Jerry was a career army man who had served in several overseas non-combat capacities before combat deployment to Iraq in the first stages of the invasion. Once there he served first as a gunner, was in ground combat in constant firefights, and was in situations with mortars landing in his compound at night. In two tours he survived nine improvised explosive device (IED) explosions, three of them “face on” at about 150 feet away that left him unconscious twenty to thirty minutes each time, with several of the others landing close. Other blasts resulted in physical injuries requiring surgery and life-long medical treatment.

Jerry and his family were living at Walter Reed when he entered the Flexyx Neurotherapy System (FNS) treatment study with Dr. Esty. Medical personnel in Germany told him “You are like a firecracker”, and sent him to Walter Reed for treatment for PTSD. Two surgeries were done on his arms during the FNS study treatment and he was losing peripheral vision in one eye.

As prominent as his extreme post-concussion cognitive symptoms were there had been less official concern about them than about the PTSD symptoms. Post-concussion symptoms were debilitating in every way. Both his short and long-term memory functions were significantly impaired. For example Jerry could not remember the day of the week, the ages of his children, and could no longer read for more than a few minutes because it caused extreme mental fatigue.

The impact of this type of loss is enormous. It meant that sharing past family events was impossible, so his children could not be part of a conversation about any pre-injury family activities. His hair-trigger temper was causing major problems. To make matters worse he had constant headache that he rated “10” (on a 0 – 10 scale). Strong pain medications did not adequately ameliorate the pain.

Jerry had completed a PTSD program at Walter Reed before starting FNS. Despite this the PTSD symptoms were still full-blown with night sweats, nightmares, panic reactions, anger, and fatigue. Jerry’s response to FNS treatment was quick and positive. After the first treatment the headache pain diminished greatly. He slept well and was calm for two days. Especially dramatic was the day the ER doctor stopped the pain medications because what he had been taking had become an overdose. (This often happens during FNS treatment as the body/brain establishes more normal functioning.)

The fourth treatment produced perhaps the most dramatic response of all. Long-term memory returned immediately after the treatment. He had correct memory of birth dates of his children and memories of family events that had been lost to him for months. Now they had some common ground and had fun talking about things they had done together. This kind of experience had been lost to the entire family until that moment.

The ultimate benefit of all these positive changes was that he was less fearful about his future, and began to see a life for himself. “I now have hope”. At this point Jerry’s memory was demonstrably better at times than even that of his family members. A wonderful example was the day that he couldn’t find his cell phone after leaving the swimming pool. He was absolutely sure he’d left his cell phone at the pool and exactly where he had left it. Every family member said he’d never taken it there. It was at the pool and in the place he remembered! From this point on Jerry never wrote down an appointment time and never missed his appointments. The 6-month follow up data confirm essential resolution of PTSD symptoms, and improved cognitive functioning.

BWB © 2010