Submitted by mikek.trout on Wed, 2024-07-03 11:22 Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited 9WI Vote Up Down +218 + Veterans on the Fly teams up with the Medical College of Wisconsin’s BRAVE Program to introduce fly fishing to veterans. Veterans on the Fly is currently working with the BRAVE Program out of Milwaukee . BRAVE is a traumatic brain injury recovery program specifically designed for military veterans and first responders. It is an intensive, outpatient program that focuses on diagnosing and treating brain injuries and post-traumatic stress so participants can return to normal life. In April, the BRAVE Program started its first three-week Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). For eight hours a day from Mondays through Fridays, participants go through life-changing, intensive speech therapy, physical therapy and mental health therapy. The nights and weekends are theirs to relax and do as they please. There are fun and therapeutic activities for participants to take part in during their free time. That is where Veterans on the Fly comes in. In the photo, from left is JJ, Ginger and Joe Harper. Each of these individuals has their own unique and amazing story. Joe participated in an Avalon Action Alliance traumatic brain injury program at the Marcus Institute for Brain Health in Colorado. When he heard that Avalon was opening a clinic in his home state of Wisconsin, he immediately reached out to us. Joe finds solace in fly fishing and tying flies. He drove roughly an hour and a half, one way, to teach JJ and Ginger how to fly fish. Then afterwards we grilled out and ate lunch together. We are all strangers, yet we all are brothers and sisters in arms. This picture is the epitome of veterans helping veterans. As you may know fly fishing can be a very healing activity. As a veteran that lives with TBI, fly fishing and Veterans on the Fly out of Madison have played a major role in his healing process and getting back to a normal life. If you know a veteran or a first responder that is suffering from a TBI, please let them know about the BRAVE Program and don’t be afraid to ask them to go fly fishing.