MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Right now, there is a local program that is seeking solutions for veteran’s mental health needs.
It’s called “OPTI Vets” which operates out of OPTI Health Clinic Lake Norman.
Opti Vets told WCNC Charlotte's Jesse Pierre their work is about healing the brain. As we know, service members and law enforcement can experience a lot of traumas. Immediate treatment for those traumas can help reduce the chances of long-term illness.
For Brad Borders, a U.S. Army veteran, it started with a calling.
“9/11 happened, and I was compelled to serve after that,” Borders said.
He served as a chaplain and in units actively engaged in combat.
“Every critical incident that happens within a unit a chaplain is involved in that,” Borders said. “Whether we have someone wounded in action, KIA (Killed in action), caring for families, and caring for teammates of those that at are loss.”
Borders made it back home and the trauma he experienced followed him.
“Waking up in the middle of the night, hypervigilance, always scanning and just being uneasy in crowds and never wanting to do anything. I never wanted to go out of my house because my house was my sanctuary," he shared.
It was his family who helped him come face to face with his traumas. Resistant at first, Borders sought treatment. He was diagnosed with PTSD. Four months ago, he turned to holistic treatment through OPTI Vets in Mooresville.
“We think if they went to war for us then we should take care of them,” Stacy Sweeney, the founder of OPTI Vets, said.
The nonprofit is working to improve the quality of life for service members, and law enforcement by treating the root cause of PTSD and traumatic brain injury not just the symptoms.
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“If we don’t treat the brain and heal it then it won’t have a lasting impact,” Sweeney said. “So, that is what we do here with our hyperbaric oxygen, with our IV nutrients, with our red light here, that helps increase circulate the oxygen in our system and decrease inflammation.”
Borders said hearing his son speak about this progress and say this made him realize he was on the right track.
“I sat down with my dad, and I had an hour-long conversation with him, and he was completely present with me, he was not distracted,” Borders said. “He was completely engaged and present with me …. my son’s observation was that had not happened in a long time and for my family that is a victory.”
Borders says this was the right path for recovery and encourages everyone to be proactive about taking care of their mental health.
OPTI Vets is looking for donors to sponsor two local police officers and several vets on a waiting list for the program so they can get on a path to healing.
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