TRANSCRIPTION

Le Roy Torres:

I had made up my mind to serve in the military when I was in elementary school. My dad was drafted during the Korean War. He was my hero.

Jay Ruderman:

Hi, I am Jay Ruderman and welcome to All About Change, a podcast showcasing individuals who leverage the hardships that have been thrown at them to better other people’s lives.

Montage:

This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be-

I say put mental health first because if you don’t-

Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

This generation of America has already had enough.

I stand before you, not as an expert, but as a concerned citizen.

Yes, we can.

Louder.

Yes, we can.

Louder.

Yes, we can.

Jay Ruderman:

In 2007, US Army Captain Le Roy Torres was deployed to Balad, Iraq.

Le Roy Torres:

One of the first things that I remember was the smell of the air, the stench.

Jay Ruderman:

It was Leroy’s first encounter with a burn pit. Imagine a large open area, sometimes the size of multiple football fields, where every form of trash, electronics, plastics, medical waste, everything, is dumped and set on fire. And this fire? It burns all day every day.

Le Roy Torres:

They said, “Well, don’t worry about it. It’s being handled by the contractors.”

Jay Ruderman:

It wasn’t long before Le Roy started experiencing health problems, problems that would follow him home well after his deployment was over.

Le Roy Torres:

My supervisor came in and said, “Hey, you can no longer come back to work. There’s something wrong with you. You may be contagious.”

Jay Ruderman:

After failing to get the help he needed, Le Roy and his wife set out on what would literally be the fight for his life. But it wasn’t only himself they were fighting for.

Le Roy Torres:

My wife, she told me, “No matter the outcome, no matter the results we get, I’m going to fight for you and I’m going to fight for others, because this is not going to be the ending.”

Jay Ruderman:

They were fighting for benefits and recognition for thousands of affected veterans, including Beau Biden, the son of President Biden, who died of a glioblastoma in 2015 at the age of 46.

Just a heads up, Le Roy uses a ventilator and still has difficulty in his daily life due to his health. You’ll hear this in the audio.

Captain Le Roy Torres, thank you so much for being my guest on All About Change. I want to start off by saying that I am extremely impressed with your activism. I’ve never met an individual who has both won a Supreme Court case and changed a major piece of federal legislation. So congratulations on your activism and I know that it’s affected thousands of lives in our country. First of all, let me ask you, how are you feeling these days?

Le Roy Torres:

Well, Jay, first off, thank you for having me and for this. Today has been a little challenging for me. It has. Aside from my respiratory issue, toxic brain injury, I now battle GI issues. Lately, I’ve had the intermittent bleeding episodes. Thankfully, it’s been resolving slowly, but I can say today has been somewhat a challenging day.

Jay Ruderman:

I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe I can take you back to the beginning of your career in the United States Army. Maybe you could tell us why you chose to enlist and when did that happen?

Le Roy Torres:

Actually, I had made up my mind to serve in the military when I was in elementary school. My dad was drafted during the Korean War. And he was drafted in 1950, so my dad was my hero growing up and I made a decision early life to join and at 17, as soon as I was able to enlist, I enlisted in the Army National Guard. Of course, it was challenging for my mother because she had to sign because I was considered under 18, a minor. It was very difficult for her, but my dad had no problem. Of course, he was proud. At the same time, knowing that I was choosing to go into the military that perhaps may come with challenges. But my dad was one who particularly inspired me to join the military and serve in the Army.

When I first enlisted, my specialty was 11 Bravo, an Infantryman, so I was still a junior in high school. So upon my completion of my junior year, I traveled to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training at the US Army Infantry Training Center and completed basic training. Then I returned back to Texas and completed my senior year. And a week after my graduation, many of my friends were headed to their senior trips and so forth and I was headed back to Fort Benning for infantry school.

Jay Ruderman:

So tell us, you were deployed in 2007. Can you talk us through that time, what happened, how you were deployed, and where you ended up?

Le Roy Torres:

I had just taken my dad to the VA clinic for one of his appointments and we’re sitting in the coffee shop having lunch after we were talking about a situation in Iraq, and he goes, “It’s a good thing you haven’t been deployed yet.” And I said, “I know that, but I’m pretty sure eventually my number will come up.” Not even 10 minutes went by, my phone rang. And it was my immediate supervisor, my Major. He goes, “Well,” he said, “your number’s been called. You’re going to Iraq.”

November of ’07, I deployed to Iraq. And the challenging thing about it was that I was deployed with a totally different unit. I didn’t know anyone in the unit. I was an individual augmentee to a unit out of Rock Island, Illinois. The Army created this one unit and brought men and women from different parts of the US and put a unit together and deployed us to Iraq. Initially, I was supposed to go to Afghanistan as a Company Commander for a detachment. While I was at Rock Island, Illinois, my orders changed and said, “No, you’re going to Iraq to a logistics brigade, a combat support.” There was a Department of Defense personnel working as well as contractors and our mission was to lead the logistical effort there in Balad, Iraq and to others surrounding FOBS, pretty much handling battle damaged equipment that was coming back through Balad and sending it back to the United States.

Jay Ruderman:

Were you in barracks? Were you in tents? What was the situation like there?

Le Roy Torres:

The living situation in Balad was we were housed. They called them CHUs, containerized housing units, and there were these pretty much these metal boxes that we shared a latrine with another person. And it had a twin bed in there, and it was small but yet comfortable. And of course, one of the first things that I remember arriving in Balad and stepping off the shuttle was the smell of the air, the stench. And me having a law enforcement background, I asked a lot of questions. I started investigating. One of my first questions was, “What is that smell? Is this legal? Can they do this?” Said, “Oh, that’s the burn pit. That’s the burn pit. That’s where everybody throws all their waste and burn it.” And of course, eventually I was just told to kind of stay in my lane, that it was handled by contractors.

Jay Ruderman:

So let’s talk a little bit about what a burn pit is for listeners who may not know. What is it used for? How close were troops to the burn pits?

Le Roy Torres:

A burn pit is pretty much just imagine a huge hole, or we can picture a landfill, for all your daily trash, from plastic to styrofoam, you name it. Everything that was thrown into the trash, plus tires, batteries, equipment was doused with JPA fuel and burned. Some people, “Well, it’s just a small hole.” But this pit was 10 acres in diameter.

Jay Ruderman:

Wow.

Le Roy Torres:

That’s how big it was there in Balad, Iraq.

Jay Ruderman:

What is the rationale behind a burn pit as opposed to carting off the garbage, or you’re in the desert, so even taking a tractor and burying it in the sand?

Le Roy Torres:

The thing about a purpose was an expedious way to rid of waste, and it was convenient. It was there on post. So it was one of those things where you didn’t have to spend all that time digging a massive hole and burying it, but just bringing it to the pit and burning it, getting rid of it as fast as they could. Burn pits, they were in operation 24/7. There were times where you could see just the smog just hovering over the area. At times I would walk out in the mornings outside my housing quarters, my living quarters, and I could just wipe the AC unit and the soot from debris from the pit.

And that’s how serious this issue became. I remember going to the urgent care December 30th because I kept my sick call slip and I remember I had a really bad respiratory. I was having a horrible cough and I had a bad cold. Well, they said, “You have a bad upper respiratory infection.” And they said, Well, your body’s just adjusting to the Iraqi crud,” and it was going to take me a couple of weeks to acclimatize to the environment. So I was placed on quarters for 72 hours. I had a really bad upper respiratory infection, gave me antibiotics, and quarantined me for 72 hours. I was having really bad abdominal pain at the same time.

Jay Ruderman:

And what was it like for your fellow soldiers? I mean, was anyone raising an issue saying, “Hey, this might not be the healthiest environment.” And were there other soldiers that were experiencing symptoms that you saw?

Le Roy Torres:

Comments were made, and of course, just speaking within our unit, they’re developing this dry cough, some are having sinus issues, and of course when we’d go to the urgent care, they would just tell us, “Well, we were dealing with Iraqi crud.” So in other words, it was something that wasn’t really talked about at that time. They said, “Well, don’t worry about it.”

Le Roy Torres:

It’s being handled by the contractor.” We would at times comment on it, but it was something that we were trusting the government that it was okay what they were doing, that eventually it was just going to pass and that we would go back home and that things would resolve eventually.

Jay Ruderman:

So, I know you just described some symptoms and some upper respiratory issues that you were having at the time and GI issues. Were there other issues that developed over time that weren’t as immediate?

Le Roy Torres:

One for me was the headaches, waking up with headaches. I remember towards the end, maybe about midways, closer to the end of my deployment, I remember waking up with headaches. And I’m thinking, “Well, it’s just something I’ll deal with, I will just take some medication.” But I remember once I came home that they started to get worse, once I returned from deployment.

And of course, the respiratory issue, that did become problematic. I actually went a couple of times to urgent care while I was there in Balad, and it was pretty much the same thing. Well, “Here’s a Z-Pak, take it for five days, stay hydrated and drive on.” And me growing up in that era of the army where it was, “Suck it up and drive on.” I wasn’t a complainer. So, I would just take my medicine and of course the headaches was something that I just dealt with until I came back home.

Approximately three weeks after I returned from deployment, I ended up in the emergency room. And I remember, of course, explaining to the emergency room doctor, I had the horrible cough and that I had a really bad respiratory infection. And he was just started asking me questions if I was around any chemicals or had been exposed to anything. And when I mentioned that I was exposed to these burn pits that were in Iraq, he says, “I’ll be right back.” And then he came back with a mask and he goes, “Well,” he said, “maybe it’s eventually your body will just return back to normal from your exposure, whatever you were exposed to.”

But it was the same thing, just put a bandaid on this. He just gave me medication for the respiratory infection, something for the cough. That’s when flags went up. And even talking to my wife, because she had already picked up on the issue that I had to dry cough and the hoarseness of my voice while I was at the end of my deployment. But I wouldn’t tell her the issues that I was having because I didn’t want to worry her and I didn’t want her to think that something was wrong. But when I came back home, that’s when I noticed the change.

Jay Ruderman:

I saw an interview that your wife gave where she said, “My husband went off to Iraq as a healthy person, and the person that returned and got off the plane was not the same person.”

I’m sorry for everything that you’ve gone through, especially because you have served our country with distinction. What about your fellow soldiers or senior leadership, how did they react to your illness?

Le Roy Torres:

Before I left Iraq, I remember being handed a memo from Lieutenant Colonel Curtis, Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel. It explained the issue with the potential … The burn pits being hazardous to our health. And kind of, “Here, take this, you might need this later.” And that’s when I figured where eventually this issue was going to be a huge problem for us.

Jay Ruderman:

And maybe you can tell us a little bit about your experience with the Veterans Administration, with the VA. Did they offer support? Did they give you financial or medical? How did that work out for you?

Le Roy Torres:

At the start, it was a tremendous challenge. I remember traveling to Vanderbilt University Hospital to see Dr. Robert Miller about my respiratory issue. Right before that, I was admitted to the VA War Related Illness and Injury Study Center in DC. And this was after I had been dismissed from my civilian job. In August of 2010, my supervisor came in and said, “Hey, you can no longer come back to work. There’s something wrong with you. You may be contagious. You need to get checked.”

Well, that’s what led us into this pressure of finding answers, but the dealing with the VA was very challenging for us and knowing that while I was there visiting Dr. Robert Miller and talking to some of the personnel working, that they were sending soldiers to see Dr. Robert Miller, but eventually it became an issue because of the diagnosis of the findings. So, he was advised, in other words, to change the diagnosis or they would stop sending soldiers, which eventually they did.

Thankfully, as a reservist, I had my private insurance where this is how I was able to see Dr. Robert Miller. But knowing that I was trying to get support from the VA was very challenging. And even my wife asked there at the risk center in DC if they would do a lung biopsy, this is around October, 2010, and they said, “No, it’s not possible. We don’t have the resources to do a lung biopsy.” But at that time, my wife had already been in touch with Dr. Robert Miller, who, he wasn’t encouraging it, but because of my job, of wanting answers, that that’d be the only way to discover my lung injury was through a biopsy and which we move forward with that.

Jay Ruderman:

So, let me just understand, the VA, did they understand that your medical situation was caused by exposure to burn pits?

Le Roy Torres:

I had to prove my case. We started the process around the end of 2010, 2011, and finally in 2013, but not until the Army Reserve came up with their findings through the line of duty, that’s when the VA approved my case, approved my claim, because the Army discovered it and now it’s like, well, the evidence was there, the biopsy. So, in other words, they pretty much had no choice at that time already. There was a case by case basis for me, but I had to prove my case to receive treatment.

Jay Ruderman:

Going back to the initial interaction, when you’re exposed to hazardous materials, there may not be a direct immediate correlation. Sometimes diseases develop over a period of time. To put the impetus on you, as the soldier, to prove that this was caused by exposure to the burn pits seems to be onerous when you’re developing these conditions over a period of time.

Le Roy Torres:

It was very disheartening for that burden of proof to be on the soldier, the veteran, especially when the doors were closing and especially me serving as a reservist, which made it a huge challenge. I remember my wife taking me to Brooke Army Medical Center, and at that time there was a study, it’s called the STAMPEDE study, and they were actually doing research on soldiers returning back with toxic exposure issues, but I didn’t qualify because I wasn’t an active duty soldier.

So, knowing that already that the Department of Defense was not supporting my issue and the obstacles that I was facing with the VA made it very challenging for me. And at the same time, I had a civilian employer who was also placing that burden on me as well. Like, “You can’t come back to work until you have answers.” But I couldn’t get an answer because of the delay and the denial issue at that time.

Jay Ruderman:

Can you tell our listeners about the extent of your medical condition? Because I know it’s not just the respiratory issues and the GI issues, but there was also some issues related to your brain.

Le Roy Torres:

In 2018, I was diagnosed with a toxic encephalopathy, it’s a toxic brain injury. For 10 years, I struggled with these horrific headaches, with horrific cluster headaches, waking up with these headaches. I remember one of the episodes that I had, I had this headache for eight days and it started affecting my short-term memory, my cognitive. Until 2018, so 10 years after I started having these cluster headaches, I was finally diagnosed and had answers.

I actually went to a company, it was called [inaudible 00:20:16], and they did, it’s called a QSPECT. And it was a two-day evaluation, of course, a scan of my brain. And they discovered that there was certain areas in my brain that were compromised and areas in my brain that were not receiving adequate blood flow. And that’s what made it very challenging for me. So, I was prescribed supplemental oxygen to alleviate these headaches and to prevent the episodes of these cluster headaches.

Jay Ruderman:

So, let’s go back to, you come back from Iraq and you have several illnesses, you’re still a Texas state trooper. What happens at that time? I mean, you’re having discussions with your superiors about how you could continue to work for the state of Texas. And tell us what happened at that time.

Le Roy Torres:

Once I came back from seeing Dr. Miller and had received my results from the biopsy, of course, I’m thinking, “Well, now that I have the answer, I’ll be allowed to go back to work in a different capacity.” Because I already knew my limitations and what this permanent injury had done.

So, when I presented the biopsy and I filed a request for accommodation, I was granted a temporary position, a modified position, but it was only for a short while. And as I requested a permanent modification, that’s when the challenge began with the state. Knowing that I had attempted to follow a process through ADA, and that I had done everything in my power to file the accommodation in a timely manner, it was something-

Le Roy Torres:

that kind of fell through. There was a job communication. They were not providing me that opportunity to remain employed. I remember that I was handed a memorandum for my supervisor. Say, you can, due to your medical conditions, you’re no longer able to serve as a state trooper. And when I received that memorandum, that was very disheartening. So not only having challenges on the VA, DOD side, but now my civilian employer, it became a very difficult season in my life.

Jay Ruderman:

My understanding is that the state of Texas is now telling you, “Okay, you have to leave your job in order to receive disability,” which is what you did. But then when you went and applied for disability, you were denied.

Le Roy Torres:

Right.

Jay Ruderman:

And that’s not clear to me. If they forced you through this process where they said, “Okay, you can no longer be a Texas State trooper, you have to go on disability and you have to lose your job to do that.” Why at that point deny your disability?

Le Roy Torres:

And that’s what didn’t make sense to me, that when I asked the question about why am I being forced to go this route where it seemed like it’s backwards, because then if my disability is not approved, then I’m out of a job. But it’s just the way that… I believe it was something with communication through my leadership and headquarters and eventually, which led to, well, we don’t know what else to do with you. So the option is to resign. And of course, at that time, I was receiving treatment in Utah. I was in Utah for 40 days going through a program where they were detoxing first responders due to the work they were doing around meth labs. And they had of course reached out, hey, for me to have an opportunity to see if it would help my ailments at that time in 2012. So throughout this time that I’m being forced to submit this resignation or this process, I was not even home.

I was receiving treatment, but by that time, I was taken off the payroll. So it was the current situation at the time that put me under pressure because I was facing foreclosure. My credit was shot. I was already getting behind with all my payments. And that’s what made it a challenge for me where if I don’t submit this resignation, of course my response was, “Well, I’ll request medical retirement,” because I had over 10 years of service. So I said, “I should be given that opportunity to at least medically retire.”

Jay Ruderman:

You eventually go to court, you win your case. State of Texas appeals, and the case goes to the Supreme Court. And ultimately the Supreme Court held in your favor that you would do benefits.

Soundbite:

Significant ruling today from the Supreme Court involving a case that is centered right here in Texas. Justices saying that states can be sued by veterans who are alleging discrimination in the workplace.

Jay Ruderman:

That’s one part of your success in terms of advocating for yourself and others like you. But let’s talk about what made you decide to create Burn Pits 360.

Le Roy Torres:

Burn Pits 360, actually, we had no intention of starting a nonprofit. All this started from the delay in denial experience that I faced, that my wife faced. In 2010 as I was being wheeled into the operating room, my wife, she told me, “No matter the outcome, no matter the results we get, I’m going to fight for you and I’m going to fight for others because this is not going to be the end.” So Burn Pits 360 inception came about after our personal experience with delay and denial in seeking specialized healthcare. That’s just how it came about.

It started on our kitchen table knowing that the challenges that we faced, that we were not the only ones, that there was going to be so many others that had already been affected and that were going to be affected in the future. And knowing that the challenges that I faced not only serving as a reservist, but also the challenges that were faced against with the VA and then a civilian employer, that’s what just put this… It lit this fire within us to not give up and to face the many challenges that we were facing at the time and the challenges that still continue to this day.

Jay Ruderman:

I’ve read that the President Biden has said that he believes that his son’s brain cancer and death was caused by exposure to burn pits. And now you enter this phase where you’re on Capitol Hill and you are lobbying for legislation that becomes known as PACT. What’s the connection between what you are lobbying for in terms of legislation and the compensation that was given to survivors of 9/11?

Le Roy Torres:

The PACT Act. Wow. It’s just monumental legislation.

Soundbite:

Veterans who were exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances can now receive additional healthcare and benefits from the Veterans Affairs. The care is available through the PACT Act.

Le Roy Torres:

Just knowing that the challenges that how we got there throughout the years going to DC and the many walks that we did, those hallways sharing our story, our personal journey along other families, some who are no longer here, one in particular, staff Sergeant Thompson, rest in peace, walked the hallways. He passed on in December of 2021. But knowing the impact that this legislation would do was something that was beyond our imagination and that is still surreal to this day. And that honoring our PACT Act has been something that has been for many years. And my wife, we would talk about as many times as doors were closed or there’s no presumptive or we can’t do this because there was always a dollar sign behind issues about money. I was told by a member of Congress, I can’t sign a blank check. Well, sir, I signed two, I signed two blank checks, one for my state and one for this nation.

Jay Ruderman:

So what does PACT stand for?

Le Roy Torres:

PACT. Excuse my… Sorry.

Jay Ruderman:

No, no, take your time.

Le Roy Torres:

Yeah, so sorry. That’s one of the challenges that I still want… My cognitive is still a challenge.

Jay Ruderman:

I understand that the members of Congress were able to understand the correlation between the benefits that they gave to survivors of 9/11 and the exposure to toxic materials that they inhaled at the site of the 9/11 tragedy at ground zero and the toxins that you and other soldiers ingested at the burn pits. Who made that correlation? Which legislator was behind you in helping to push this forward?

Le Roy Torres:

At that time, I remember it was Congressman Joaquin Castro, Congressman [inaudible 00:30:09] in California who were very receptive and knowing that we were not receiving the support from our local member of Congress here in my region, Congressman [inaudible 00:30:22] was one in particular. And him being a medical doctor, he knew and he believed, especially knowing that he had a constituent who suffered and who he visited with before she passed away. He believed in the issue. And he knew that this was something that had to come to, for the PACT that to come forward and to give us that blanket of specialized healthcare for so many of us.

And I think when some were allowed that they opened their hearts to know what really happened to us, like for example, just me of many stories sharing my personal journey is what really triggered some of these members of Congress to move forward and support us because this was real. And I think when they saw the impact that it made in their districts and when they went to visit these soldiers, these veterans who were struggling and who died, I believe that’s when the table started to turn and where they acknowledged, “Hey, we need to make this right. We need to correct this wrong because there’s so many of us that are going to be affected.”

Jay Ruderman:

And what was the role that Jon Stewart had? Because Jon Stewart’s been very outspoken about the fact that, as you said, we send men and women off to war who give up the ultimate sacrifice of their lives or come back with serious illness and injuries and then we don’t support them when they come back.

Soundbite:

America’s heroes who fought our wars outside sweating their [inaudible 00:32:00] off with oxygen, battling all kinds of ailments while these mother [inaudible 00:32:06] sit in the air conditioning walled off from any of it. They don’t have to hear it. They don’t have to see it. They don’t have to understand that these are human beings. Do you get it yet?

Jay Ruderman:

So how effective was Jon Stewart’s speaking out in his advocacy in terms of getting his legislation passed?

Le Roy Torres:

Knowing the work that he did with the 9/11 first responders, I remember in 2019, the fall of 2019, my wife had set up a meeting and actually talked to John Feel with the FeelGood Foundation and I reached out, “Hey, John, is it possible to maybe meet up or even just to have a conversation with Jon Stewart about the issue that we’re facing?” Because it was very similar. It goes to the 9/11 exposure. And sure enough, I was received a FaceTime call. I knew it was Jon Stewart on my wife’s phone. “Hey, it’s John.”

Le Roy Torres:

And he goes, “Hey, I heard about,” said, “I’m sorry about your job loss, first of all, and I’m sorry what you’re going through.” I said, “Hey, we did it for 9/11. First responders. We’re going to help veterans out and I’m going to be a voice.” And John kept his word throughout those years and he became a strong supporter of us pushing the PACT Act. And the PACT Act, what it stands for is the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act. And of course, it was named after Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson in his honor with his pact that it was named after.

Jay Ruderman:

After the legislation was passed. Did you have a chance to speak to President Biden?

Le Roy Torres:

Actually, we were standing next to President Biden at the signing of the bill, and I did have an opportunity to present him one of our challenge coins of Burn Pits 360, and that day I saw the commander-in-chief as a father who had lost a loved one to toxic exposure. And I remember I presented that coin to him and it was well accepted. And just knowing the effort that led to us to be there that day, it was just beyond imaginable. Knowing that going back 13 years along, that we had to push this issue, that it finally, all the work finally comes to fruition throughout the years, the challenges that we’ve faced.

Jay Ruderman:

Le Roy, you and your wife and countless others, I congratulate you on your success of everything that you’ve done for our country. I know it’s been a really long journey and I wish you good health going forward, what do you think is next for you?

Le Roy Torres:

Jay, now that the PACT Act has passed and now it’s the implementation, we thought things would slow down, but it’s like the work continues. Our organization is focused on the implementation phase. Of course, at the same time, my journey is still not over with my job loss case. It’s actually scheduled for trial later this month, so it’s been rather nerveracking for me these couple of weeks just getting ready for that, worst case scenario if we happen to go to trial at the end of this month.

But the way ahead for us is that the work continues on the implementation phase and as well as seeking other health modalities. We’ve been networking with this company 4D Medical, who does four dimensional lung imaging. I actually had my lung scanned up in Miami back in January of this year. So it’s just now looking at non-invasive health technologies, where veterans don’t have to go through a lung biopsy like I did and have to go through a year recovery from the surgery. But knowing that there’s these technologies out there that will hopefully help veterans that are dealing with issues like myself, and there’s some that are still working but yet are having difficulty with their respiratory conditions because they’re afraid to say something because they don’t want to get fired or they don’t want to lose their job. So it’s the way ahead on how can we make those non-invasive technologies available to veterans. So that’s what we’re pushing for.

Jay Ruderman:

How can our listeners support the work you’re doing? What can they do to help Burn Pits 360?

Le Roy Torres:

They can actually go to our website. And just to add to that, there’s a documentary in the works. It’s called Thank You For Your Service: the Burn Pit Story. It’s in the making, but if they go to our burnpit360.org page through our blog page can of course you can support our efforts, also support our programs. One of our programs is the Warrior Hope Network, which we were able to provide, for example, concentrators like you see me wearing this concentrator. Thankfully I have Medicare, so I got mine through Medicare, but because veterans only have VA and it may be difficult for them to provide this type of equipment. But that’s one thing that we do that we are able to help veterans just to make their quality of life better.

We’ve already also purchased several hyperbaric chambers to help those veterans receive treatment at home for their either traumatic brain injury or the toxic brain injuries and so forth. So it is some of the work that we are doing, alongside with networking with other stakeholders who are providing these non-invasive technologies like 4D Medical, and even looking at stem cell. Like myself, I had stem cell last year by [inaudible 00:37:53]. I had to travel out of the country to receive it, but I believe in it and I have faith that it’s made a difference. I’m hopeful that it will continue to work for me, but the worst going to continue for us at Burn Pits 360.

Jay Ruderman:

Well, Captain Le Roy Torres, I really want thank you for your service to our country, which came at a heavy cost for you and your family, and thank all those other veterans out there who’ve served our country and are suffering. And thank you for your service to the state of Texas. You’ve gone above and beyond for us, and thank you for being my guest on All About Change. I wish you good health, as I said, and I hope you go from success to success. You’ve had a tremendous amount of success in advocacy and I hope you continue to have more, so thank you.

Le Roy Torres:

Most welcome, Jay, and thank you for having me as well. Have a blessed afternoon, thank you.

Jay Ruderman:

Thank you. Breathing is something I take for granted. For Le Roy Torres, it’s a struggle he’ll faced for the rest of his life. His lungs permanently damaged from exposure to toxic fumes. Having him on the show, speaking with him about his journey, while witnessing the reality of his injuries firsthand was incredibly moving. But the idea of him using his breath and his voice, straining himself in order to advocate for thousands of other veterans like him, that is truly courageous and an example we can all learn from.

That’s all for today’s episode. In two weeks, we’ll close out our conversation around veterans with actor, speaker, and author, JR Martinez, in a conversation that will span from harrowing encounters with IEDs to Dancing With the Stars, from struggling to help yourself to finding a calling and helping others.

Today’s episode was produced by Rebecca Chaisson, story editing by Yochai Maital and Mijan Zulu. To check out more episodes or learn more about the show, you can visit our website all about change podcast.com, and follow me on Twitter at Jay Ruderman. If you like our show, spread the word, tell a friend or family member, or leave us a review on your favorite podcasting app. We would really appreciate it. All About Change is produced by the Ruderman Family Foundation. Special thanks to our production team at Pod People, David Zwick, Grace Pina, Morgan Fouse, Bryan Rivers and Aimee Machado. That’s all for now. I’m Jay Ruderman, and we’ll see you next time on All About Change.