A battle within
By Jennifer Brannock Cox -- Special to the Florida News
April 1, 2009
Military life made sense.
Venturing overseas, fulfilling the duties for which they were extensively trained, represented a simpler time for one group of soldiers. They knew exactly what to do, and their skills were highly valued.
Then, in the blink of an eye, nothing made sense, and all they knew was gone in an instant.
"My goal was to spend 20 years in the military," Army Sgt. Paul Kerns, 33, said. "My injury kind of took me on a side road from that.
"I need an education for a decent-paying job. I'm not qualified for any jobs."
Broken backs, severe brain trauma, loss of limbs and posttraumatic stress disorder are just a few of the injuries that plague the 10-12 soldiers who come to Jacksonville each fall and spring for a fresh start. But that fresh start doesn't come easily.
APEX Performance works with wounded soldiers who need help overcoming mental barriers to success in their civilian lives. APEX's Peak Performance Program Director, Loretta D'Ambrosio, works daily with injured veterans who were stationed in Iraq and/or Afghanistan to help them manage their stress and anxiety in healthy ways.
During several sessions throughout the year, the soldiers are put through mental training exercises, which include computer games and emotion-provoking images. While seated in a 70s-style egg chair, the soldier is wired with several devices that send biofeedback to D'Ambrosio's computer.
"They'll experience, say, a recollection of an event or a recreation of a performance in here," D'Ambrosio said. "They'll be hooked up to the biofeedback wires, and I'll see on the TV screen exactly how their body responds."
Some of those responses could include increases in temperature, sweat production and heart rate. D'Ambrosio works with the soldiers, teaching them to control these automatic increases.
Although APEX is based in North Carolina, D'Ambrosio works exclusively with the Jacksonville-based TRACK program. During their one-year stint in the TRACK program, soldiers take college courses at Florida Community College at Jacksonville, receive stipends, meet with personal trainers and attempt to get re-acclimated to life in the United States.
Louis Csoka, 67, founded APEX three years ago after implementing the mental training program at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also works with corporations and professional athletes who, he said, have had success with the training.
"A big part of their challenge is a mental one," Csoka said. "The kinds of challenges we all face in today's world, I would say it's probably double for them, as far as the ability to concentrate given some of the injuries that they've had.
"Much of our training really helps them bring things back to a level where they can really use them."