Waisanen one of 12 in the ‘Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge’

By Tora Waisanen

For the Frontiersman

WASILLA — A team of 12 veteran Warriors are taking on the difficult challenge to climb Aconcagua, a mountain located on the Argentina and Chile border. Aconcagua is not only the highest mountain in South America, it is the tallest peak in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres and measures 22,837 feet.

I am proud to say that my uncle, Wasilla resident Josh Waisanen, is participating in the “Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge” and I interviewed him before he left on his trip.

Uncle Josh is a special forces Sgt. First Class (Green Beret) and completed two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded a Bronze Star during his last tour in Afghanistan. Josh was the combat engineer that designed and set off bombs for his team. Soldiers who do that job, like many other soldiers that have been exposed to multiple blasts, suffer from repeated concussions that leave them with traumatic brain injuries. This makes daily life difficult for many of our soldiers that suffer from this, but it also increases their risk of developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease.

At first doctors didn’t understand what the blasts from bombs were doing to a soldier’s brain — creating lots of mini concussions – and they would tell soldiers that they had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and send them away with a pill to “fix it” and make them think they are feeling better. Some of the symptoms are the same, but traumatic brain injuries have nothing to do with stress.

Scientists have studied how sport players who have repetitive concussions suffer from the diseases mentioned, but little has been done to understand how blast-induced brain injuries set off a chain reaction that disrupts connections among the neurons in the brain. The information gathered during this climbing adventure will hopefully be a start of collecting data that can helpful in treating our soldiers effectively.

Josh arrived in Mendoza, Argentina, Feb. 2 and began preparing for the climb. On Feb. 9 and 10 he sat at 1,400 feet to acclimate to the altitude.

When traveling above 2,500 m (8,200 feet), the effects of altitude may take a toll on your body. As the body notices that it is receiving less and less oxygen, it attempts to increase the amount of blood flow to the brain. If it overcompensates, however, and there is too much blood flow to the brain, it can cause the brain to swell.

On Feb. 11 he climbed to 1,600 feet, then back to 1,400 feet on Feb. 12 to continue to acclimate. He will continue up to 22,841 feet. They plan to summit on the Feb. 18 and begin coming down the Feb. 22.

I hope to be able to get updates from him during his travels and my cousin, Vaeva, and I look forward to seeing him in March.

Tora Waisanen is a fifth-grade student at Tanaina Elementary School in Wasilla.