From Battlegrounds to Studios: Dealing with PTSD

Thursday, November 10, 2011

From Battlegrounds to Studios: Dealing with PTSD

Posted By Joshua Morgan on Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 8:40 PM

Miguel Folch, 39, a veteran Pararescue Jumper, sits in front of strobe spotlights at a photo studio in the Lost Bario in Tucson, Ariz. as he waits for his model to change her wardrobe. Folch finds solice in photography and chose to pursue his passion to escape the stresses associated with being a Tucson firefighter that would often trigger his PTSD.

Josh Morgan
Miguel Folch, a veteran Pararescue Jumper, sits in front of strobe spotlights at a photo studio in the Lost Bario in Tucson, Ariz. as he waits for his model to change her wardrobe. Folch finds solice in photography and chose to pursue his passion to escape the stresses associated with being a Tucson firefighter that would often trigger his PTSD.

Miguel Folch, 40, was a Tucson paramedic, firefighter and fashion photographer. He's a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command operatives, also known as the "pararescue jumpers."

And he suffers from combat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Folch is not alone. Approximately 23 percent of the nation's more than 25 million veterans suffer and live with PTSD.

Folch is pursuing his passion for photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif. In this Veterans Day audio slideshow, Folch reflects on his life in Tucson, the gravity of his dealing with PTSD and the aspects of his life that have helped shape who he is today.