When Travis Patterson sought care at the Topeka VA after attempting suicide, his wife, Rachel Patterson, said they were told no one could provide immediate help. Two days later, Travis Patterson killed himself at the age of 26.

"He was driven to this because he didn’t get the help he should’ve gotten," Rachel Patterson said.

Travis Patterson, also known as "Patt," had been in intense pain since December, his wife said. Much of his physical pain stemmed from his time in the service. Travis was deployed three times — to Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria. In Afghanistan, his truck was blown up. In June 2016, he was discharged from the military.

He suffered from bulging disks, nerve pain and migraines, Rachel said. The pain, at times, prevented him from going to work or school, and he walked with a cane. In December, it worsened. Rachel said doctors wouldn’t prescribe a different medication.

"As a veteran, being treated like that, basically treated like you’re a criminal, it hurts your pride. It doesn’t make you feel like you’re a person and that definitely contributed," Rachel said.

When a way to manage his pain didn’t seem possible, "it seemed pointless," Rachel said.

On Jan. 25, Travis tried to kill himself. The couple went to the Topeka VA’s mental health building. Staff said it was closed and to go the VA emergency room. Rachel said the emergency room doctor took Travis’ vital signs and told them there wasn’t much they could do that night. They were given the option to be admitted and seen in the morning or to go home and come back the next day. They opted to go home.

The next morning they went back to the mental health building. Staff, according to Rachel, said they would be able to offer therapy but couldn’t address Travis’ physical problems.

It made him angry, Rachel said. The VA gave Travis a piece of paper with therapists’ phone numbers on it and a stress ball and bracelet with the Veterans Crisis Line phone number on it. The couple decided to return home and hoped an upcoming appointment with a different doctor would be able to address Travis’ physical pain.

Travis died the next day.

"I don’t believe the VA did everything they could have," Rachel said.

Travis wasn’t the type of person to give up — he was always looking for solutions to get through challenges, Rachel said.

The two met their freshman year of high school. They dated on and off during high school. Travis proposed to Rachel the day he left for basic training in February 2009, and they were married later that year.

Rachel described Travis as being honest, passionate and a hard worker. He was a law student who wanted to go into family law.

"He really wanted to make a difference," Rachel said.

Doug Mulqueen, a member of Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association and a friend of Travis’, said he doesn’t blame the VA itself, but that certain procedures and people in the chain need retraining or replacement.

"Travis did everything he was supposed to," Mulqueen said, noting that Travis had sought out help at the VA in the days leading up to his death. "For whatever reason this time, it failed."

Mulqueen said that veteran suicide is "a huge problem."

A VA report released last year found that an average of 20 veterans died by suicide every day.

"It’s a travesty," Mulqueen said.

Factors in every suicide are different, but there are some common threads. Veterans sacrifice years of their life, sometimes damaging relationships with their families, and do it believing it’s for the common good, Mulqueen said. However the common good doesn’t seem to have the veterans’ interests in mind, he said. There’s also a stereotype that when service members return home, they’re damaged. But Mulqueen said many actually come back a better person.

Other stressors include getting the "run around with the VA or the GI Bill" and not being able to do things they could before being injured. Mulqueen also said that when service members are deployed, the way of living is less complicated — stay alive and keep the team alive.

Coming back can be "a different world," he said.

Mulqueen said awareness and opportunities for veterans to talk with other veterans are important. Other veterans may be able to understand experiences in ways therapists, friends and family can’t, Mulqueen said.

Patrick Lynch leads the local chapter of Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. He’d like to see a volunteer program be piloted at the Topeka VA in which veteran volunteers are on hand when there’s no mental health staff available. Certified volunteers would be able to observe, support and talk to the veteran in crisis, Lynch said. It’d be another set of ears and eyes on that person, he said.

It’s a long-term goal, but it’s feasible, he said.

Lynch also recommends having mental health literature available in the VA’s emergency room.

"To us, that’s a no brainer," he said.

He would also like to see a comment card system initiated. Feedback would be given after every patient visit. A volunteer committee would review comments periodically to see where improvements can be made.

Rachel would like to see the Topeka VA work more holistically.

They need to look at all of the information, so each doctor works together for the person’s entire care. Each unit should work together, Rachel said.

"It’s like the right hand isn’t talking to the left hand," she said.

Stephanie Davis, suicide prevention coordinator for VA Eastern Kansas, said the facility, "has worked to ensure that we have a structured response to anyone coming into the hospital experiencing thoughts of suicide."

When a patient acknowledges thoughts of suicide, an identified person stays with the individual until they are evaluated by a qualified provider, Davis said.

VA pursues hospitalization for someone that poses an acute risk for suicide. If someone is not an acute risk but is experiencing thoughts of suicide without an intent to act on them, a Suicide Prevention Safety Plan is completed and a mental health appointment is made.

Davis said a review is initiated following suicides that are reported to the VA.

"While we are unable to mention specifics on any veteran’s medical history, our staff goes above and beyond in reaching out to offer support and multiple treatment options," she said.