(5/5) “I tried to make it as comfortable as possible for him. ...

(5/5) “I tried to make it as comfortable as possible for him. We tried everything. We went to every trial and appointment. Larry really thought he was going to make it. And I encouraged him as much as I could. Even when he went blind. Even when I had to carry him to the bathroom. We still thought he was going to make it. We were always moving forward. Then one night we were lying in bed. And I knew it was over. He was covered in ulcers, and dehydrated, and emaciated. And I told him that I loved him, and that we’d get through this, but at that moment I knew it was over. Five days later he stopped breathing. I never talked about Larry in our support groups, but my patients somehow found out what happened and a bunch of them came to the funeral. So this is has always been more than professional to me. I know about trauma. And I know the treatment works. Because I’ve been through it.”


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Gerard Ilaria is the head clinician at Headstrong Project. He has provided one-on-one treatment for most of the veterans featured in this series. Many of those veterans credit him with saving their life. For the rest of the day, we are holding a fundraiser to help Gerard and Headstrong in their mission to heal veterans with PTSD. The organization’s budget last year was only $750,000. We’ve raised over half that so far. A small donation will go a long way, so please consider donating: http://bit.ly/2bQe8cR