Army vet Debra underwent a simple procedure that transformed her life
After more than a decade suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Army veteran Debra Mccall underwent a simple and groundbreaking procedure that transformed her life— in minutes!
Debra Mccall’s eyes filled with tears, fear gripping her heart as she tried to step out onto the busy morning street. For 12 years, the former Army staff sergeant had been grappling with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from her time in the service. I don’t recognize myself, the Las Vegas mom despaired, longing to be the outgoing, fearless woman she’d once been who loved playing basketball and spending time with her family and friends.
Over the years, Debra had seen countless doctors and tried multiple treatments—but nothing had eased her crippling anxiety for very long. She’d started isolating herself and struggled to sleep, take care of her children and hold down a job. Ultimately, Debra and her children wound up living in a women’s shelter for veterans. I just don’t know what else to do, Debra thought, too terrified to even go outside. I can’t live like this!
Then one afternoon, everything changed when producers from the hit television show The Doctors arrived at the shelter to research a story on women veterans and learned of Debra’s struggle. “We recently did a story on a new PTSD treatment that could help you,” they shared, inviting her to come on the show. And for the first time in years, Debra felt her heart light up with a bright spark of hope.
“The symptoms vanish, usually in under an hour!”
— Eugene Lipov, M.D.
Instant relief
The Doctors staff connected Debra with Eugene Lipov, M.D., an anesthesiologist and the chief science officer at the Global Post Traumatic Stress Injury Foundation (Globalptsifoundation.org). Dr. Lipov immediately told her about a breakthrough treatment that had helped thousands of PTSD sufferers. “Stellate Ganglion Block, or SGB, is a procedure that involves injecting a local anesthetic into the stellate ganglion nerve bundle on the right side of the neck,” he explained. “The injection reboots the ‘fight or flight’ instinct in the brain— and patients usually only need one shot!”
Desperate to get her life back, Debra agreed to give the procedure a try, so the foundation flew her to Chicago and paid for the entire cost of her procedure— as it does for thousands of other veterans. Selecting to go under anesthesia, Debra awoke just one hour later…and felt the difference instantaneously. “I still remember everything that happened to me, but I don’t feel that constant fear and anxiety anymore!” she told the staff. “It’s like it just…disappeared!”
Today, three years after receiving the SGB treatment, Debra’s life has totally transformed. She is a PH.D. candidate, works full-time and owns a home, where she enjoys being a happy, active mom for her kids.
“I had learned to live in this box, always afraid and feeling like I was destroyed,” she says. “But with the SGB, I went from survival to truly living again—and I couldn’t be more grateful. Don’t give up hope: You can truly heal!”