Wounded Warriors: When they sleep
We met Corporal Ross during one of the very first Ocean Therapy sessions atCampPendleton. Ross was six-foot-three and looked solid as a rock, though he had been severely injured over the course of several missions in Iraq. The blasts had attacked his back, his legs, and his brain, but not his face. From the outside he appeared as strong and handsome as ever.
But in addition to the wounds and the PTSD and the TBIs (traumatic bank injuries), Ross explained during a quiet conversation that he just couldn’t sleep. It was driving him “crazy” — his word. The medical staff was doing all they could. With the strongest of sleep medicines the most he could get was two hours of rest. Lack of sleep aggravates everything, and it really exacerbates depression. Ross was in a downward spiral.
That sunny, early June day at Del Mar Beach the surf was ideal for learning. The water had warmed up from the winter cold. We had a tight knit group of experienced surfing volunteers and our professional therapists working with the Marines. The Marines were newbies to surfing because our Ocean Therapy program was so new, really still in its pilot phase.
Ross took to the water like the determined Marine he was. With the help of his surfing volunteer he was pushed into his first wave. He stood up. He smiled. He surfed and he surfed, through both sessions. When he finally came out of the water, he said he loved it. It was the most fun and the hardest work he had ever done. He was exhausted.
In the parking lot after the session, we reminded all the Marines we would be back in two weeks.
Ocean Therapy returned two weeks later. Ross was there. He was smiling big time. There was the immediate stoke of returning to surf with people you’d met before — the eager anticipation of surfing with friends.
We had another quiet conversation. Ross explained that he had left the last Ocean Therapy session, gone right to the WWB barracks, and fallen asleep — for six hours, no meds. It was a turning point, a turning point toward recovery. He said he knew it. He said the medical staff at the Battalion knew it. He was ready to hit the waves again. He brought along a number of his Marine buddies to join in. Suddenly, Ocean Therapy was on the radar of the Wounded Warrior Battalion-West.
Corporal Ross slept again that night, and surfed with us for the next two years until he was discharged into civilian life. He now lives in Palos Verdes. He’s doing well. DZ