By Joyce Kryszak
Batavia, NY – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been a part of war for as long as history has recorded war. Over the centuries, PTSD was known by many names, from "Battle Fatigue" to "Soldier's Heart." Today, the medical community's understanding of PTSD has also evolved. And the military is trying to keep step with advancements in treatment for the debilitating condition.
In part two of our series on the local VA's approach to the problem, WBFO takes a look at one of the only women's residential programs. The house in Batavia is where women vets find healing for their distinctive soldier's heart.
She is only four foot ten and half. But that didn't stop Helen Jacob was defying her parents and the army brass to enlist for service in World War II. Today, Jacob is 89 years old, a bit hunched and wobbly, but still every inch as feisty. She remembers how she and other women fought back then to be considered more than second class soldiers.
"We weren't approved for Paris, or France or any part of it, but finally, we did get there and we made it," said Jacob.
Today, Jacob fights to win specialized medical care for women veterans. The women's clinic at the Buffalo VA is named for her.
But not all wounds are physical.
There are thousands of female veterans across the country bearing emotional scars from their service - and their past. The wounds come from combat trauma. But they also come from sexual harassment. Domestic violence. And rape.
A lucky handful of these women have somewhere to go for healing. VA Counselor Diana Koch takes us for a visit.
Last Year, the Buffalo VA converted this quaint brick house at its Batavia campus into a residential treatment facility for women veterans with PTSD. It is one of only four such programs in the country.
This one looks, feels and smells like a real home. Two women chat while making popcorn in the kitchen. Koch shows us the living room, where there are inviting overstuffed chairs and hand-made quilts.
But it is out on the sun porch, under our feet, where we learn the sad truth about the visitors to this home. Some women paint messages aboout their pain and their healing on the bricks of the porch floor.
Koch said the women go on quite an emotional journey to find that healing. But dealing with PTSD resulting from combat is often the last step of that journey. She says the trauma of earlier abuse, sometimes multiple abuse, creates layers of pain that must be peeled away first.
The progressive program at Batavia is building a reputation that draws women veterans from across the country. 48 year-old Ellie comes downstairs a bit bleary-eyed after taking a nap. She had a long flight to get here. The airforce veteran works in another VA system, several states away. She came to Batavia's facility to protect her identity and for its specialized care. Ellie said she has been in pain too long.
"I've been in and out trying to get over it, then I'd slip. But I know I'm doing it now and no one is going to stop me because it hurts too much...how much more am I going to lose?"
Sharing those very personal stories with counselors is the beginning of healing. The home setting allows them to feel safe while they undergo intensive therapy.
Counselor Diana Koch said here they will learn to recognize and cope with "triggers" that re-ignite traumatic memories. That can be someone or something that reminds her of the original trauma. Koch said that can be especially painful when those memories involve sexual assaults that happened while the women was serving her country.
"The military is, in some ways, like a big family system, and I don't mean that in a naive way. It has a structure and people are seen as having roles," said Koch. "So, when someone does something to somebody to intentionally hurt them, like sexual assault, it just has such an extra level of pain because it's not the stranger in the bushes, this is someone I had an idea about. This is someone that I thought was trustworthy."
She said it took the Tailhook scandal for the military to recognize and address the problem. And, even now, comprehensive, intensive programs such as the one in Batavia are the exception. There is a five month waiting list here and only six woman are accepted at one time for the eight-week long program. 85 have been treated in Batavia since it opened.
Ellie said the VA can't do it all. But she said it certainly helps to know the military finally has their back.
"First you got to be strong enough to be honest with yourself, all the way, and strong enough to look yourself deep in your heart and say, I'm ready," said Ellie. "And that's what's good about having facilities like this saying, here we are. Before for women we would be looking around saying, where are you? Before it was all men."
According to the Veterans Administration, women are the fastest growing segment of the veteran population, with 1.7 million women having served. In June, the Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a national summit to discuss women veterans' issues.
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