Army veteran Alfredo de los Santos, who lost leg in Afghanistan, combats PTSD through art therapy: "This is my safe zone"
HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NY -- For someone who knows pain as well as Army veteran Alfredo de los Santos, finding any level of protection is a blessing. But finding it in art is a gift.
"I feel comfortable, this is my safe zone," said de los Santos. "It's a natural high. Whenever I feel like I am losing my mind, this is what helps me. Everything you see here is nightmares, frustration, body parts, things that emotionally have been bothering me."
To understand de los Santos' pain, you need to know his back story. In 2008, as an Army sergeant on deployment, he stared death in the face.
"I was in Gereshk in Afghanistan and we got into an ambush and I got hit with an RPG," he said. "I was in a vehicle, I was a gunner and it blew up."
De los Santos spent two months in a medically induced coma and two years in the hospital. The incident lead to many complications, including hearing loss, head trauma, PTSD and the loss of his leg.
"That's when I had to learn how to be a human being all over again, I had to learn how to walk, to talk," he said. "You can't imagine what I was going through. I was medicated all the time. I was suicidal. I was a mess"
This brave veteran will tell you the recovery process got better when it lead him to Semper Fi & America's Fund, a nonprofit that provides lifetime support to injured and ill service members.
In almost 20 years, the organization has helped more than 29,000 veterans across the country.
"Often, there are expenses that can't be covered by the military, even if they're on travel orders," said Janine Canty, senior director of Semper Fi & America's Fund. "So we can fill in the gaps."
It cuts through the red tape, and provides services and tools veterans need right away to start their new normal.
The Fund provided enough money for de los Santos to get a hand cycle, which he now uses to compete professionally. The art materials and tools helped him decompress and turned him into an advocate for art therapy.
"When I am doing this, I am not thinking about the pain, there is no pain" said de los Santos. "It's a way to control the demons that are still haunting me."
"I was afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask for help," he said.