This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you love is in need of support, call or text for help.
On September 11, 2001, Dirk Harkins was underground, working in a coal mine in eastern Ohio.
鈥淲hen I came up out of there that evening, I saw it on the news, and right then and there, I called recruiters, said' I鈥檒l make it easy on you,'鈥� he said.
He started basic training not long after and joined the 82nd airborne. Years later in Iraq, his Humvee hit a roadside bomb.
鈥淚 had some traumatic brain injuries, concussions, some other injuries,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey hit me right away with morphine while I was in Iraq.鈥�
After he came home, the pills kept coming 鈥� oxycontin, Percocet.
鈥淪o I got hooked on those and I just found myself in a rabbit hole,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 started thinking suicide was my best option, and I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed one night with a .357. And grace to God, he stepped in right there and I didn't take my life.鈥�
A few days later, he was involved in a high speed car chase, went to jail and finally ended up in the psych unit of the VA. That鈥檚 where he first heard about .
TMS uses magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells in the brain.
The treatment can help depressed and anxious people. But for many in rural areas, it鈥檚 not accessible. Harkins is on a mission to change that.
What is TMS?
鈥淭MS is based on the idea that we鈥檙e using electromagnetic energy,鈥� said Dr. Kevin Reeves, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry with Ohio State University鈥檚 Wexner Medical Center.
Think of the brain as a big communicating organ with networks of nerves that talk to each other and pass along information. Sometimes, say if a person is depressed or anxious, those networks get out of whack.
So TMS uses electromagnetic energy to help them find harmony again, Reeves explained.
If a part of someone鈥檚 brain is overactive, TMS technicians can target that area with a slow magnetic pulse.
鈥淚t sort of sounds like a metronome,鈥� Reeves said. 鈥淲hat we're really signaling that part of the brain to do is, 鈥楬ey, listen, start firing in time with those pulses and calm down.鈥欌��
On the other hand, if someone is depressed and areas of their brain are underactive, Reeves says they can administer pulses at a much faster frequency.
鈥淎nd that is signaling the different brain networks to do other things, right? To maybe start waking up or talking more,鈥� he said.
The treatment is FDA-approved for people with medication-resistant depression and anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and for those trying to quit smoking.
It鈥檚 non-invasive and doesn鈥檛 have a lot of side effects. But it is time-consuming. Reeves says it generally requires at least 20 sessions over the course of six weeks.
Bringing TMS to Ohio
Dirk Harkins travelled to Texas to receive TMS in 2019. He says it was life changing.
鈥淎fter my fourth treatment, I woke up for the first time in 12 years without a level of headache,鈥� he said.
The same year, Ohio started to help more veterans and first responders access it for free. But this year, several of the more rural locations closed because of budget cuts.
鈥淭hey just stayed in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus 鈥� what they call the big Cs 鈥� leaving behind Cadiz, Carrollton and Chillicothe,鈥� Harkins said.
For a rural vet to travel a hundred-plus miles several times a week to get this treatment is unrealistic and unaffordable, Harkins says. So he鈥檚 working on a solution.
鈥淚 can't be selfish and self-centered,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 mean, it helped me. So I gotta bring this back to my brothers and sisters.鈥�
He鈥檚 collaborating with a TMS treatment company in the hopes of launching a roving unit to serve Ohio鈥檚 rural regions next year. We鈥檒l hear more about that effort tomorrow.