehoods, the “Bottomless Pinocchio.” These are falsehoods repeated at least twenty times (so often “that there can be no question the politician is aware his or her facts are wrong”).
We are adding to the brain-wounded totals. We can only hope that we stay in the hundreds, not the tens and hundreds of thousands over the last twenty years. But in what is surely a first, DOD reported in less than two weeks that of at least 140 of the 290 U.S. troops reported wounded last month, 140 have been officially classified as TBI-related. The rapid reporting is due at least in part to the lessons of Iraq/Afghanistan where DoD begrudgingly moved from “only PTSD” diagnoses, to now [an underreported] 500,000+ brain wounds. [NOTE: Critics and some U.S. officials have noted that TBI is again the “signature wound” of this conflict. There are concerns that actual numbers may be higher due to delayed reporting, similar to the 2023–2024 rocket attacks in Syria where nearly 50 TBIs went initially unreported. Further NOTE: The TreatNOW count of brain wounded since 9/11 is 877,450, details to be found in Brain Drain.]
Underreporting is only part of the VA’s Pinocchio Problem. For over ten years, loyalists and bureaucrats in the VA have been peddling a common theme: HBOT does not work, it is too risky, too expensive, experimental, lacking in science, and should not be used. Consider the words of Dr Clancy in 2015:
“Clinical support for using HBo2 for neurological conditions is primarily based on anecdotal case data. There is currently no objective empirical evidence indicating that HBo2 is effective or of benefit to Veterans with TBI or PTS. . . . Given the current lack of medical evidence, HBo2 is considered a treatment where the risks of the procedure outweigh possible benefits, and cannot be endorsed by VHA for Veterans at this time.” Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, Interim Under Secretary for Health Department of Veteran Affairs, Aug 2015
A decade later, another apologist from the VA testified to the House Veterans Affairs Committee with virtually the same words: “VA, DoD, and others have conducted extensive research on the efficacy of HBOT on TBI, and the research has found no support for this as an effective treatment (particularly for mild TBI). . . . we are concerned that this bill could result in adverse health outcomes for participating Veterans….Given the evidence of harm in the literature and FDA’s findings, the CPGs conclude that HBOT is not currently identified as a safe or effective treatment after mild TBI.” AJIT PAI, M.D. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, REHABILITATION AND PROSTHETIC SERVICES VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA), March 2024
Ten years, and unflinching fealty to the same party line. And this from doctors of medicine who know their own record on dispensing drugs and treatments that put Veterans at “risk”: 161,000 Veteran suicides since 9/11, and over 109,000 Veteran drug overdoses leading to death [this from dispensing hundreds of millions of addictive drugs that warn of suicidal ideation.
One Veteran given new life by HBOT equated the VA’s record with him and nearly nine million Veterans under their care as an “assisted-suicide” government operation. Many other Veterans essentially abandoned by the VA to drugs and talk therapy talk about the culture in the VA: delay, denial, deception, drugs, depression, death.
Sadly, there are at least three major DoD/VA Centers of Excellence, all failing in their obligation to use all means possible to address their #1 Clinical Priority: Suicide Prevention. The self-described “Center of Excellences” include:
- Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (TBICoE). This is the primary DoD center for TBI. The TBICoE promotes state-of-the-science TBI care from point-of-injury to reintegration for active duty service members, veterans, and their families, working to prevent and mitigate consequences of mild to severe TBI. BrainLine
- Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC). This is the joint VA/DoD collaborative program and was the predecessor/component of TBICoE. DVBIC is a multi-site medical care, clinical research, and education center — a unique collaboration between the DoD, VA health care system, and a civilian partner — focused on advanced TBI-specific evaluation, treatment, and follow-up care for military personnel, their dependents, and veterans
- Broader DoD Umbrella: Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE). The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) provides the Military Health System with current and emerging psychological health and TBI clinical and educational information.
Nowhere will you find discussion of Root Cause Analysis of TBI/PTSD, much less mention or prescription of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, the only scientifically proven safe and effective treatment for brain wound healing.
The Army and military medicine have known about HBOT since at least 1990. This is a page from their Textbook of Military Medicine. Notice their definitive therapy for BLAST exposure:
We keep count of essential information that should lead to an immediate expansion of treatment protocols to finally address VA and DoD negligence. We want approval of HBOT as part of the Standard of Care, insured, and available via Community Care [NOTE: The VA has no HBOT chambers or expertise. The VA’s Community Care program allows eligible veterans to receive health care from approved providers outside of the VA health care system. Veterans may qualify if the VA cannot provide the needed care, if wait times are too long, or if they live far from a VA facility. The TreatNOW Coalition is 180+ HBOT clinics across the country, all vetted as safe and willing to treat brain wounded Veterans in medical grade chambers.]
TREATNOW MASTER EVIDENCE BLOCK
• ~7,085+ U.S. service members killed in combat since 9/11 — ~53,000 wounded in action
• 17.6 Veteran suicides per day
• 161,000+ veterans have died by suicide since 9/11 — nearly 23 times the combat death toll
• 109,000+ veterans have died from drug overdose — prescribed and otherwise — since 9/11
• 270,000+ total veteran deaths from suicide and overdose combined — nearly 38 times the combat death toll
• 17.6 veterans die by suicide every single day — the VA’s own number — and the trend is UPWARD year over year
• The veteran population has DECREASED by 10% over the same decade — making the rising suicide rate even more catastrophic in real terms
• $5.375 billion spent by the U.S. Government on Suicide Prevention over the last ten years — with little improvement in outcomes
• 877,000+ Veterans carry untreated brain wounds right now
• 33,000+ brain-wounded veterans, athletes, first responders, and civilians have experienced enhanced quality of life through HBOT — many returning to work, school, and active duty, reclaiming a future with freedom to choose, which the current, failed standard of care denied them
• 12,500+ Veterans have benefited from HBOT treatment for their TBI/PTSD
• 180+ Coalition clinics delivering treatment across the country, many pro bono
• 28 peer-reviewed studies confirming HBOT safety and efficacy for brain wounds
• 85% recovery rate for mild-to-moderate TBI
• 10 Secretaries of the Veterans Administration over 25 years have been informed about the science, safety, and efficacy of HBOT and still the institution refuses to offer it or even inform Veterans about its availability
• Hundreds of drugs, devices, processes, computer programs and other interventions by DOD/VA/medicine DO NOT TREAT THE WOUND TO THE BRAIN, and ALL are used off label since none have been approved by the FDA for TBI, PTSD, Concussion, BLAST, or post concussive syndrome or polytrauma. None of the hundreds of drugs prescribed by the VA/DOD are approved by the FDA for brain wounds, and over a dozen warn of suicidal ideation.
• Less than ½ of 1% — The ROI for the cost of HBOT treatment for 877,450 Veterans over a lifetime vs. the lifetime cost of no treatment. Projected untreated costs exceed $4.7 Trillion
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Given all these facts, science, evidence, testimonials, hundreds of thousands of clinical successes, and the continuing deaths and misery caused by NOT treating brain wounds, Congress and the Executive Branch must hold the VA and DoD to higher standards. Further, Veterans are owed knowledge about, and access to, HBOT and alternative treatments proven to help heal brain wounds. Ask the Israelis. Read all the science. Stop dissembling with disinformation. Take a risk for the Veterans. TreatNOW.
HBOT Heals Brains, Stops Suicides, Restores Lives. TreatNOW.
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The TreatNOW Mission is ending service member suicides. Along the way, we have learned that we can end suicidal ideation, help end symptoms of PTSD, get patients off most of their drugs, and heal brain wounds to end the effects of Concussion, BLAST injury, mild TBI, Persistent Post Concussive Syndrome, and polytrauma from Operator Syndrome, AHI, and Burn Pits. No Veteran or civilian has ever been killed or hurt while undergoing HBOT treatment for TBI/PTSD.
Information provided by TreatNOW.org does not constitute a medical recommendation. It is intended for informational purposes only, and no claims, either real or implied, are being made.