HBOT Conversations:
Evan Fernandez
Warriors on the Water
Evan served in the US Marine Corp, and is currently the President and Founder of Warriors on the Water, USA. Warriors on the Water is a non-profit chartered fishing company that seeks to change a veteran’s perspective on life through natural remedies of healing being on the ocean and surrounded by nature. They offer veterans an opportunity to view their struggles through an alternate perspective; teaching that we cannot change the things that happen, but we can change our reaction.
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HBOT News Network welcomes Evan Fernandez with Warriors on the Water. Evan is an Iraq & Afghanistan Marine Corps combat veteran. He exited the Marine Corps honorably in 2007, but not before he sustained substantial injuries while in combat. He is currently going through Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy treatments.
Evan tells us how he sustained another head injury about four years ago, and the result of that injury brought back a lot of painful memories and even more cognitive mental decline. He noticed that the multiple TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) have caused him difficulty in concentration & focus, and he was making a lot of mistakes. The injuries affected his sleep and also caused him to feel a debilitating sense of stress and frustration.
He has now completed 29 HBOT treatments, and gives insight into how he is feeling. After his first HBOT dive, Evan tells us that he was in tears. The very first treatment was emotionally overwhelming as it felt like his body was finally starting to come alive. He was feeling free, like he was breaking free of the chains that held him back and made him feel like he was stuck in his own head. After the first dive, he could even already start to feel the pain diminish.
Evan claims that HBOT has given him an opportunity to regain and sharpen his cognitive abilities, and with a much clearer mind. He is finding that he is able to enjoy things and events more, and is allowing himself to simply be present in the moment. Evan even started exercising after noticing his energy levels were ramping up after the HBOT dives, something else he hasn’t has the desire to do in years.
Evan is extremely grateful for the positive changes HBOT has already given him, as he’s feeling like he’s finally getting his life back.
Beyond his personal testimony, Evan is also here to tell us about Warriors on the Water. Warriors on the Water is a non-profit organization that Evan started leaving the military. They run fishing charters across the entire state of Florida — everywhere from the panhandle, northeast Saint Augustine, and down the East Coast into the Keys. The organization helps veterans and military service members who are experiencing PTSD, depression or anxiety as a result of service enjoy some R&R time, while becoming one with nature and the ocean. It’s an experience that becomes so much more than just a deep-sea fishing trip (where, by the way, they always guarantee you’re going to catch some fish because some of the best charter captains in the state are running their charters).
Once you board the boat, you start to immediately build camaraderie with the other veterans onboard, and you are then transported into this extremely positive environment where you can celebrate your triumphs and feel like you’re part of a team and a mission. The entire experience is designed to leave a beautiful, everlasting impact on a veteran’s memory and soul. Evan explains that Warriors on the Water is running more veteran trips out of North Carolina now, and they have also have plans to grow and expand across the coast.
di Girolamo asks how the program is funded, and Evan stresses that there has unfortunately been a lack of funding for the program over the past couple of years. The program is currently seeking funding through donations and sponsorships. If you’d like to donate to the cause or sponsor a fishing tournament for this wonderful organization that helps veterans have an experience of a lifetime, please visit Warriors on the Water at https://warriorsfish.org/donate/.
Guest
Evan Fernandez
Evan served in the US Marine Corp, and is currently the President and Founder of Warriors on the Water, USA.
Warriors on the Water, USA is an official 501(c)(3) veteran, non-profit organization based in Sarasota, Florida. Their primary focus is to facilitate and fund a positive outlet through fishing charters for veterans and military service members that experience anxiety, depression, or PTSD related issues as a result of their military service. Warriors on the Water offers our military service members a chance to meet other veterans from all branches and occupations to network and team build with a sense of camaraderie.
Due to the alarming veteran suicide rate, Warriors on the Water, USA seeks to change a veteran’s perspective on life through natural remedies of healing being on the ocean and surrounded by nature. They offer veterans opportunities to view their struggles through an alternate perspective; teaching that we cannot change the things that happen, but we can change our reaction.
Warriors on the Water USA, Inc. is committed to ensuring a positive environment coupled with an amazing experience that will have an everlasting impact on the veteran. Please consider donating to this wonderful non-profit organization.
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Heart rate variability (HRV) represents measurable output of coordinated structural and functional systems within the body and brain. Both mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and HRV are modulated by changes in autonomic nervous system function. We present baseline HRV results from an ongoing mTBI clinical trial. HRV was assessed via 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography; recordings were segmented by physiological state (sleep, wakefulness, exercise, standing still). Time, frequency, and spatial domain measures were summarized and compared with symptoms, sleep quality, and neurological examination. Median low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratio exceeded 1.0 across segments, indicating prevalence of sympathetic modulation. Abnormal Sharpened Romberg Test was associated with 29% LF/HF decrease (95% CI [2.1, 47.7], p=0.04); pathological nystagmus associated with decreased standard deviation of electrocardiogram R-R interval (SDNN) index (25% decrease, 95% CI [0.8, 43.4], p=0.04). Increased sympathetic modulation was associated with increased anger scores (19% LF/HF increase with 5-point State Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 trait anger increase (95% CI [1.2, 39.1], p=0.04)). A 13% HF increase (95% CI [2.1, 25.7], p=0.02) was observed with increased Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores. These results support autonomic nervous system dysfunction in service members after mTBI.
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