Andrea McCarren - Executive Producer
James Schenck - Executive Producer
Brian Burdett - Cinematographer
John Mogor - Editor/Cinematographer

PenFed Credit Union’s Digital Team is making a difference by raising awareness of the stellate ganglion block or SGB. This 15-minute procedure is a game-changer, the difference between life and death for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

We followed three patients' journey from suffering, through treatment and over a year into recovery. All three credit SGB with changing their lives.

SGB is an injection into the stellate ganglion, a group of nerves in the neck that sends messages to the brain in response to stress. When it is overactive, it causes anxiety, irritability, hyper-vigilance, and sleep issues in a person with PTSD. By injecting an anesthetic, the stellate ganglion is reset to a normal resting state. The shot often takes effect immediately. According to Dr. Eugene Lipov who performs these procedures, the success rate is more than 80%.

This injection can be given to veterans or anyone else suffering from PTSD, such as medical professionals, which is more important now than ever due to the COVID-19 crisis. PenFed followed two veterans and an ICU nurse through the procedure. All three of them previously attempted suicide. Their lives are ravaged by post-traumatic stress, or at least, they were… until now. The SGB procedure brought them out of the darkness. The difference, as shown in this short, is astounding.