Veteran’s Day is Friday, November 11.
As we recognize and remember those who serve, many continue their road toward reintegration.
A local rehabilitation program has started a first of its kind work out getting veterans back to life.
These are the wounds Bren Mejia suffered after an improvised explosive device (IED) went off while he was deployed in Afghanistan.
"I caught shrapnel a lot of shrapnel to my left leg and since then it just hasn't been the same,” said war veteran Bren Mejia.
As a member of the U.S. Air Force bomb squad, Mejia was just three feet away from the IED when it exploded.
He was medically discharged two years ago but still suffers from injuries to his leg, wrist, back and neck.
"The kind of pain that lingers, gets in the way,” said Mejia.
But the 25-year-old is happy to report after several years of failed physical therapy he is doing something new -- standup paddle boarding.
"It's a good work out overall and it doesn't put a high load of stress on my joints where I had the most problems,” said Mejia.
"We can do all kinds of exercises in the studio, we can do all kinds of exercises in the clinic but nothing like what we do out here,” said Teresa Wong of Rehab Innovation Center.
Dr. Eugene Lee came up with the idea to get war veterans on the water after three years of standup paddle boarding with his wife.
"We started talking about the whole idea as actually using it as a therapeutic tool or another offering for our patients at rehab hospital,” said Dr. Eugene Lee.
Since it began in February, 50 veterans have enrolled in the program and are seeing fantastic results.
"To be able to do that in the water gives them a sense of place and groundedness and that really helps them in their everyday life,” said Dr. John Anegawa of Honolulu VA.
Officials say this is a first of its kind veteran rehab program that also uses pilates and core exercises similar to an elite athlete training program.
