ORANGE, Texas — Nicholas Crouch is a Southeast Texas veteran who medically retired from service overseas.
Like many other veterans, he is no stranger to hospital rooms. His visits to the emergency room started when he was serving in the Navy and responded to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.
"I was exposed to all that radiation, and it was a lot way more than anybody should ever be exposed to,” Crouch said. “That ended up leading to, basically, my body deteriorating.”
After serving six years in the navy, he medically retired.
“I started with getting injections in my spine, going into different doctors, pain management,” Crouch said. “I was on all sorts of painkillers.”
When he returned, Crouch noticed a gap in the healthcare accessible to veterans. He decided to fill that need with “No Longer Limited Duty.”
No Longer Limited Duty is a non-profit organization that pays for 100% of the expenses for veterans' holistic healthcare, including chiropractor visits, physical therapy, or even massage therapy.
The goal of the organization is to fill the gap between what Veteran Affairs can provide and what veterans need. Crouch feels holistic care is harder to get approved.
“Over the years, I guarantee you I've spent 10s of 1000s of dollars on my own health care, even though I have Tricare and also have the VA health care,” Crouch said. “That's the reason for the need for my organization."
The need and mission are personal for Crouch. After doctors told him he was too risky of a patient to operate on, he turned to holistic care and hired a chiropractor.
"This chiropractor, within three months, got my disabilities to where they were manageable,” Crouch said.
Soon after, Crouch founded his organization. In three years, the organization has helped 59 veterans and paid more than $100,000 in medical services.
All of the funds came from donations.
"Basically, everything right now is coming in through personal donations, corporate donations,” Crouch said. “You know, we do shirt sales."
The veteran said No Longer Limited Duty is a volunteer-based organization and all proceeds go directly toward veterans' medical expenses.
Crouch said the organization's donation funds are running low and they need the community's help. He believes it's the community helping Southeast Texas veterans.