The War Inside.....

Like a Sun, in his last deep hour;
Watched the magnificent recession of farewell
Clouding, half gleam, half glower,
And a last splendor  burn the heavens of his cheek.
And in his eyes
The cold stars lighting, very old and bleak,
In different skies. 
-Wilfred Owen

He was a warrior. He is not in the war front anymore. But he is struggling inside. He is fighting a war within himself. 

For a warrior, to see his fellow men bleed , experience excruciating pain and die in front of his eyes is a dreadful experience. This sight can pass in a few minutes but it remains in their inner mind for long. This may show up later and affect their routine . This condition is commonly called PTSD ( Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). 

Common symptoms of  PTSD include

• Intrusive, upsetting memories of the event
• Flashbacks (acting or feeling like the event is happening again)
• Nightmares (either of the event or of other frightening things)
• Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma
• Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (e.g. pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension, sweating)

Army  Spc Brandon Garrison is a a veteran who was in the Afghanistan war front. He could not come out of the mental picture of the gory situation he was in. 

"Inside, Garrison fights a rage that consumes most of his days since returning from 17 months of combat in Afghanistan. It's a demon that shows no mercy and interrupts even simple routines like eating and sleeping. At any moment, halfway through a football game or in the middle of the night, he can lose himself to this evil."

Reintegrating back into their family and leading a normal life in the society is not an easy task for them. We at Heroes on the Water are helping them forget the traumatic experiences by taking them out for Kayak fishing. 

At a recent outing in Mansfield, TX, we heard from the wife of a wounded soldier..."

"Hear that laugh? That's his real laugh. I don't get to hear that at home". Heroes on the Water took Ray and his wife, Becky, fishing on a small lake. A group of us were onshore talking and Ray was with a Marine vet on the small pond catching fish. Becky had been talking about how fishing keeps him going. Then we heard a good belly laugh.


Being in a Kayak does not need any supervision. It is something they can do independently. Kayaking out in the water for long hours, relaxes their mind  and helps them great deal in dealing with PTSD's eccentric conditions. 


References:
US National Library of Medicine
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/


Military Resources:
http://www.military.com/

Stanford School of Medicine:
http://ruralhealth.stanford.edu/videos/patient-stories/heroes-on-water/