At the age of 17, Justin entered the U.S. Army in 2006, under the 18X, graduating in from the Special Forces Qualification Course as a Special Forces Engineer Sergeant in 2008 as the honor grad of his class and one of the youngest to successfully complete the SF Qualifications Course. He was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), based out of Fort Bragg, NC. Justin served on ODA 3232 for three years with deployments to Pakistan, then Afghanistan, where he was critically injured on July 23rd, 2011 by a gunshot wound to the head during combat operations. According to the doctors who treated him, SFC Menchaca should have died before he hit the ground, but after a coma, brain aneurysm, countless surgeries, and years of rehabilitation for paralysis and expressive aphasia, he is a walking, talking miracle. He remained on active duty, moving into a training support position within 3rd Grp and continuing his own rehabilitation efforts until medically retiring in March of 2019, with numerous awards and decorations, including a Purple Heart.
JUSTIN’S JOURNEY:
From countless years of rehabilitation efforts with specialists and after hours on his own time refusing to take a break, he did anything & everything possible to repair what was damaged. With paralysis on the right side of his body, his left side had been & continues to do 90% of the work & heavy lifting. Resulting in constant stiffness & achiness. With expressive aphasia, communicating is the single most frustrating thing for him. It makes speech difficult & delayed as well as makes reading & writing slow. Migraines had become severe. Being in a loud, noisy environment (a busy restaurant, for example) used to shut him down as he couldn’t block out the background noise to focus on his words. He had to relearn how to eat, drink, swallow, speak, walk & write to name a few. As we read this today in 2022, there are no more stem cells from his past treatment in his body. Justin has come so unbelievably far, but as with any injury, you can only do so much on your own. This is where stem cell treatments come in.
HAS JUSTIN RECEIVED STEM CELL TREATMENTS BEFORE?:
YES!! Justin’s first stem cell injections were in September of 2020. He had injections in his shoulders, hips, knees, & ankles. As a result, the frequency & severity of his migraines had decreased, which allowed him to use less medication for the pain. Justin’s second stem cell dose was in February 2021, maintaining improvements from his first-round & building on them.
HOW JUSTIN HAS BENEFITTED FROM THESE PRIOR TREATMENTS:
His biggest gain from these past two treatments came from noticeable improvement in his speech & mobility. Justin’s speech has improved as he seems to find his words quicker & easier. He’s actually quite the joker & witty as hell if you give him the time! He also no longer completely shuts down in a busy environment. He can finally begin to differenciate your conversation from the loud ones around him. Another improvement has been his mobility. I witnessed Justin’s speed just last October at Special Forces Charitable Trust Three Gun Competition. He must have ran 100 yards & just kept going! He wasn’t about to let his paralysis get in his way! Another instance of his improved mobility was when we went to Georgetown, Texas, to meet his Veterans Outdoors brothers. The same awesome guys who helped him get his first stem cell treatment. Walking into Mesquite Outfitters to meet the guys for the first time was something I’ll never forget. The guys had watched us walk from across the street, not realizing it was Justin until we walked in. Immediately, jaws were on the floor, completely mind blown by the walk they had just witnessed! Then again, when Justin began to talk! They couldn’t believe this was the same guy they had met. They said his walk & speech had drastically improved! The smile on Justin’s face that whole weekend is one I’ll never forget.
HOW JUSTIN WILL BENEFIT MORE FROM THIS NEW TREATMENT:
I believe Justin could really improve even more in his mobility & speech with this new, improved treatment. It would allow him to dominate & execute everyday activities with more ease. We plan on starting a family of our own soon. It's no doubt that Justin will be the world's best father. Imagine the joy he will experience being able to toss our children up in the air, run, & play around with them. He hopes to start a business of his own one day soon! Whether it's flipping houses or volunteering for veteran organizations to help fellow vets, improvement of both speech & mobility would allow him the freedom to focus on his business. With more progress in his speech, Justin could speak out at veteran organizations, fundraisers & banquets to reach those going through similar situations & obstacles. He could be the hope & guidance so many continue to search for.
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