Boston bombing victim engaged to nurse he met during recovery

Boston bombing victim engaged to nurse he met during recovery
NBC News
Scott Stump
TODAY contributor
December 17, 2013

One of the worst moments in the life of a man injured in the Boston Marathon bombing has led to one of his best.

James Costello, 31, of Malden, Mass., has proposed to Krista D’Agostino, a nurse he met during his recovery after suffering serious burns on his arms and legs in the explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15.

Costello was the subject of one of the most widely viewed images in the wake of the blast. A photographer captured him staggering through the streets with his clothes shredded and his legs burned.

"As you all know, April 15th was one of the worst days of my life, suffering not only physical injuries of my own but the emotional difficulties when I learned about my friends," Costello wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. "I soon wondered why and for what reason this had happened."

Costello met D’Agostino while she was working a temporary stint as a traveling nurse at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Cape Cod. He was transferred there after undergoing multiple surgeries at Massachusetts General Hospital, including skin grafts and a procedure to remove a pair of nails from his abdomen.
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Patriots to honor veterans and active duty military at Broncos game

Patriots to honor veterans and active duty military at Broncos game
New England Patriots
Posted Nov 23, 2013

Veterans and active military members will be honored in pregame flag ceremony, with several in game tributes from soldiers, and members of the New England Patriots organization.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots will thank and honor veterans and active duty military members with several initiatives at Gillette Stadium in their night game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 24. The activities are in recognition of Veteran’s Day and a part of the Patriots Charitable Foundation's month-long Salute to Service and "Veteran and Military Volunteerism" in conjunction with the team’s ongoing Celebrate Volunteerism initiative.

"I consider our veterans and active duty soldiers as the true unsung heroes of our country," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. "We look forward to honoring our military Sunday night with a Salute to Service that will include representatives from each branch of military. It’s always great to give Patriots fans an opportunity to show their appreciation to these real Patriots."

In a pregame ceremony, the Pats will unfurl a 100-yard flag that covers the entire field. Members of the Patriots organization along with150 veterans and active military members, including Raytheon guests from Wounded Warriors and Student Veterans of America, will hold the flag during the ceremony. Three Army National Guard servicemen will lead the team from the tunnel carrying American flags.

The National Anthem will be sung by Army National Guard Major Jerome “Scott" Loring. Major Loring is a New Hampshire Army National Guardsman with more than 29 years of service. He is currently serving on active duty with the Army National Guard's Operation team at the Army's Cadet Command Headquarters in Fort Knox, KY.

Patriots tackle Nate Solder’s father, Ed, will serve as an honorary captain and participate in the pregame coin toss. Ed is a Naval Academy graduate and served in the Navy for 13 years, including a tour of duty in Vietnam as a helicopter and jet pilot.

During the game, all service men and women will be asked to stand and be recognized. Messages from military members serving overseas will be played on the video boards. Throughout the game there will be live look-ins of a group of military watching and cheering on the Patriots from Afghanistan, as well as several messages recorded by Patriots players thanking the service men and women for their service.

In a special ceremony, the Patriots will honor United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne, who was injured during his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. At the end of the first quarter, there will be a video trailer of his documentary entitled, Travis Mills, A Soldier’s Story.

Mills we be introduced and walk onto the field with his family once the trailer concludes. Sunday’s game is the culmination of the Patriots Charitable Foundation’s month-long focus on veteran and military volunteerism. The Foundation works in cooperation with organizations that support community outreach for veterans and members of the armed services.
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Boston Marathon blasts caused PTSD symptoms in vets

Marathon blasts caused PTSD symptoms in vets
Boston.com
David Abel
November 8, 2013

In the days after the Marathon bombings, which brought home a horror that many military veterans faced abroad, some began to experience again the trauma they had spent years struggling to overcome.

A study released Friday of Boston-area military veterans previously diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder found that 38 percent of those surveyed said they experienced emotional distress as a result of the bombings and the lock-down during the search for the suspects. Of those, a majority told researchers that they experienced unwanted memories of their own trauma.

“These veterans are among the unrecognized victims of the terrorist attacks, those whose injuries are hidden,” said Mark Miller, associate professor of psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine and the lead author of the study. Full story for BostonGlobe.com subscribers.

Boston Red Sox Win!

Red Sox Win World Series With 6-1 Win Over Cardinals In Game 6
(VIDEO/PHOTOS)
AP
By RONALD BLUM
Posted: 10/30/2013

BOSTON -- BOSTON (AP) — There hasn't been a party like this in New England for nearly a century.

Turmoil to triumph. Worst to first.

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara and catcher David Ross celebrate after getting St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Carpenter to strike out and end Game 6 of baseball's World Series Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox won 6-1 to win the series. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, baseball's bearded wonders, capped their remarkable turnaround by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to win their third World Series championship in 10 seasons.

Shane Victorino, symbolic of these resilient Sox, returned from a stiff back and got Boston rolling with a three-run double off the Green Monster against rookie sensation Michael Wacha.

John Lackey became the first pitcher to start and win a Series clincher for two different teams, allowing one run over 6 2-3 innings 11 years after his Game 7 victory as an Angels rookie in 2002.
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This isn't a sports blog but considering how much the Sox have done with their foundation for veterans and others, I think I will be forgiven for being very proud of my home town boys! Boston Red Sox Home Base

Boston First responders still in grip of Marathon’s horror

First responders still in grip of Marathon’s horror
The Boston Globe
By David Abel
GLOBE STAFF
OCTOBER 15, 2013

The trigger can be unpredictable, but when the flashbacks come, they feel like spasms, rippling through her mind and body, rending her as she relives that day with harrowing clarity.

They take Nicole Fluet McGerald back behind the thin canvas walls of the medical tent, where she hears the thud of the two Boston Marathon bombs. She feels sealed in, trapped, an easy target. She braces for a third blast, expecting to die.

She relives the screams and the chaos, sees the severed legs, inhales the acrid smoke of the bombs. She watches the torso of one victim slide off a gurney as doctors try to revive her, while a soldier tries in vain to wash all the blood off his hands and face, as if he just left a battlefield.

“The pain I felt was so deep that it felt like the worst thing on the face of the earth,” said McGerald, 31, who was so distraught that she had to take a leave from her job as a physical therapist. “Imagine the hardest emotional moment you’ve ever had in your entire life, and multiply that times 200 . . . It felt like it would never end.”
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Paul Ryan and the Government Raiders

Paul Ryan and the Government Raiders
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 9, 2013

Most people in my age group listened to Paul Revere and the Raiders. Yesterday what is going on in Washington got me thinking about the real Paul Revere. I am a Boston native so it irks me when I hear people like Paul Ryan being called part of the Tea Party since they really have nothing in common with the revolutionary figures that risked their lives for the sake of the whole nation they wanted to create.

"Even as his business did well, Revere took stock of the situation around him. As others struggled, he sensed that his own livelihood could soon be affected unless issues with the British were soon addressed."
(Paul Revere biography)

Senator Cruz was speaking as if the government shutdown is still about the Affordable Healthcare Act and Paul Ryan, along with many of our elected in the House don't seem to really know what it is all about considering they've already taken away billions from what the country spends when sequestration kicked in. Most of us are scratching our heads wondering how these government raiders managed to hop onto their high horse and get enough power to destroy what they were voted into to run.

Shutdown worsens historic blizzard that killed tens of thousands of South Dakota cattle
NBC News
By M. Alex Johnson
Staff Writer
October 8, 2012

An unusually early and enormous snowstorm over the weekend caught South Dakota ranchers and farmers unprepared, killing tens of thousands of cattle and ravaging the state's $7 billion industry — an industry left without assistance because of the federal government shutdown.

As many as 75,000 cattle have perished since the storm slammed the western part of the state Thursday through Saturday with snowfall that set records for the entire month of October in just three days, state and industry officials said.

Across the state, snow totals averaged 30 inches, with some isolated areas recording almost 5 feet, The Weather Channel reported.

Ranchers have no one to ask for help or reimbursement. That's because Congress has yet to pass a new farm bill, which subsidizes agricultural producers.
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Oklahoma Pipeline Explosion Sparks Large Fire, Prompting Evacuations (VIDEO)
Huffington Post
Posted: 10/09/2013

An explosion on a pipeline in northwestern Oklahoma sparked a large and roaring fire on Monday night, CBS News reported.

According to News9, firefighters from Oklahoma and Kansas were called to the scene near the town of Rosston.
read more here

Add those to what was reported yesterday with 'Just disgusting': Outrage after shutdown delays payment for families of fallen and VA furloughs 7,000 employees, closes regional offices. The debt limit is to pay for what the Congress has already spent. The money it costs to run this country is something else they were supposed to take care of but their idea is to just let it all go to hell. Did they ever once consider the simple fact that when the nation does well, so do businesses? Did they remember this?

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Boston Marathon Responders And Combat Veterans Play At Fenway Park

Boston Marathon Responders And Combat Veterans Play At Fenway Park
CBS News
August 20, 2013

BOSTON (AP) — Josh Wege stepped into the pitch and smacked the neon yellow softball off the Green Monster, churning his carbon fiber prosthetic legs as he rounded first base and headed for second. Eight-year-old Shaun McLaughlin, with an artificial leg of his own, ran out to retrieve the bat.

One night after the Red Sox and Yankees played another of their four-hour grudge matches, Fenway Park was friendly again, hosting a softball game between the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team and a group of Boston Marathon first responders to raise money for victims of the April 15 attacks.

“When we heard about what happened, we just knew it was the right match,” said David Van Sleet, an army veteran who is the founder and general manager of the team. “We get a lot of attention, but this is something special we can do for them.”

About 700 people, many of them wearing “Boston Strong” T-shirts, showed up on a night the Red Sox were on the road to hang out in baseball’s oldest ballpark. The event raised $4,001 in cash donations stuffed into boxes at the gates; it will go to The One Fund, the charity established to help victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.

The team of military veterans received a two-minute standing ovation when they were honored before Sunday night’s game between Boston and New York. The first responders included five police officers, five firefighters and five members of the Emergency Medical Services.

McLaughlin, who was born without his right leg, served as the Wounded Warriors bat boy.
read more here

Why does hate get more attention than love?

Hypervocal.com has an article on the Rolling Stone's decision to put the picture of the Boston bomber on the cover. In the article, this video was featured.

Jul 17, 2013 The story of Dick Hoyt, who competes with his disabled son Rick in marathons and triathlons, specifically the Boston Marathon.

It is beautiful and talks about love. The love of a father for his son.

I didn't read the Rolling Stone article and I won't. I don't want to know who the man accused of hurting total strangers is. I don't want to know how his friends had no clue what he was like. I sure as hell don't want the focus on him.

We have members of our military and law enforcement suffering to the point of taking their own lives but does the Rolling Stone put them on the cover? They loved so much they were willing to die for the sake of others. The Boston bomber hated so much he was willing to kill anyone. Why does hate always seem to get more attention than love?

Boston VA claims prove Vietnam veterans are largest percentage of claims

The media has been focusing on the OEF and OIF veterans as if everyone else was taken care of. The truth is, we didn't take care of Gulf War veterans and we sure didn't take care of Vietnam veterans. That is worth talking about since it also points out one very simple fact. They are waiting in line because no President, no Congress has ever put veterans first. As bad as it is for the newer veterans, if we don't get the VA fixed now, what will it be like for them 20, 30 or 40 years from now?

Boston sixth longest wait for vets' disability
Sentinel and Enterprise
By Rick Sobey
MediaNews
Posted: 06/30/2013

With a seemingly endless number of Vietnam veterans learning about available benefits and countless veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the veteran disability wait in Boston is one of the highest in the nation.

But Billerica Vietnam veteran Frank Busalacchi and Tyngsboro Veteran Agent Chris Dery, who's in a two-year backlog, are not surprised the average Boston claims are taking about a year.

"It's the perfect storm right now," Dery said. "Boston gives some of the best benefits, which keeps all the veterans here. The VA is doing all they can. They're just up against the wall."

As of June 22 in the Boston Veterans Affairs regional office, 10,279 claims were pending, and on average, claims had been pending for 306 days. Boston has the sixth longest wait in the country. The Washington, D.C. regional office now has the longest delay -- 442 days.

One of the issues, Busalacchi said, is that many Vietnam veterans did not file claims when they returned in the 1960s and '70s.

"There was the 'too macho, too tough' mentality," said Busalacchi, who filed an eye and knee disability claim in 1967.

"So they waited and waited and waited, and it's really backlogged."

Only 22 percent of the pending claims are from veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The rest are from prior wars and peacetime, with Vietnam War vets -- at 36 percent -- comprising the largest group.
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Combat wounded inspire Boston Marathon amputee

Wounded Warriors Inspire Boston Marathon Amputee
American Forces Press Service
By Terri Moon Cronk

BETHESDA, Md., June 12, 2013 – Wounded warrior amputees at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center here got a chance today to share the wisdom and experience they’ve gained through tough rehabilitation and prosthetic fittings with a man who lost a leg during the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings.

J.P. Norden and his brother, Paul, were cheering on a friend at the finish line of the marathon when they were injured in the second bomb blast. Each brother lost a leg.

The brothers’ surgeon -- Dr. E.J. Caterson, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston -- recently accepted an invitation from Walter Reed officials to visit and learn about the latest medical and surgical advances in similar blast injuries seen in wounded warriors.

“This is an incredible place,” Caterson said of the Military Advanced Training Center -- essentially, a rehabilitation center and gym.

Caterson brought other hospital staff members and J.P. Norden to learn about blast injury amputations and prosthetics from the wounded warriors and their doctors. Paul Norden also was scheduled to attend, but was unable to do so for medical reasons, his brother said. “I wanted J.P. to see his peers around him who have gone through the same thing as he did, and I want him to see the incredible energy this place has, the incredible expertise and the motivation to say, ‘Let’s get better,’” Caterson said.

“Walter Reed has the most experience with amputees,” he added. “[The doctors] shared with us their expertise, because there are some difficult decisions we’re making” in fitting patients with prosthetics and providing rehabilitation programs.
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Police look for trauma support after Boston bombing

Police look for trauma support after Boston bombing
By Maria Cramer
GLOBE STAFF
JUNE 01, 2013

Boston Police Department officials said they are worried about long-term psychological effects of the Marathon bombings on their officers and are searching for ways to pay for more mental health specialists.

“We have an entire department that was impacted by the Marathon and many, many officers who saw things they should never have seen and endured things they should never have endured,” said Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey. “We’re going to have make sure they’re getting services not just for the first 12 to 24 hours [after the bombing], but the first week, the first month, the first year, and next five years down the road.”

In the days following the bombings, 600 officers were ordered to attend sessions called debriefings, in which they broke off in smaller groups to talk about the horror of that day. New York City police sent 18 retired and active officers trained in counseling to help Boston’s Critical Incident Management Team, which is composed of 45 officers trained in peer counseling.

The Boston Police department also contracts with three clinicians, but in the long run, the department will need even more help to respond to any psychological effects on officers in the weeks, months, and even years to come, Linskey said.

“Officers [generally] see horrific scenes and violent scenes that can have a cumulative effect on people over the years,” he said. “We’re going to have to invest additional resources.”
read more here

Boston Police after bombs

Man shot by FBI in Orlando over ties to Boston bombing

Friend: Orlando man shot by FBI agent was questioned in Boston Marathon bombings
By Jerriann Sullivan and Amy Pavuk
Orlando Sentinel
10:21 a.m. EDT, May 22, 2013

An Orlando man who was shot and killed by an FBI agent early Wednesday morning was friends with the Boston bombings suspects, according to a friend of the victim.

Ibragim Todashev, 27, was shot in a condo at 6022 Peregrine Avenue, a quiet residential street near Universal Studios, said FBI Agent Dave Couvertier.

"The agent encountered the suspect while conducting official duties," Couvertier said.

An FBI post-shooting incident review team has been dispatched from Washington, D.C., and is expected to arrive in Orlando within 24 hours.

Couvertier, the FBI's spokesman for the Orlando region, released no other details on the shooting or the investigation.
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When being "resilient" is part of the problem

A fascinating reaport came out of Boston this morning about the slogan "Boston Strong" being an issue for some mental health professionals.

Mental health experts worried about ‘Boston Strong’ slogan
By Deborah Kotz
GLOBE STAFF
MAY 13, 2013

The slogan “Boston Strong” that emerged days after the Marathon bombings resonates with many — including two-thirds of the more than 500 readers who answered a Boston.com poll.

More than 50,000 Boston Strong T-shirts have been sold to raise money for a victims’ charity fund, and the phrase has been plastered on posters and signs throughout the city.

But mental health specialists are concerned that some still traumatized by the Marathon attacks might deem themselves weak or inadequate for not feeling that Boston strength.

“I think it is probably attempting to speak to a sense of resilience and strength on the level of the community,” said Dr. Michael Leslie, a psychiatrist who treats trauma patients at McLean Hospital in Belmont. “But there are people who will read this in a personal way, as an exhortation that they themselves need to be strong” no matter what they’re actually feeling. That would be “an unfortunate conclusion to draw from the phrase,” he added.
read more here

In the article, this came out.

"Nearly 9 percent of poll respondents said they didn’t like the slogan because it makes them feel like they have to be strong."

RESILIENT : characterized or marked by resilience: as

a : capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture
b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

The word does not mean "untouched" or "unchanged" by what happens. The first part of the definition is not about a person but is about an object.

Being resilient does not mean they are unbreakable. All it means is they are able to hold out a little bit longer than others. It does not mean they be unchanged. It just means the change in them will not destroy them. If they have a misunderstanding of what resilience is, that can cause a whole new problem.

The military has been pushing the term of "resilience" as if it is supposed to mean they can overcome everything without being changed or harmed. When they believe that is what comes next after "it" happened to them, they have a harder time when reality sinks in and they discover they are only human after all.

Cemeteries don't want to bury Boston bomber

I think his body should be put in the ground as soon as possible. Instead of praying for him, they should offer prayers for his victims and their families, since his life is over but their lives were forever changed by what he decided to do to them.

The 5 major developments in the Boston Marathon case over the weekend
By Holly Yan
CNN
Mon May 6, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A bombing suspect's friend accused of lying to authorities is due in court Monday
Cambridge's city manager says the older bombing suspect can't be buried there
Officials will announce a plan on how to distribute roughly $28 million in compensation

2. Cemeteries don't want to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev
For two weeks, no one claimed the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder bombing suspect who died the night he and his brother led police on a wild chase.

Now, the funeral home holding his remains is struggling to find a place to bury him.

The brothers' parents in Dagestan have said they will not fly his body back to Russia for burial, spokeswoman Heda Saratova said.

And Cambridge City Manager Robert W. Healy said he would not allow Tsarnaev to be buried in the city if requested by the funeral director or Tsarnaev's family.

"The difficult and stressful efforts of the citizens of the City of Cambridge to return to a peaceful life would be adversely impacted by the turmoil, protests, and widespread media presence at such an interment," Healy said in a statement Sunday.

Explaining his decision, he cited an excerpt from Massachusetts state law saying that "it shall be the duty of the city manager to act as chief conservator of the peace within the city."

"I have determined that it is not in the best interest of 'peace within the city' to execute a cemetery deed for a plot within the Cambridge Cemetery for the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev," Healy said. Tsarnaev's body now lies at Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester, west of Boston.

Peter Stefan, owner of the funeral home, said three cemeteries he's contacted said they feared reprisals. If he can't find a gravesite, Stefan said he plans to ask the government to find one.

The funeral home owner said everyone deserves to be buried.

"This is what we do in a civilized society, regardless of the circumstances," he said.
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Marine Comforts Bombing Survivors

From Battlefield To Boston: Marine Comforts Bombing Survivors
NPR
by TOM BOWMAN
May 03, 2013

Editor's note: In a story earlier this week, we met Celeste Corcoran, one of nearly two dozen people who lost limbs in the April 15 Boston bombing. Corcoran told NPR's Richard Knox that a hospital visit from two Marines who lost legs in Afghanistan had given her hope. "After I met them, it was like this little spark, this little light," she told Knox, "[that] it's really going to be OK."

One of those Marines was Cam West, a young captain whom NPR listeners first met in 2011 in a profile by Tom Bowman. This week Bowman checked in with West again for NPR's All Things Considered; he shares this update with Shots.

In a video taken just days after the Boston Marathon bombing, Cam West breezes into the hospital room like a coach, trying to inspire the team at halftime. Celeste Corcoran sits in a chair, the stubs of her legs wrapped in gauze. She's holding hands with her daughter, Sydney, who was also injured.

West leans over Celeste and grips the arms of her chair. She dabs away tears. She can barely speak.

He moves in close, and waves a hand above her stubs. "This doesn't matter," he tells Corcoran.

"It's just a change of scenery. It really is."
read more here

Combat veterans visit double amputee in Boston

Massachusetts National Guardsmen rush to help on video

Boston Marathon Bombing, and the Heroes that took immediate action.
April 15, 2013
Please scroll down to read original post.
Update #13 (05:11 EST)
The two Soldiers that have been seen in various viral videos running up to help the individuals that were mauled by the blast have been identified by one of WTFM Sources.

1LT Stephen Fiola and 1SG Bernard Madore both are members of the 1060th Transportation Company of the Mass. National Guard.

Far right is 1LT Fiola and 1SG Madore is right above the TOUGH.
click link for more

These Soldiers Did the Boston Marathon Wearing 40-Pound Packs. Then They Helped Save Lives.
When the bombs went off, the Tough Ruck 2013 crew sprang into action.
—By Tasneem Raja
Tue Apr. 16, 2013

At 5:20 a.m. on Monday, four hours before the Boston Marathon's elite runners took off, a group of 15 active-duty soldiers from the Massachusetts National Guard gathered at the starting line in Hopkinton. Each soldier was in full combat uniform and carried a "ruck," a military backpack weighing about 40 pounds. The rucks were filled with Camelbacks of water, extra uniforms, Gatorade, changes of socks—and first-aid and trauma kits. It was all just supposed to be symbolic.

"Forced marches" or "humps" are a regular part of military training, brisk walking over tough terrain while carrying gear that could help a soldier survive if stranded alone. These soldiers, participating in "Tough Ruck 2013," were doing the 26 miles of the Boston Marathon to honor comrades killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, or lost to suicide and PTSD-related accidents after coming home.
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Boston bombing event holds lessons for all

There is the fact that survivors saw what harm was caused by two people but they also saw what goodness is within more people. Total strangers rushed to help risking their own lives. One bomb blew up and they must have been aware another one could blow up too but they didn't think about themselves. Even when the second bomb blew up, more rushed to help the wounded. That goes a long way toward healing but so does the fact so many veterans have shown up at the hospitals to encourage the patients trying to recover from missing limbs and wounds that will leave scars for the rest of their lives.

The thing people always tend to overlook is how important it is to know someone gives a damn about you. The attack sites have been paved over now and the earth has been healed. The people will heal too with a lot of care. The witnesses will need care but I think the strangers that rushed to help may need a bit more.

Impact of terrorist attack varies from other tragedies
April 22, 2013
By TARA BAIRD, USC School of Journalism


Pascoe: Miranda warning not needed for suspect

At 2:50 p.m. Monday, Boston held a moment of silence to remember the victims of last week’s bombings. Read more

COLUMBIA -- Natural disasters are devastating.

Tragedies caused by man are a different kind of pain.

“There is a fundamental difference between natural events and terrorist events,” said Susan Cutter, a geography professor at the University of South Carolina.

“In most instances, you kind of know if you’re living in an area that’s prone to the forces of nature,” she said. Terrorism, on the other hand, is not anticipated.

Cutter, who is also the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at USC, has conducted field studies on similar events, such as Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina.

“Terrorism. It can happen any time, anywhere to anyone,” she said.
read more here

This also offers a lesson in judging others. Many employers are reluctant when it comes to hiring veterans because they are afraid of PTSD. While there is no need to fear any of them, the fact is, people do. This is a good time to point out that while employers may know a veteran has come back from combat, they never know what else other people experienced in their own lives.

Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia).

Approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have an anxiety disorder.

1,2
Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with depressive disorders or substance abuse.1 Most people with one anxiety disorder also have another anxiety disorder. Nearly three-quarters of those with an anxiety disorder will have their first episode by age 21.5

Some of the people in Boston during the bombings will end up with PTSD but no one think twice about hiring them. It just won't be an issue. So how is it an issue when it comes to hiring veterans? A lot of the people rushing to help, risking their lives for the wounded were in fact veterans. Kind of makes you stop and think about judging anyone doesn't it?

Marine's experience can inspire Boston runners

The Unknown Soldiers: Marine's experience can inspire Boston runners
Jackson Sun News
Written by Tome Sileo
Apr 19, 2013

After Cpl. Jake Hill stepped on an improvised explosive device during a chaotic battle in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the young Marine radioed his squad leader.

“This is Hill,” he said. “I just stepped on an IED, but I’m fine.”

U.S. Marine Cpl. Jake Hill's left leg was amputated just above the knee after he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on Sept. 16, 2010. He has since run the Marine Corps Marathon and been awarded the Silver Star for bravery in combat. Image courtesy of the website Ossur.

Through a dizzying haze of dust, smoke and ongoing gunfire, the Rapid City, S.D., native looked down at his feet.

“What I saw was a really badly broken left ankle,” Cpl. Hill told The Unknown Soldiers. “I was like ‘OK, this is fine, people break their ankles all the time.’”

Hill was later shocked when a doctor presented him with two difficult choices: replace his shattered foot with a cadaver bone or amputate his left leg just above the knee.

As soon as members of his patrol were hit, Hill, who was serving with Company L of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, took it upon himself to tend to the wounded.

“With one of his team members injured by a rocket-propelled grenade, (Hill) exposed himself to enemy fire a second time and ran to aid his Marine brother,” a Marine Corps citation said. “He applied first-aid and led the rest of his team through 200 meters of fire-swept terrain to extract the casualty.”

Like so many combat veterans I’ve spoken with, Hill skipped over his gallantry during our interview. He is too humble to take credit for his courageous, life-saving actions.

“Three or four days after my injury, my platoon commander told me that he was going to be putting me up for an award,” Hill, now 22, said. “I said ‘no, I don’t want it.’”
read more here

Combat veterans visit double amputee Boston survivor

UPDATE from NPR May 3, 2013
From Battlefield To Boston: Marine Comforts Bombing Survivors
UPDATE
Capt. Cameron West was interviewed on The Last Word by Lawrence O'Donnell

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Double Amputee Marine Brings Words Of Hope To Boston Marathon Bombing Survivors
(VIDEO)
Huff Post
Posted: 04/22/2013

During a recent hospital visit with two survivors of the Boston Marathon tragedy, a Marine who lost both his legs in combat shared a powerful, inspiring message of hope.

"There are so many opportunities that are going to come your way," the unnamed Marine, who uses prosthetic limbs and is said to be a paralympian, told Celeste Corcoran and her 17-year-old daughter, Sydney, as they lay recovering together at Boston Medical Center. "This isn't the end, this is the beginning."

Celeste, 47, had been standing with Sydney at the marathon finish line last week when one of two bombs exploded, severely wounding both of them. Celeste's legs were amputated below the knee, and Sydney suffered near-fatal shrapnel wounds.

“I can’t do anything right now,” Celeste told the Marine from her hospital bed on Sunday, her legs still heavily bandaged.

“Right now, yes. But I’m telling you right now you are going to be more independent,” he replied.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the visit from the injured Marine and his words of encouragement brought comfort to the resilient mother-daughter duo. “They had a good day today,” Sydney's uncle, Tim Corcoran, told the newspaper. “Celeste was encouraged.”
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Veterans from Semper Fi inspire Boston wounded

Veterans from Semper Fi inspire Boston bomb survivors

Bombing Victims Start Rehab, Meet Amputee Veterans
Bloomberg News
By Shannon Pettypiece and Drew Armstrong
April 22, 2013

Patients who lost limbs in the Boston Marathon bombings started using walkers to move around Boston Medical Center, met with amputee veterans and began to prepare for prosthetic legs.

The hospital treated 23 patients following the explosions, five of whom have undergone amputations involving multiple surgeries, said Jeffrey Kalish, Boston Medical’s director of endovascular surgery at a press conference today. About half remain at the center, including one in critical condition, said Peter Burke, chief of trauma services.

Boston Medical was one of five trauma centers that handled the worst cases following the blasts, which killed three people and injured more than 175 as nails, pellets, wood and other debris exploded from two bombs. The physical and emotional recovery may take many more months though doctors said they are encouraged by the early progress.

“We have definitely seen every range of emotion this past week,” Kalish said. “For us, we have seen amazing improvements, really great attitudes. We’ve had veterans come in with amputations that have walked through the halls and shown these patients their life isn’t over.”

Soldiers from the Semper Fi Fund, a veterans group for injured military personnel, came to Boston to meet with about a dozen patients and their families at four different hospitals. They told them about the importance of getting active as soon as possible and setting goals to aim for. The group said they plan to be back at the end of the week.

The Semper Fi Fund has raised $74 million over the last decade, and has now set up a Boston Marathon fund for those hurt in the blast. The group helps modify the environment of the injured to help them stay mobile and active, as well as providing support in getting prosthetics and services. They also have a team of athletes, including B.J. Ganem, 36, a Marine veteran who lost one of his legs in Iraq in 2004.
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