Two vets get breakthrough treatment for traumatic brain injury

by Lucy Bustmante, 13News Now

WVEC.com

Posted on June 27, 2014 at 5:29 PM

Updated today at 5:29 PM

NORFOLK -- A local charity is helping two wounded war veterans get breakthrough treatment for their traumatic brain injuries.

Airman Mitch Kieffer and retired Navy SEAL Dave Hall spent their fourth session inside of the Hampton Roads Hyperbaric oxygen chamber in Norfolk Friday to get pain relief from their war wounds.

"It's never gone away," Kieffer said. "No matter what treatment or pharmaceutical they've ever given me."

At just 29 years old, Kieffer suffers from a broken back, pituitary gland damage, migraines, and major gastrointestinal issues.

He says he should have been killed in Iraq in 2007 when his caravan was attacked by insurgents with RPGs, IEDs, and AK47s. Kieffer has tried a litany of pharmaceuticals and homeopathic remedies. While at Eglin Air Force Base and Langley Air Force base, he learned of hypberic oxygen treatments that were proven to help rewire broken neuropathways in the brain and make new ones.

He began receiving treatment after America's Mighty Warriors paired with Hampton Roads Hyperbarics to sponsor four military members who needed the help. "It was a breath of fresh of air when I had to stop and finally found it," says Kieffer.

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Two vets get breakthrough treatment for traumatic brain injury