b'U . S .M i l i t a r ycocktail. They just kept medicating me, always more meds combined with psychotherapy, then meds for the side effects of the first meds, Gresenz said. I went six months inpatient treatment at the Milwaukee VA. Thats where I met the candy man doctor.At his point of lost hope, when he found no purpose beyond suffering through another day, Doug Gresenz wokeupinapsychwardafteringestingabottleof sleeping pills in front of his parents. I tried to stop them fromcalling9-1-1,tellingthem, Imgood,Imgood. I felt regret, he remembered. The doc at the ER said I shouldnt be alive.Every treatment led to the next problem. At one point, Iwascarrying14drugsintwoofthosegallonZip-lock bags, he said, I told them I would try anything to get bettergave them a blank check. I went to a Native American sweat lodge. I found an organization insouthernMarylandthathelpedmetaperoffthe meds behind the VAs back, and that resulted in severe withdrawal symptomsstuttering, uncontrolled muscle spasms, psychotic episodes. Back in Wisconsin, the ER doc said that the meds from the VA would kill me. I wish I had listened.Gresenz experienced severe disorientation that resulted innumerousfallsthatcomplicatedheadinjurieshe didnt know he had, along with injuries that made him lose the use of his legs, and club foot that resulted from the severe muscle spasms. He has undergone surgeries to fuse his ankle and vertebrae in his back, and more recently underwent the amputation of one of his lower legsall consequences not of direct combat injuries, but entirely resulting from repeated misdiagnosis and over-medication at the VA.Dr. David Hagedorn is a neuropsychologist who had beenworkingwithcombatveteransdiagnosedwith PTSD, when he found himself frustrated that he could notpindownthecausesofdepression,anxiety,and suicidal inclination in his patients. He integrated multi-channel brain mapping technology into his diagnosisClockwise from Top/Left: Smoke on the Water BBQ competi-procedures and was eventually hired by the Departmenttion and Redford Ranch fundraiserOver 30 nationally ranked ofNavytoteachneuroscienceatitsCampLejeune,cooking teams; live music from Texas Country/Rock bands; Cool NorthCarolina,medicalbranch.DougGresenzsaysattractions, tactical demonstrations, and fun for the kiddos!he is eternally grateful for the brain mapping that Dr. Hagedorn performed on him, which revealed multiple brain injuries that had gone undiagnosed and untreated.Were a softer generation. My generation has a license to not be okay, said 37-year-old Gresenz, considered a member of the Millennial generation that was largely raisedunderthegentleparentingphilosophy.What wasfirstdiagnosedamongreturningGIswas shell-shock during World War Ithe very human, lingering psychological effects of experiencing and/or witnessing the trauma of death and near-death, which is in no way 86THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'