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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Monday, October 26, 2009
Retreat Helps Veterans Heal
By Phil Parker
Journal Staff Writer
Because the two are not so different, horses can help heal a combat veteran's lasting wounds of war.
"A horse works with trust," said Dr. Michael Wagner. "It's a big, strong, powerful animal. A combat vet is a strong, dangerous individual. The two of them have to work that mutual danger out."
Horse riding was just one of the out-of-the-box techniques employed at the weeklong Angel Fire Wellness and Healing Retreat held earlier this month, where Wagner served as retreat director. Eleven New Mexican war veterans attended, along with their wives, and were treated with acupuncture, massages, sweat lodging, Native American ceremonies and couples counseling.
"When an individual goes to combat he gets affected physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually," Wagner said. "What we're trying to do is address all those wounds of war."
Veterans' service officials in Angel Fire and elsewhere are hoping the retreat can be a step toward building a new Veteran's Health and Healing Center. The retreat was part of a feasibility study, authorized during last year's Legislature, that could lead to financing the construction of a new center.
"The study has to be back at the Legislature by November 30," said Chuck Howe, board president of the David Westphall Veterans Foundation in Angel Fire, who is heading up the movement to establish the center. "Then they'll see if they have any money for infrastructure so we can start building."
Part of Howe's pitch is to emphasize the help it would bring to Angel Fire's economy, first in construction jobs and then as an employer for managers, food service providers, counselors, massage therapists and the like.
Secretary John Garcia of the state's Department of Veterans' Services said his office is backing the effort in Angel Fire. He has spoken with state government officials including Gov. Bill Richardson about the possibility of constructing the center.
"I've spoken with some of the veterans (who attended the retreat) and they found it extremely beneficial," Garcia said. "The chance of getting it funded this session may be slim, because of the economy, but there is the potential for some federal money. If we can keep it on the burner, I think it'll happen eventually and be beneficial to the veterans in this state."
The services provided by the center would be more therapeutic and holistic in nature than what the VA provides, Wagner said, and would combine the elements of the retreat.
Henry Jaramillo, of Las Vegas, N.M., is a veteran of Desert Storm. He took his wife, Vivian, to the retreat with him and told the Journal "there was a lot of healing." He said that he was shocked by how pampered he was throughout the whole week and that the counseling sessions were, for him, the most beneficial.
"We came home (after the retreat) and got to work and started living our lives much better than we had," Jaramillo said. "I'd been living in a dark area, and it had been very sad the way we'd been. I heard her talk about how I had been, and they gave us pointers about what we were messing up."
Jaramillo said that, since returning home from war, he gets anxious in loud or crowded places. It wasn't until the retreat and the open tackling of his issues with his wife that he came to grips with why he needed to be alone outside at times, and how it was affecting his family.
"To me, I'd always been right and everyone else was wrong ever since I came home from the war," he said. "They told me I had severe PTSD and I said 'Get the hell out of here. I'm alright.' In those weeks I spent at the VA it was always all about me and I could just think whatever, but at this one (in Angel Fire) it was about me and my wife. They had some very important issues to bring up."
Howe said that, for many couples, the retreat "formed a basis for communication they hadn't had in 40 years."
Another retreat is planned for next year.
Howe said he has estimated the cost of building the wellness center will be about $5 million. It will cost about $5 million per year to run, he said, but will be free for veterans. He hopes much of their cost will be covered by health insurance.
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