Chester Doctors Helping Vets' Families Deal with Stress

As Kara Gagnon worked to diagnose vision problems associated with traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans several years ago, she saw another need.

Gagnon, then an optometrist with the Veterans Hospital in West Haven, noticed that some of the patients' caregivers, often young wives, who waited outside of her office "were exhibiting a high level of stress."

She realized the caregivers themselves were often shouldering larger responsibilities and challenges as they dealt with the effects of brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder in their loved ones.

"Their names and faces are emblazoned in my brain," she said about the families.

Gagnon, who grew up in Old Saybrook and now resides in Chester, decided she had to help.

She recently founded Peace of Mind Brain Injury Services for BraveMinds, a non-profit organization, to build a community of support. She plans to open a wellness center in Milford later this month to offer mental and physical health services to veterans and their families. Eventually, Gagnon, an associate clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine, aims to open an eye clinic there, too, and wellness centers across the country.

Michael Osten of Norwich, a U.S. Army veteran who works full-time as an outside machinist at Electric Boat, met Gagnon 3 years ago during an eye exam at her clinic. He said she helped guide him to the doctors who could treat the effects of a traumatic brain injury he suffered during his service 26 years ago.

Osten said Gagnon helped him see that he could work through his disabilities to realize his full potential.

"From the moment I met her, I really felt she was a person I could trust and who really cared about me as a person and a veteran," he said.

He said it was also important that she involved his whole family in the medical process.

See the original post here:
Chester Doctors Helping Vets' Families Deal with Stress