The NFL could run the VA, and vice versa

Massive budgets. Priesthood-like entrenchment. Mounting public pressure for reform. Denials. Fatal misunderstanding of medical threats to lives. Cult-like observence of rituals claiming to be “doing everything humanly possible” providing the “best care available.” An insidious erosion of confidence that they’re telling the truth about brain wounds, suicides, CTE, and degeneration and suffering of individuals and their families. Call it “nonchalance”, or the cost of doing business. Whatever the excuses, self-interest instead of assistance to the injured continues to claim lives.

The Washington Post’s Will Hobson recently wrote “As Denials pile up, NFL’s settlement ignores ‘critical’ tests.” In it, he reports on a situation common in the VA as well as the NFL: failure to adequately diagnose brain wounds and disease states, as well as unwillingness and failure to pay for proper diagnosis or treatments.

In neither case, however, does the NFL or the VA provide adequate and timely treatment even when a proper diagnosis is made. In cases of brain wounds in NFL players and the VA, the injuries are in some cases decades old.

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In the case of the NFL settlement that went into effect in 2017, they are talking about 13,000 eligible players. Affected VA patients exceed 876,000 diagnosed and undiagnosed brain wounded Veterans. In all cases, institutional inertia works against using modern diagnostic techniques such as brain imaging. In most cases, the wounded are not told that a treatment exists that is proven to help restore function, reduce or eliminate symptoms, and allow most patients to get off “suicidal ideation” drugs. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is shown to be safe and effective at helping reverse effects of brain wounds and is proven to enhance the Quality of Life of treated patients. (This is true for athletes, Veterans, and citizens, irrespective of when the injuries were incurred.)

Hobson notes that administering the three recommended imaging techniques for players suspected of dementia would cost “about $195 Million — or about as much as CBS charged for 14 minutes of Super Bowl ads in February.” In the case of Veterans, an exhaustive TreatNOW Report projects a one-time adjusted cost of $19.7 Billion to treat and help heal all 877,450 TBI Veterans with 80 HBOT treatments. Continuing with the failed pharmacology and talk therapy treatment protocols results in an estimated Veteran recurring annual lifetime economic impact of $4.7 Trillion. Over the 40-year lifetime of a TBI Veteran, treating versus not treating brain wounds is less than 0.42 percent of the total impact cost to not treat all TBI Veterans.

For reference, “last year, each NFL team earned $402.3 million in national revenue . . . . the league made $12.873 billion in national revenue, a 7.5 percent increase from the previous year.” The VA budget increase in 2024 alone was $16.6 Billion, or about 5.4%.

Meanwhile, the suicide rate for Veterans increased, continuing an upward trend for over 16 years. Since 9/11, there have been over 146,000 Veteran suicides, and an estimated 109,000 Veteran opioid deaths. Boston University has found Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to repetitive brain injuries, in the brains of 345 out of 376 former NFL players, or 92% of former NFL players studied.

44 current or former NFL players aged 50 or younger died between 2021 and 2023, according to Pro Football Reference. Over 19,000 Veterans committed suicide in that similar period.

It is not hyperbole to draw parallels between the NFL and the VA [and DoD as well] when it comes to willful ignorance about how to both diagnose and treat brain wounds, no matter when suffered. And even they know that the earlier the diagnosis and treatment, the greater the likelihood that suicides, suffering and costs are reduced.

We’re told that there will be some Guardian Caps worn in the regular NFL season this year. DoD will spend billions on helmet procurement and R&D. It’s not like we don’t know that preventing brain wounds is necessary. Left out of the equations on “doing everything possible” before and after Concussion/TBI/PTSD/CTE is timely treatments.

Heal Brains. Stop Suicides. Restore Lives. TreatNOW.

BREAKING NEWS:

Thanks to Tom Fox, a TreatNOW plank holder in Canada, we have a report out of Canada that updates ongoing revelations about Canadian Veterans being offered Medical Assistance in Dying [euthanasia] advice when seeking help for their injuries. There may be a pattern in the Canadian VA to downplay the medical advice being dispensed across the country. It is highly likely that these Veterans have never been told that they could access HBOT for many of the devasting effects of war wounds.

“Medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada is a process that allows someone who is found eligible to be able to receive assistance from a medical practitioner in ending their life. The federal Criminal Code of Canada permits this to take place only under very specific circumstances and rules. Anyone requesting this service must meet specific eligibility criteria to receive medical assistance in dying. Any medical practitioner who administers an assisted death to someone must satisfy certain safeguards first.” Details are here. More updates as the investigation continues.

The validity of using HBOT for wound healing to the brain is validated in the most recent research. Unsurprisingly, delivering oxygen under pressure safely and economically leads to effective wound healing. And numerous other interventions for comorbid maladies have a much better chance of effectiveness when the concussion cascade is interrupted and reversed.

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The TreatNOW Mission is ending service member suicides. Along the way, we have learned that we can end suicidal ideation, help end symptoms of PTSD, get patients off most of their drugs, and heal brain wounds to end the effects of BLAST injury, mild TBI Persistent Post Concussive Syndrome, and polytrauma from AHI and Burn Pits.

Heal Brains. Stop Suicides. Restore Lives. TreatNOW

Information provided by TreatNOW.org does not constitute a medical recommendation. It is intended for informational purposes only, and no claims, either real or implied, are being made

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