ReflectionsWhole Health/Integrative Health in the VHA: Focusing on What Matters to the Veteran Rather Than What is the Matter with Them
Section snippets
New Jersey VHA: Ms. L (Ann Cotter, MD)
Ms. L is a 62-year-old Air Force Veteran with several deployments, the most impactful of which was to Afghanistan in 2009 for nine months. While there she was exposed to frequent missile attacks on the base and on multiple occasions the situation was chaotic and she feared for her life. Contributing to the trauma of these episodes was that one of her duties entailed handling seriously injured air personnel. In addition, she had lost multiple family members, including her husband, in recent
Atlanta VHA: Mr. J (Michael Saenger, MD)
Mr. J, a mountain of a man, moved slowly, but his face warned others to steer clear. Middle age did not seem to agree with Mr. J. He had enjoyed the bonding in the army, but civilian life was so complex. And he hurt —all over. He felt that previous relationships had failed him, just as his body was doing so now: back, hips, shoulders, and knees. “I’m angry, and there are only two things that can calm me down,” he said, “shooting up things in video games, and riding my motor cycle.” Mr. J
Central Arkansas VHA: Mr. P (Henri Roca, MD)
Mr. P is a 45-year-old man with chronic headache and low back pain and a “suicide flag” in his VHA medical record. When he joined our integrative pain program, he had had multiple previous suicide attempts and required a physician’s note to be able to stay in a hotel. He intermittently took morphine 30 mg twice daily and methadone 50 mg daily in addition to his prescribed oxycodone 10 mg three times a day. He had a usual American diet with high saturated fat intake via low-quality animal protein,
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Cited by (5)
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