In the 2012 Suicide Data Report, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that 22 veterans a day commit suicide. This heartbreaking statistic is where The 22 Project, a South Florida-based non-profit dedicated to treating veterans and helping them adjust to civilian life, gets its name.
Equipment used by today’s military personnel, such as heavy firearms and artillery, can have unintended consequences. It is possible for this equipment to cause micro-concussions, which can lead to a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In addition, veterans who served in the Gulf War can suffer from Gulf War Illness (GWI). It is believed that GWI is caused by chemicals, such as pesticides, that veterans faced on the battlefield. TBI and GWI can cause a variety of symptoms—difficulty sleeping, fatigue, mood swings and agitated behavior, depression, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. This is where The 22 Project comes in.
Co-founders Alex and Erica Cruz remember how the Project came to be. “In 2009, there was a small pilot program run by the Red Cross, and they [veterans participating in that program] came to our diagnostic center,” said Alex Cruz. Mr. Cruz is the founder of Southeast Medical Imaging, a diagnostic imaging center that has one of four brain SPECT scanning machines in the state of Florida. Unlike MRI or CT scans, which look at the physical condition of the brain, a SPECT scan examines the blood flow through a patient’s veins and arteries in the brain. SPECT scans have shown that veterans with TBI and GWI have less blood flow through parts of their brain, a condition attributed to trauma sustained during war.
The treatment for TBI and GWI is a simple, yet unexpected, solution: hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In a pilot study developed by Dr. Alison Bested, Clinical Director for the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine and the Chair of the Department of Integrative Medicine at Nova Southeastern University, patients are put into a pressurized chamber set to 1.5 atm, or the equivalent of being 18 feet below sea level. Then, pure, 100% oxygen is pumped into the chamber. This process stimulates neurons in the patient’s brain, which promotes healing. This cutting-edge treatment is an exciting new collaboration between NSU and The 22 Project.
With a price tag of approximately $13,000 per veteran, receiving such treatment can be cost-prohibitive. Fortunately, the collaboration is being generously funded by two NSU Fellows Society members: The 22 Project and the Lozick Family Foundation.
Beyond helping veterans to receive coverage for their treatment, another goal for The 22 Project is to open the Patriot Center, a place where veterans can get diagnosed and treated, meet other veterans, and receive help to transition into civilian life.
“We’re grateful,” Mr. Cruz said. “From where we started, to see the collaboration of the people involved now. It’s not just Alex and Erica Cruz. It’s more than that.”
For more information on the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine and the Department of Integrative Medicine at Nova Southeastern University, please contact Nathalie Sloane at nsloane@nova.edu.