Page 40 - Pts News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> reporter: with their former leader at the head of the pack 17 servicemen and women hit the trail for the annual w-100k bike ride. now in the fifth year the ride part of the bush institute military service initiative honors injured post 9/11 veterans. this year's ride focuses on traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress the invisible wounds of war. >> we're here riding with people who got hurt. they are injured. and yet they refused to allow their injury to consign them to you know a dull meaningless life. >> reporter: as many as 18% of service members who fought in afghanistan and ir...

Also called pts. for shawn, it was the u.s. army, the jungles of panama. he saw too much after the u.s. invasion when riots and ambushes and casualties were a regular occurrence. >> there's the sad time of losing friends and people who you served with, and you start to question everything. >> questions that lingered when he got home. despite having a beautiful wife whom he loved very much, four kids, a lucrative career in banking, shawn's life was full of darkness. he was described dozens of medications to try and curb his depression. but none made it better. most made it worse. >> you can ima...

Every day. they're not going around doing bad things doing illegal things and hurting people. you deal with it. you learn to live with it. just like anybody else that was in a traumatic car accident. you know you live with it. it may affect you behind closed doors, but out in public you'll never know the people that have true legitimate pts. and so that's why chris started that foundation guardian for heroes. and along with beast mode for the brave, we're bringing awareness to that. >> what is that beast mode for the brave, other than a great name? >> it's a challenge. and you can do anything ...

Want you to talk you're trying to find a way to carry your brother's legacy with you and that belt buckle i want you to describe. because there will be a reaction where people will say, the pts, there's no such thing and we keep hearing about how these guys are messed up afterwards they're just like anybody else. that is not how you feel. you want people to know about how damaging this process can be. so how do you, what do you do with that? >> you know pts is a real thing. definitely but not every veteran that has just because they've been deployed has pts. you know we don't put the d on it b...

As far as getting the right care, obviously -- and this is what happened with clay. in the mental help area, there just was not a seamless transition from active duty to v.a. when he was active duty he was injured and diagnosed in 2007. so for two years, he received care for post traumatic stress while he was active duty. and that was -- seemed to be fairly good. he seemed to be doing okay. it was when he got out and went to the v.a., it all went downhill. he had to be such a proactive advocate for his own care. and it was exhausting to the point he just couldn't do it anymore. >> susan selke,...