JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Keith says he was a lot like Forrest Gump. "I was running and running and running," he says. For almost two decades he tried to cope with high anxiety from PTSD. It was so rough that just going into a grocery store to buy cereal was traumatic.
"My anxiety was through the roof," he says.
Keith served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He joined the U.S. Marines and served faithfully for 17 years, but the aftermath was torture. He chooses not to speak about his injuries.
But he will say, "I went through 14 jobs and I was married and divorced three times."
Still, though, Keith is proud of his service. "I went in as a private," he says. "And I came out as a captain."
But pride in serving his country didn't lower his blood pressure. "Sometimes it go so bad that I could feel the pulse in my gums or even in my fingertips," he says.
And how long did he try to cope with that? He says 15-20 years.
Then he found K9s for Warriors and he says, "I'm smiling for a change."
And he's doing much more than smiling. Now he says he can be the father he wants to be for his son, Max, a special needs child. Keith explains that Max was born with a form of dwarfism.
To fight off PTSD and anxiety, Keith's service dog, Cessna, he says "is completely calm, cool as a cucumber." Keith says he off his anxiety medicine and his blood pressure is way down.
And the nightmares? "You feel a cold nose on our foot and 'presto!' Nightmare's over and you feel better," he says.
Keith says any doubts someone may have about a service actually changing a life should be put at bay. He says, "It absolutely works."
K9s for Warriors is a nonprofit organization with its headquarters on the First Coast. K9s for Warriors trains dogs to become service companions to warriors with PTSD. So far, according the K9s, almost 1000 veterans have received a service dog.
