{"id":83916,"date":"2026-01-09T23:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T23:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2026\/01\/09\/a-veterans-search-for-healing-led-to-an-ibogaine-trip-and-an-epiphany\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:53:35","slug":"a-veterans-search-for-healing-led-to-an-ibogaine-trip-and-an-epiphany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2026\/01\/09\/a-veterans-search-for-healing-led-to-an-ibogaine-trip-and-an-epiphany\/","title":{"rendered":"A veteran\u2019s search for healing led to an ibogaine trip and an epiphany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: This <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/thewarhorse.org\/veteran-ibogaine-heal-trauma\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/thewarhorse.org\/veteran-ibogaine-heal-trauma\/\"><i>article<\/i><\/a><i> first appeared on <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/thewarhorse.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/thewarhorse.org\/\"><i>The War Horse<\/i><\/a><i>, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service, under the headline \u201cA Veteran\u2019s Search for Healing Led to an Ibogaine Trip and an Epiphany: \u2018I\u2019ve Got to Let It Go\u2019.\u201d Subscribe to their <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/thewarhorse.us11.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=2dfda758f64e981facbb0a8dd&amp;id=9a9d4becaa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/thewarhorse.us11.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=2dfda758f64e981facbb0a8dd&amp;id=9a9d4becaa\"><i>newsletter<\/i><\/a><i>. This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marc Dervaes sat straight-backed in a circle of 10 men at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. The glass window behind him looked out on a pool deck and the Pacific Ocean beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inside, sunglasses masked his eyes and a beard grew down to his chest. His blank expression invited no sympathy, and Dervaes had none to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry if this offends anyone,\u201d he said at the introductory circle, \u201cbut I really don\u2019t care about any of you. I\u2019m here for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/movies-video-games\/2025\/11\/03\/in-new-documentary-vets-explore-psychedelics-to-treat-effects-of-war\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/in-waves-and-war-trailer-release-blog-image.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Review: \u2018In Waves and War\u2019 shows promise of psychedelics to treat PTSD<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The documentary, streaming Monday, follows a group of veterans undergoing experimental treatments currently not approved for clinical use in the U.S.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes knew the men would be curious about his amputation. He mentioned losing his right arm in Afghanistan but had no intention of sharing more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each man had his own reason to visit the clinic, where patients pay around $8,000 for a psychedelic treatment with little scientific backing. They all hoped suffering through a brain-bending, vomit-inducing, existential jolt would cure their ailments, which ranged from malaise to traumatic brain injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3923\" height=\"2815\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-POOL.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-POOL.jpg.jpg 3923w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-POOL.jpg.jpg?resize=300,215 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-POOL.jpg.jpg?resize=768,551 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-POOL.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,735 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-POOL.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1102 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-POOL.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1470 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3923px) 100vw, 3923px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The pool deck at one of Ambio Life Sciences\u2019 clinics near Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Dervaes had one foot in the grave before contacting Ambio Life Sciences. Two months earlier, he had spent two days in a hospital back home in Colorado Springs with alcohol poisoning that he hoped would end his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeace was totally gone in this house,\u201d said Michaela Dervaes, his wife of 26 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1439\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-and-Michi.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110693\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-and-Michi.JPG.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-and-Michi.JPG.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-and-Michi.JPG.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-and-Michi.JPG.jpg?resize=768,767 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-and-Michi.JPG.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Michaela and Marc Dervaes at an archery range in April 2021. (Photo courtesy of Marc Dervaes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes called the clinic after leaving the hospital. The earliest it could schedule him was April 2026 \u2014 a nine-month wait. Dervaes told the man on the phone he would be dead by then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two companies operating clinics in Tijuana, Ambio Life Sciences and The Mission Within Center, say they have treated about 3,000 U.S. veterans in the last decade. Both use the psychedelics ibogaine \u2014 derived from the root of a central African shrub \u2014 and 5-MeO-DMT \u2014 a chemical secreted by the Sonoran desert toad. A common motivation among participants has emerged: The talk therapy and prescriptions offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs proved ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every time Breanna Morgan opens the clinic\u2019s oversized wooden door and shows patients into the foyer \u2014 where a half-dozen staffers wait to greet them \u2014 she assumes it\u2019s the worst day of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey\u2019re not here because they really want to be here,\u201d Morgan, Ambio\u2019s guest experience manager, said in an interview. \u201cThey\u2019re here because it\u2019s their only option.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BREANNA-MORGAN.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110696\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BREANNA-MORGAN.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BREANNA-MORGAN.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BREANNA-MORGAN.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BREANNA-MORGAN.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BREANNA-MORGAN.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1157 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BREANNA-MORGAN.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Breanna Morgan, Ambio\u2019s guest experience manager, explains to patients how to mentally prepare for ibogaine. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the story of one of those guests \u2014 a broken veteran whose ibogaine experience would put him face-to-face with everyone in his life he had ever wronged. His tears would soak through the eye mask patients wear to limit sensory input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back home, confronted by another tragedy, Dervaes would quickly regret his visit to the cliffside mansion and resent the clinic that took thousands of dollars from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, four months later, he would return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Medical research and coastal retreats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For decades, overseas drug rehab clinics have offered ibogaine to people addicted to cocaine and opioids. The drug\u2019s use among military veterans has surged over the last four years. Despite support from veterans, a push for more research and efforts by advocates to legalize the psychedelic treatment in the United States, much remains unknown about the drugs\u2019 long-term effectiveness and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BLOOD-PRESSURE.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BLOOD-PRESSURE.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BLOOD-PRESSURE.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BLOOD-PRESSURE.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BLOOD-PRESSURE.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BLOOD-PRESSURE.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1157 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BLOOD-PRESSURE.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A nurse checks Marc Dervaes\u2019 blood pressure before he and nine other patients go to a backyard sweat lodge. Ibogaine can cause heart arrhythmias. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The federal Drug Enforcement Administration considers both ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT Schedule 1 substances, meaning the agency finds both have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Psychedelic medicine advocates fear the expensive, decade-long process of bringing a new drug to market in the U.S. will adulterate both the drugs and the environments in which people take them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers, meanwhile, fear media hype and the proliferation of ceremonies replete with New Age rhetoric and dubious claims will undermine their efforts to gain FDA approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As debates play out at state legislatures and research conferences, it is here, in a coastal retreat center down the road from an open-air fruit stand, that veterans come in a desperate attempt to find relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alive day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes\u2019 journey to the clinic began more than a decade ago. It was September 2009 in eastern Afghanistan. Corn grew 8 feet high on either side of the unpaved road outside of Jalalabad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes clutched the passenger\u2019s seat grab handle as the mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle rumbled along. A platoon sergeant with 15 years as an Army infantryman under his belt, Dervaes felt invincible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He had survived a bullet to his helmet during his first deployment to Iraq. On his second, he spent 16 grinding months guarding nighttime construction crews in Baghdad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His convoy drove in a tight pack. That day, a gap formed between his truck and the three others ahead, Dervaes said. \u201cThe enemy took full advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes bent over a junction box to fiddle with a defective cord, his right arm still clutching the grab handle. When he looked up, he saw a man outside, a rocket-propelled grenade mounted on his shoulder aimed at Dervaes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A big flash, pressure and heat. Dervaes collapsed over the junction box. His right arm, wristwatch still attached, landed in the driver\u2019s lap. He came to as the driver, his foot still on the gas, pulled Dervaes up by his helmet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another RPG shot through the passenger door and out the roof. The truck caught fire and filled with smoke. Chunks of flesh and bone covered the side of the cab. Dervaes heard screaming. \u201cSomeone else is hurt,\u201d he thought. \u201cSomeone else in the truck is either dead or hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His body tingled. His vision grew blurry. A man with a belt-fed machine gun emerged from the stalks of corn. Somehow, the truck kept moving forward. \u201cDrive. Drive. Don\u2019t stop,\u201d Dervaes said as bullets shattered the windshield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-Ambush.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-Ambush.JPG.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-Ambush.JPG.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-Ambush.JPG.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-Ambush.JPG.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-Marc-Ambush.JPG.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Before he was medevaced, Marc Dervaes pulled a camera out of his pocket to chronicle the ambush in which he lost his right arm in Afghanistan. He said the photo shows resilience. (Photo courtesy of Marc Dervaes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He spent eight months recovering at an Army hospital in San Antonio, Texas, then returned to Fort Carson, Colorado, just as his unit got back from Afghanistan. He and the driver finally had time to look back. Dervaes longed to fill gaps in his memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWho was screaming?\u201d Dervaes remembers asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was you,\u201d the driver said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Life after war<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like so many Americans, Dervaes battled prescription opioid addiction after his surgeries. He faced a personal crisis, described by many veterans, of adapting to a civilian life that lacks the structure, urgency and adrenaline soldiers grow accustomed to at war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3024\" height=\"4032\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-kayak.jpeg-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110702\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-kayak.jpeg-rotated.jpg 3024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-kayak.jpeg-rotated.jpg?resize=225,300 225w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-kayak.jpeg-rotated.jpg?resize=768,1024 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-kayak.jpeg-rotated.jpg?resize=1152,1536 1152w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-kayak.jpeg-rotated.jpg?resize=1536,2048 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3024px) 100vw, 3024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dervaes threw himself into extreme sports after his battlefield injuries. (Photo courtesy of Marc Dervaes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He sought thrill as a U.S. Paralympic snowboarder. He and his wife began cave diving. As a volunteer for the nonprofit Team River Runner, he designed prosthetics for adaptive kayaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He helped to launch the Colorado Springs chapter of the nonprofit Wounded Warrior Project. He instructs children with disabilities in snowboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than a decade of athleticism landed him seven rib fractures, a concussion, a bruised lung and three surgeries on his left arm, all between 2021 and 2025. So damaged was his left arm, his only arm, he could hold neither a Voodoo Ranger beer can nor his basset hound puppy Ruby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pain led him to spiral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hours before traveling to Tijuana, Dervaes paced around the lobby of the Sheraton San Diego Resort. A hotel staffer asked if he was OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The night before, his wife blocked the hotel room door to prevent Dervaes from leaving. Sober for three months, a requirement of attending the clinic, Dervaes wanted a drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He feared the treatment, a last-ditch effort to address his deteriorating mental health and excessive drinking, would fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two SUVs pulled up in front of the hotel\u2019s entryway fountain. It was a Tuesday morning in early August. Dervaes sat alone in the back seat of one as drivers piled luggage into the trunks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHow\u2019s it going, man?\u201d asked Brad Banks, a medical device salesman trying to quit drinking, as he slid next to Dervaes. Maintaining his forward gaze, Dervaes barely grunted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men rode in silence past the border checkpoints where Mexican officers wore rifles slung across their chests. In the beachside community of Playas de Tijuana, the SUVs turned down an unpaved road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across from a cluster of shanties, a concrete wall fortifies the clinic, an 11-bedroom compound where foreigners come and go each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-FRONT-DOOR.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110703\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-FRONT-DOOR.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-FRONT-DOOR.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-FRONT-DOOR.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-FRONT-DOOR.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-FRONT-DOOR.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1157 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-AMBIO-FRONT-DOOR.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The entry way to one of Ambio Life Sciences\u2019 clinics in Mexico. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A stay at Ambio starts with an EKG, one of many medical tests the clinic requires to ensure patients are fit for ibogaine. The drug has a narrow therapeutic window, meaning a little more than an effective dose can be toxic. Too much can cause heart arrhythmias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0740547221004438\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0740547221004438\">review<\/a> of literature published on ibogaine found 38 deaths and 20 medical emergencies associated with its use documented in medical literature. In most of those cases, the drug was used to treat opioid addiction. Other emergencies may have gone undocumented given ibogaine\u2019s use in nonmedical settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT can exacerbate existing mania or psychosis, according to Mart\u00edn Polanco, a doctor who founded The Mission Within Center in Tijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-EKG.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-EKG.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-EKG.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-EKG.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-EKG.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-EKG.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1157 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-EKG.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A nurse checks Marc Dervaes\u2019s heart with an EKG within hours of his arrival at Ambio Life Sciences. Monitoring is required to ensure patients are fit to take ibogaine. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three hours after arrival, the men changed into swim trunks and crowded back into the Suburbans. Dervaes\u2019 tough-guy veneer started melting away on the drive to a backyard sweatlodge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think it\u2019s time we discuss sweat lodge etiquette,\u201d he said from the back seat, squished beside two passengers. \u201cNo farting in the sweat lodge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Don\u2019t come here to get high\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Few people report enjoying their experience on ibogaine. Many have visions. Some see deceased relatives. To some patients\u2019 chagrin, they see and feel nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People who have taken ibogaine refer to the frequent vomiting during the more than 10-hour trip as \u201cpurging\u201d and frame it as part of the healing experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men sat around the large wooden dining table on Wednesday, the morning before they took ibogaine. Over French toast and chicken enchiladas, Isaac Pulido told them he could not predict how they would feel that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMany years of doing this and we still don\u2019t have the power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ISAAC.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ISAAC.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ISAAC.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ISAAC.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ISAAC.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ISAAC.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1157 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ISAAC.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Intensive care nurse Isaac Pulido administers the treatments in Ambio\u2019s Mexico clinics. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pulido estimates he has overseen more than 4,000 treatments over the last 16 years. A nurse with a doctorate specializing in intensive care, he oversees treatments at all Ambio\u2019s clinics in Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRemember, we come here to get healed. We don\u2019t come here to get high,\u201d he told the men. \u201cBut if you get high, oh my God, embrace it. Enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doses at Ambio vary based on each patient\u2019s body weight. If the person feels nothing after about two hours, they can take a booster pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s possible lower, nonhallucinogenic doses have benefits without cardiotoxicity, said David Olson, a professor at the University of California, Davis and director at the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-IBOGAINE-PILL.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110706\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-IBOGAINE-PILL.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-IBOGAINE-PILL.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-IBOGAINE-PILL.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-IBOGAINE-PILL.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-IBOGAINE-PILL.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1157 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-IBOGAINE-PILL.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The third and final dose of ibogaine is taken with honey. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a lot of people who take hallucinogenic drugs want to trip out and end up disappointed if they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey expect to see unicorns and all that shit,\u201d Pulido said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes did not see unicorns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dante\u2019s Inferno<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around 10 p.m. that night, the men had swallowed their third pill. They collected pillows and descended stairs to the clinic\u2019s treatment room. Twin mattresses lined the walls, each with a mirror propped in front of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men sat cross-legged on the edge of their mattresses like preschoolers getting ready for nap time. They shook rattles and stared in their mirrors. Over the next hour, lo-fi music gave way to a chaotic mix of plucked string instruments, traditional ceremonial Gabonese music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six nurses, two paramedics and two doctors kept watch over the patients, who wore heart monitors throughout the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Dervaes shook his rattle, his reflection showed him something evil, as he recalled 36 hours after his ibogaine trip. He tried to smile or change his expression. He slid on an eye mask and lay back to visions he feared would continue all night: wave after wave of people he had wronged. Each time he tried to apologize, a new vision appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The drug exacerbated the severe tinnitus in his left ear. When he lifted his mask, Dervaes saw the room on fire with piles of bodies and people retching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the early afternoon the following day, as the drug\u2019s effects waned, Dervaes looked in the mirror. His big brown eyes looked back at him. His downturned and angry brows had vanished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ibogaine\u2019s effect on the brain has long puzzled pharmacologists. The drug reduces depression and anxiety and blocks drug withdrawals, said Deborah Mash, a pioneering ibogaine researcher who received FDA approval to study the drug in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While ibogaine leaves the blood within 24 hours, its metabolite noribogaine \u2014 what the liver creates after processing ibogaine \u2014 stays in the body longer. Noribogaine pumps the brain with dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with mood and motivation. Drug abuse and depression are associated with dopamine deficiency. \u201cYou\u2019re helping to restore dopamine homeostasis in the brain,\u201d Mash said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe enduring effect is a question that neuroscience hasn\u2019t completely worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3579\" height=\"2687\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BEDS-BLINDFOLDS.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BEDS-BLINDFOLDS.jpg.jpg 3579w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BEDS-BLINDFOLDS.jpg.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BEDS-BLINDFOLDS.jpg.jpg?resize=768,577 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BEDS-BLINDFOLDS.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,769 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BEDS-BLINDFOLDS.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1153 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-BEDS-BLINDFOLDS.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1538 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3579px) 100vw, 3579px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patients wear heart monitors throughout the night as they experience the effects of ibogaine. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The second trip<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men ambled back to their rooms around midday Thursday. The sleepover party had ended. Many people experience hangover symptoms after the hallucinogenic effects of ibogaine wear off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only a few of the patients made it to breakfast the following morning. After a day of rest, the men would inhale another psychedelic, a synthetic version of 5-MeO-DMT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The men circled up in the living room around noon Friday. An Ambio employee\u2019s prelude to the upcoming drug sounded like a warning: \u201cFor the people who are going to be here, waiting for their turn,\u201d she said, \u201cif you hear someone screaming for their lives or yelling like they\u2019re about to die or something, don\u2019t worry about it. It\u2019s absolutely normal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Controversy exists over whether 5-MeO-DMT should be used in conjunction with ibogaine. \u201cThere\u2019s no good medical or scientific reason for that at all,\u201d said Albert Garcia-Romeu, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences who studies psychedelics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3929\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-HAMMOCK.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-HAMMOCK.jpg.jpg 3929w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-HAMMOCK.jpg.jpg?resize=300,235 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-HAMMOCK.jpg.jpg?resize=768,600 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-HAMMOCK.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,801 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-HAMMOCK.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1201 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-HAMMOCK.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1601 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3929px) 100vw, 3929px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dervaes slipped off his sandals and relaxed in a hammock during down time at the clinic. In a few hours, he would smoke 5-MeO-DMT. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes sat in a hallway waiting his turn. He had arrived at the clinic indifferent to others. Now, he couldn\u2019t stop thinking about a fellow patient, a young man whose bad ibogaine trip caused him to cry throughout the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sounds of wailing traveled down the hallway from a room where another patient, a fellow veteran, took 5-MeO-DMT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have a feeling this is going to hurt,\u201d Dervaes said. \u201cIt\u2019s OK. I\u2019ve got to let it go. I have to let all this go. I don\u2019t want to carry it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When his turn came, Dervaes sat on a cluster of mattresses covered in serape blankets. He inhaled vapor from a pipe and lay back. In less than a minute, he began to cry. \u201cHoly shit,\u201d he said, starting to sit up before lying back down to convulsions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dervaes came out of the trip ready for a second dose. \u201cHow do you feel?\u201d the woman asked after he sat up minutes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"2490\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ANGIE-SERRANO.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ANGIE-SERRANO.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ANGIE-SERRANO.jpg.jpg?resize=300,183 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ANGIE-SERRANO.jpg.jpg?resize=768,469 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ANGIE-SERRANO.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,625 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ANGIE-SERRANO.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,937 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-ANGIE-SERRANO.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1250 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ambio nurse Angie Serrano props her head up on her hand as she waits for Dervaes to come out of his 5-MeO-DMT trip. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI feel reborn,\u201d he said, his eyelashes wet with tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five days later, back home in Colorado, Dervaes updated the group on his progress via their Signal chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He had gone to Costco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI DONT GO TO COSTCO!\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt was amazing, I didn\u2019t feel like I wanted to strangle anyone! There was no anxiety, fear, or anger; I felt safe!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trauma returns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If patients experience stress after taking psychedelics, the drugs \u201ccan do more damage than good,\u201d according to Gul Dolen, a professor of neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dolen\u2019s work found psychedelics reopen \u201ccritical periods\u201d \u2014 windows when the brain is more sensitive to its environment and more capable of learning during early childhood and other critical periods. In the same way a person who just had open-heart surgery shouldn\u2019t climb stairs, people who take psychedelics shouldn\u2019t expose themselves to traumatic events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThink of this as open-mind surgery,\u201d Dolen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Dervaes, the trauma returned less than a month after returning from Ambio. He lost a friend to suicide. The devastation ripped through his community of friends. In a Zoom call hosted by an Ambio counselor with about 30 former patients, frustration mounted. The healing stopped. Dervaes started drinking. \u201cRegression,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suddenly, he questioned everything about his ibogaine journey: the healing, the expense, the hope. \u201cI was angry for even going there and wasting my time and money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3944\" height=\"2969\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-OCEAN.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110711\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-OCEAN.jpg.jpg 3944w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-OCEAN.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-OCEAN.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-OCEAN.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-OCEAN.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1156 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-MARC-OCEAN.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3944px) 100vw, 3944px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marc Dervaes looks out at the Pacific Ocean minutes after taking 5-MeO-DMT. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, his wife Michaela noticed subtle changes. He was showing less rage on the road and making progress on letting things that upset him go. Over the next three months, he read more books than he had willingly read in his life, including \u201cA Lifetime at War,\u201d about a veteran more severely wounded than Dervaes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was like: Wake the fuck up, man,\u201d Dervaes said, \u201cbecause you\u2019re not the only one that\u2019s out here hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of retreating, he would double down. In early December, as the first snow peppered Colorado Springs, Dervaes packed his bag. Like a growing number of Ambio\u2019s patients, he was returning. Things fell into place quickly. A spot became available at the clinic. A nonprofit agreed to sponsor his trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a fireside ceremony before taking ibogaine for a second time, Dervaes vowed never to touch alcohol again. He has new goals, he said, and the tools to maneuver through life: prayer, meditation, plus treatments like magnetic e-resonance therapy for his post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries. He said he might go back to Ambio again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4080\" height=\"3072\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-RATTLE.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-110712\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-RATTLE.jpg.jpg 4080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-RATTLE.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-RATTLE.jpg.jpg?resize=768,578 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-RATTLE.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,771 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-RATTLE.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1157 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Copy-of-RATTLE.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1542 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4080px) 100vw, 4080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">On the last day, Breanna Morgan presents Marc Dervaes with his rattle to take home from the clinic. (Photo credit\/Natanya Friedheim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michaela Dervaes met her husband at the San Diego airport as he returned from his second trip to Mexico. She looked into his face. The soft eyes and smile were back. The ups and downs have left her exhausted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEven though everything seems wonderful right now, there could be just something happening and it\u2019ll go downhill,\u201d she said. For now, she is hopeful. She sees how hard he is trying. \u201cWith this new treatment, I\u2019m thinking we\u2019re at peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This War Horse news story was edited by Mike Frankel, fact-checked by Jess Rohan and copy-edited by Mitchell Hansen-Dewar. Hrisanthi Pickett wrote the headlines.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"republication-tracker-tool-source\" src=\"https:\/\/thewarhorse.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/republication-tracker-tool\/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=42125&amp;ga=G-5SEPFDW41B\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marc Dervaes journeyed to Mexico for a psychedelic drug that more military veterans are hoping will relieve their trauma. 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