“My pain is barely a comma now”

Cheyenne VA pain management helps Veteran rethink pain

Pain management at Cheyenne VA Health Care System (CVAHCS) began with a question for former Army officer Dominic Sansone.

“What is your goal with the pain team?” Sansone was asked. “I knew saying, ‘I wanna feel gooder’ wouldn’t work.”

So, he picked something smaller. Something specific: “I want to stand in front of the mirror and shave without stopping because of back pain,” he shared. “What I found out was that it was a trick question.”

Stopped expecting relief

Sansone enlisted in the Army, later earned a commission and then medically retired in 2016 after injuries from combat in Afghanistan.

After he left the Army, he went through procedures on his spine. He also tried care through VA.

None of it changed the way he understood pain.

“Pain interfered with everything directly and indirectly, I just didn’t know it,” he said. “I let go of my hobbies and stopped working out.”

The hardest part for Sansone was not feeling the results he wanted.

“Basically, I lost hope that anything would get better,” he said.

He and his wife, who is also a disabled combat Veteran, had stopped using VA services. After moving from Connecticut to Cheyenne in 2024, they gave VA another chance and both enrolled in pain management at CVAHCS.

Cheyenne asked a different question

Dr. Karen Jiles leads pain management at Cheyenne. She knows that chronic pain affects every part of a Veteran’s life.

“We are dedicated to transforming the way Veterans understand, experience and manage their pain,” Jiles said.

At Cheyenne, the team looks at sleep, movement, mood, nutrition and daily roles, not just the painful area. Then it builds a plan with the Veteran.

“Each Veteran receives a comprehensive evaluation. A combination of providers collaborates in real time,” she said. “It’s, ‘Here’s a plan created for you and with you.’”

Sansone noticed the difference at his first visit.

“When I saw a team of medical professionals in a room, just like a brigade staff, all dedicated to support me and solve these problems, that’s when I knew they were listening,” Sansone said.

No other places had done that for him.

“Other places treated my body but not my mind,” he said. “I never mentally adjusted until [I went to] Cheyenne VA.”

Seeing changes

The first change showed up at home.

“We would sit in silence with our heads in devices. We used them to distract us from the pain,” he shared. “Now we talk like teenagers, and our bond is stronger.”

The pain is still there. He feels it when he shaves and when he walks with his wife.

“My pain is no longer the period at the end of the sentence,” he said. “It’s barely a comma. My mind is in control. I know it’s gonna hurt, but I have the tools to accept and mitigate the impact pain has on my life.”

Now he wants to help other Veterans

Sansone was accepted into the University of Denver’s master’s program in social work. He plans to become a licensed clinical social worker and wants to work with Veterans to help “bring the same familiarity and open freedom one Veteran has with another Veteran,” he added.

He nominated Cheyenne’s pain management team for the 2026 Dan Starks Award from the Wyoming Veterans Commission so other Veterans would know this kind of care exists at CVAHCS.

The Dan Starks Award is given each year to recognize outstanding service and innovation in caring for Wyoming Veterans.

To get started with pain management, ask your VA primary care provider about a referral. You can also send a secure message through My HealtheVet or the VA: Health and Benefits App.