West Point cadets paddle 2,000 miles for injured veterans

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 08, 2016 -- Determined to raise awareness about veterans' suicide, West Point cadets Adrian Shanahan and James Callan set out in a canoe to paddle the entire length of the Mississippi River. With the optimistic words, “Gulf or bust!” scrawled across their oars, on good days they journeyed 50 miles. On difficult ones? The cadets described the highlights and lowlights on the crowdfunding web site Gofundme.

West Point Cadets Adrian Shanahan and James Callan canoed the Mississippi River to raise money for injured veterans and support a Florida charity that treats TBI, The 22 Project.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e0a6906d-20e3-42af-841d-0992deb1943b

Supporters were urged to donate to The 22 Project, a Delray Beach, Fla. charity dedicated to helping veterans recover from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Donations to 2320 Miles for our Fallen Heroes reached nearly $12,000.

The 22 Project was launched by Erica and Alex Cruz in 2014 to provide greater access to healing hyperbaric oxygen treatments for U.S. service members. The name, The 22 Project, grew from a troubling statistic: An estimated 22 veterans were committing suicide each day in the years since 9/11, according to a 2012 report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services.⁽¹⁾ So many soldiers who saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan experienced TBI that it has been called the “signature wound” of the conflicts.⁽²⁾ Risk of suicide goes hand-in-hand with TBI, especially with multiple concussions.⁽³⁾ Unfortunately, conventional therapies like antidepressants and sleeping pills address symptoms, but not the underlying brain injury.

About The 22 Project:

The 22 Project was born after the Cruzes, owners of Southeast Medical Imaging, were asked to donate imaging services to document hyperbaric TBI treatments for injured soldiers. “We saw the veterans after their 40 treatments and we couldn’t believe the difference. We just wondered how we could get this to more people,” Erica Cruz says. The 40 treatments cost about $8,000. So far, they have yet to become standard of care for TBI at the VA, despite growing evidence of the benefits.

For more information, or to interview veterans and cadets, visit http://www.support22project.org or email [email protected].

References:
(1) http://www.va.gov/opa/docs/suicide-data-report-2012-final.pdf
(2) http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/tbi.pdf
(3) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/a-new-link-between-traumatic-brain-injury-and-suicide/

Contact: Peter Anderson
Chairman, The 22 Project, Delray Beach, FL
[email protected]
954-205-5009