Department of Veterans Affairs

Vets First Podcast

Government EN ↓ 33 episodes

The Vets First podcast is a research-based podcast that focuses on the VA healthcare system and its patients. Instead of being just another research podcast, the Vets First podcast was created with a primary focus on the Veterans and their stories. The hosts, Levi Sowers PhD, and Brandon Rea work to bridge the gap between the state-of-the-art research being performed at Veterans Affairs and the Veterans themselves in an easy-to-understand manner. Importantly, Levi and Brandon want to assist researchers around the country to better understand the needs of Veterans. In this podcast you will hear...

Author

Department of Veterans Affairs

Episodes

Season one in the books! 22.04.2020 6:15

In this short wrap up episode, Levi and Brandon look back on the season and discuss what surprised them about starting a podcast, some of the difficulties experienced as novice podcasters, and some of the striking takeaways from the interviews. Partway through our recording we were able to acquire higher quality microphones, put our clicking pens away, and Brandon even found his voice a bit more....

A leader in kidney disease and transplant: Dr. Christie Thomas. 22.04.2020 37:53

Dr. Christie Thomas, a nephrologist at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City VA Healthcare System , joins us on this episode to discuss his favorite organ, the kidney , and why Veterans come to need transplants. He discusses with us the functions of the kidney in the body, some of its surprising roles in human health, as well as how and why kidneys fail. Additionally, he shares with us some det...

Extraordinary circumstances: Son donates kidney to father and Jack Jones receives the first Hepatitis C positive kidney 22.04.2020 34:42

In this episode we first hear from Vince and David, a father and son pair, two days before their kidney transplant surgery . David is donating his kidney to his father Vince, an Air Force Veteran of 8 years. Vince was born in Michigan, moved to California, New Mexico, and then Alaska in 1978. He joined the Air Force in 1955 and served until 1963. Roughly two years ago Vince’s bloodwork began to...

When our blood filtration system goes bad: two Veteran viewpoints on kidney disease 22.04.2020 42:02

The kidneys are organs in the body that filter the blood, removing wastes and extra water are essential for life. They also maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals to keep the body functioning normally. Chronic kidney disease is a condition in which the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood as well as they should, causing a multitude of health problems. In this and the fo...

Out of the dark and into the light: Life after successful treatment of post-traumatic headache 22.04.2020 45:13

In this episode, we hear from an anonymous Veteran about her struggle with light sensitivity and headache after a traumatic brain injury during Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq. She describes how she suffered daily headaches from 2013 until her first dose of a new anti-migraine drug in December 2018 which changed her life. During that period from 2013-2018, she experienced such severe light sen...

An introduction to the Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Visual Loss and an interview with its director Dr. Randy Kardon 22.04.2020 38:52

As one of the three pillars of the VA, research plays a critical role in the treatment of Veterans. This episode starts with a description of research at the VA. Levi and Brandon discuss different achievements that have been accomplished through VA funded research. We also hear from Dr. Randy Kardon , director of the VA Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Visual Loss (CPTVL). The CPTVL i...

A life turned upside down: One Veteran’s story of life after traumatic brain injury. 22.04.2020 1:03:13

This is part one of a two-part series on traumatic brain injury-induced headache (this episode and episode 4). Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury. Two of the most prevalent problems reported by military personnel following traumatic brain injury are headache and photose...

An introduction to the Vets First Podcast 06.03.2020 18:03

In this episode you are introduced to the hosts of the Vets First Podcast, Levi Sowers and Brandon Rea. They discuss the origins of the podcast and their goals surrounding it. You will get to know the hosts as they discuss their backgrounds and what brought them to this point in time. You will also hear about the research they work on and its relevance to Veterans. Along the way in their work,...