Marine veteran promotes cause through song

Victim's brother asks for help in preventing police suicides

WCPO News
May 03, 2019

So far this year, 73 police officers have committed suicide in the United States. Suicides are outpacing line of duty deaths for the fourth year in a row.

The brother of a local police officer who took his own life is asking for support for their families and for the cause of treating PTSD among police.

You can help by buying a T-shirt and listening to a song being released as a single on Friday.

The song is "Superman Falls" by John Preston. The song and the T-shirt honor Michael Preston, a local veteran and police officer who took his life in 2016.

WCPO introduced you to John Preston and his songs in 2017.

Michael Preston, a husband and father of four, was a Marine veteran who worked as a deputy for Boone County and then Newport Police.

Post-traumatic stress was not really dealt with during his years of service.
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Child bullied after Dad's suicide, has Veteran Dad by her side

Four Idahoans in the national spotlight after viral video

KIVI 6 News
By: Natasha Williams
Apr 15, 2019

Before the heartwarming video went viral, Khloe had been dealing with some bullying at school for not having a dad. She says the video changed everything.

BOISE, Idaho — Steve Exceen and his daughter Sarai have a special bond with Mary Braunstein and her daughter Khloe--so much so they say the four Idahoans are a package deal.

"It was basically like...(pause)...friendship at the first moment," Sarai said.

You might remember the special moment, caught on camera, we brought to you back in February.

A local veteran and his daughter stepped in to take a fifth-grade girl to a daddy-daughter dance after she lost her own father to suicide after a battle with PTSD. The sweet video went viral and now has more than four million views.
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WHAT KILLS FIRST RESPONDERS

WHAT KILLS FIRST RESPONDERS: Efforts underway to combat deadly stress of emergency work

Idaho State Journal
John O'Connor
March 23, 2019

They convinced Hale, who is a U.S. Navy veteran, to seek treatment and Moldenhauer personally drove him to a Veterans Administration therapy and rehabilitation program in Salt Lake City. Hale later underwent additional mental health treatment at an International Association of Firefighters-affiliated rehabilitation center for emergency workers in Baltimore.

Pocatello Fire Department Capt. Andy Moldenhauer, pictured, recently received an award from the American Red Cross for helping paramedic Dustin Hale, who was suicidal, get help for his severe post-traumatic stress injury. Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

Dustin Hale sought to cope with the anguish he routinely encountered as a Pocatello Fire Department paramedic by mentally absorbing victims' pain and cramming it into his own psyche.

"Some of us, like myself, we take a lot of the pain and what the families and patients are feeling and try to take it away from them by taking it on ourselves," Hale explained.

After several years of treating trauma, Hale's inner turmoil boiled over, culminating last fall with him holding a gun to his own head. It's a story he's embarrassed to tell but shares publicly, hoping to convince first responders to be open about the extreme stress they experience and to seek help when needed.

It's a timely message. Four other members of the Pocatello Fire Department have sought help via a post-traumatic stress injury, or PTSI, rehabilitation program during the past year and a half, according to their local union leader. A cross section of department members also plan to take peer support training offered through their international union, during which they'll learn to identify colleagues with PTSI and take appropriate steps to help them.

Snake River Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35 plans to bring in a renowned speaker on PTSI at 6 p.m. July 15 at the Blackfoot Performing Arts Center, 870 S. Fisher Ave. in Blackfoot.

The state has also taken recent action to address the problem of emergency service workers experiencing PTSI, passing a law on March 13 extending workers' compensation to cover the mental health condition for law enforcement officers, 911 dispatchers, firefighters and paramedics.

"There's no one who does the job that (stress) doesn't affect," Hale said. "Without the proper outlet and the proper care as far as mental health goes, sometimes that can turn into an actual injury. That's where PTSI comes in."
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John B. McLemore committed suicide. The producers behind "This American Life"

Alabama Judge Refuses to Dismiss Publicity Rights Lawsuit Over 'S-Town'

Hollywood Reporter
by Eriq Gardner
MARCH 22, 2019

After the series came out, the administrator of McLemore's estate filed suit alleging violation of Alabama's right of publicity, which makes it unlawful to use the identity of a person in products, goods, merchandise, or services without consent. The lawsuit demanded that Serial Productions disgorge profits, pay compensatory damages, and be enjoined from using his likeness in the future including a ban on selling movie rights.

John B. McLemore committed suicide. The producers behind "This American Life" and "Serial" spotlighted his life and got into his sexuality and mental health issues. The judge declines to let the First Amendment stop a lawsuit from McLemore's heirs from moving forward. Serial Productions, This American Life Public Benefit Corporation, and journalist Brian Reed must face a lawsuit for allegedly violating a dead man's likeness in S-Town, the controversial but acclaimed podcast that has been downloaded more than 80 million times. An Alabama judge's rejection of a dismissal motion on Friday is almost certain to prompt concern among media lawyers.

S-Town became one of the most popular podcasts ever produced after an Alabama man named John B. McLemore emailed the staff of This American Life and told them about a suspected murder in his hometown. Reed exchanged communications with McLemore and then traveled to Alabama to investigate the murder. Reed turned up nothing about the murder, and he subsequently had a falling out with McLemore. Then, shockingly, McLemore committed suicide.
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Widow of Columbus Fire Department wants to start a conversation to save lives

Widow of Columbus firefighter remembers husband, talks need for mental health awareness

WBNS 10 News
Bryant Somerville
March 20, 2019

Eight years of dating and a five-month engagement led Katie-Jean and Shane Brintlinger to the middle of the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple.

Shane picked the song "More of You" by Chris Stapleton.

The day is frozen in time in pictures. They are moments Katie-Jean remembers every detail of.

They met at Otterbein University. Katie-Jean says, originally, Shane wanted to be a high school history teacher, but later changed his mind and opted for fire school. She says it was his passion.

"He would always tell me 'I thrive in those environments,'" she said. "He would say 'When I go in and people are freaking out, that's when I do my best. I can slow my mind down and think through what I need to do.'"

He worked in London, then Delaware. Then, the last five years, Brintlinger worked at the Columbus Fire Department.

"He truly loved it because he could just go after it," she said. "He loved that high speed, everything about it."

December 29, 2017, they were married. A year and two months later, Katie-Jean was at the grocery store.

"I called him to see if the asparagus was still good in our fridge," she said. "Well, he didn't answer."

A picture shows Katie-Jean on the back of a fire engine, talking to her husband one last time at the cemetery.
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Flagstaff officer found dead

Flagstaff officer found dead from suicide, police report

Arizona Daily Sun
SCOTT BUFFON Sun Staff Reporter
Mar 13, 2019

A Flagstaff Police Department officer has died of an alleged suicide Tuesday, Flagstaff police officials report.

Officer Daniel Beckwith had been on paid leave since June 2018 and living in Mesa with his wife, according to the Flagstaff Police Department on Facebook. Beckwith was a 5-year veteran of the Flagstaff Police Department.

The Mesa Police Department responded to a report of a suicidal subject on March 12. Upon their arrival, they discovered Beckwith dead at his home. There was no one else at the home when police arrived.
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#BreakTheSilentService and #TakeBackYourLife

Erik Sutton — a retired Superior fire battalion chief's Mom speaks out after suicide

Mother Speaks About Superior Firefighter Son’s Suicide; Dept. Holds New Support Training

FOX 21
Dan Hanger
March 7, 2019

But when his demons still ate away inside, he retired from the department after 20 years of service hoping for relief — relief that never came and only got worse after Erik’s father took his own life while battling a debilitating disease.

“He had Parkinson’s. He just couldn’t deal with being disabled anymore,” Cheryl said. “I think Erik blamed himself. He should have been able to stop it.”

Erik, their only child, would end his life just three months later.

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Cheryl Sutton, the mother of Erik Sutton — a retired Superior fire battalion chief – broke her silence Thursday about her son’s suicide to FOX 21’s Dan Hanger.

This, as the Superior Fire Department – for the first time – takes on special mental health training to help prevent another tragedy involving one of their own.

“Each step of his career, it was like, wow, this kid has made it. This is great. This is fantastic. But underlying it, we had no clue what was going on,” said Cheryl Sutton, Erik’s mother.

“Whenever that bell goes off, you put the personal stuff aside and you go on the call — and sometimes you have to deal with some pretty traumatic things,” said Suzi Olson, captain of the Superior Fire Department and president of the Superior Firefighters Local 74.

Olson says the old days of firefighting are long gone with traumatic medical calls becoming far too common.
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Oklahoma GriefShare giving what those left behind need....support

A look at suicide: Van Buren’s GriefShare program offers support

Booneville Democrat
By Scott Smith / Times Record
Posted Mar 3, 2019

An individual’s suicide can be such an unpredictable, hard-hitting shock to that person’s loved ones, often causing an uncomfortable, long-lasting cocktail of feelings for those left behind, according to one area individual.

When someone loses a relative or friend to suicide, that person can be overwhelmed by feelings of confusion, sadness, guilt, anger and more, said LaToya Shepherd, an outreach pastor who oversees the GriefShare support program at Heritage Church in Van Buren. The 14-week, faith-based program employs video presentations, testimonies, a workbook and, if the participants are comfortable enough to participate, opportunities to share to help in the healing process, she said.

“There is a lesson that touches upon suicide in this,” Shepherd said of the program, which is held at 3 p.m. Sundays at Heritage Church, 1604 E. Pointer Trail in Van Buren. “And in no way does this lesson condemn the person who committed suicide or the family of that person. Even with the program being Biblically based, the lesson is very helpful and very hopeful. It’s not condemning at all.”

In addition to outlining the GriefShare workbook for participants, Shepherd is able to use her real-life experience to help others cope with their loss and move through the grieving process.

“My former husband tried to commit suicide but wasn’t successful,” she said. “He lived and is now a certified counselor who works in Oklahoma and is helping people.
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Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio is calling for PTSD care

Ohio fraternal order calls for PTSD care for first responders

The Blade
KATE SNYDER
Blade Staff Writer
February 28, 2019

Officer Payne did not report to work as scheduled on Tuesday, which prompted a welfare check, police said, and indications are that the death was a suicide. He was hired by the Toledo Police Department on Jan. 24, 1997, and served in field operations most of his career.

COLUMBUS — The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio is calling for post-traumatic stress disorder care for first responders, citing a Toledo police officer’s possible suicide.

In a statement released Thursday, the Ohio FOP highlighted the mental-health hardship officers face in their work, and said the order plans to work with lawmakers on a new bill to provide better resources to police who may be suffering in silence.

“If a police officer breaks his leg carrying an injured child to safety, workers’ comp is there to help him heal,” the Ohio FOP said. “If that same child dies a painful death in the officer’s arms, and the officer isn’t otherwise injured, there is no help for the officer to process and cope ... ”

Toledo officer Jeffrey Payne, 53, died Tuesday in a possible suicide, according to the Toledo Police Department. Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp, whose office has investigated the death, said law enforcement throughout the country could benefit from expanded access to mental health services.
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Firefighters and police officers are five times more likely to suffer from PTSD

'I could feel my skin burning again' | Former firefighter opens up about his fight with PTSD

KDSK News
Author: Casey Nolen
February 20, 2019

Firefighters and police officers are five times more likely to suffer from PTSD and more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty.

"A broken arm, you can put a cast on it and it will heal. PTSD and what firefighters and police officers deal with, this is something they can struggle with the rest of their life," said Anthony Bass with SSM Health Treatment and Recovery who counsels first responders.

It was a snow covered January night in 2014 when Tim Kirchoff and his crew arrived at a burning house on Nancy Drive in St. Charles. The fire looked like it was mostly out, but it flared up while Kirchoff and three fellow firefighters were in the basement, trapping them.

"I got to the point that I curled up on the floor and basically told my wife and kids goodbye," Kirchoff said. He can remember the fire like it was yesterday. "I knew this is the way I was going to die."

Somehow all four trapped firefighters made it out alive. Several surgeries helped mend Kirchoff's injuries on the outside. But inside, he was only getting worse.

"I was having nightmares. I was reliving it. I could literally feel my skin burning again; I couldn't sleep," said Kirchoff of the months after the fire.
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Only about 40 percent of firefighter suicides are reported

Law enforcement peer group meets in Dothan hoping to help others

WTVY News
By Ken Curtis
Feb 19, 2019

A few years ago, Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza's fellow officer took his life. Valenza often wonders if he could have done something to prevent the tragedy.

Law enforcement officers, others attend seminar in Dothan to help them cope with job stress. Photo from February 19, 2019. That prompted him to to organize seminars that help law enforcement officers cope with job related stress.

Alabama Fire Marshal's Office Investigator Jason Clifton attended his fourth seminar in Dothan Tuesday.

“It's a life changer to know you're not alone and you don't have to keep it bottled up inside because, if you keep things bottled up inside, you'll create a bomb that will explode,” Clifton said.

In 2017, more officers nationwide died from suicide than in the line of duty,” according to the website officer.com. Statistics show 140 police officers and 103 firefighters committed suicide.

Making the figures more disturbing, the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliances estimates only about 40 percent of firefighter suicides are reported.
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70 Year Old Corrections Officer Committed Suicide at Huntsville Prison

Texas corrections officer dies by suicide at Huntsville prison

Houston Chronicle
By Keri Blakinger
February 11, 2019

The death comes less than two years after another officer at a Huntsville-area unit fatally shot himself at work. In that case, fellow workers found the 40-year-old in the guard picket at the Ferguson Unit, with a gunshot wound to the head, The Huntsville Item reported at the time.

A 70-year-old corrections officer died by suicide Monday after shooting himself with his service weapon at a Huntsville prison, officials said.

Authorities did not release the man's name, but said that fellow officers found him around 1 a.m. sitting outside the guard picket at the Wynne Unit.

He was not under investigation and did not have a disciplinary history, according to prison spokesman.
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Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy committed suicide, widow went to war

Cindy Lannon lost her husband to PTSD. He served his community saving lives and protecting others, but suffering in silence, he did not ask for help he needed to save himself. #BreakTheSilentService

A sheriff’s deputy died by suicide. His widow is on a mission to help others with PTSD

Pioneer Press
Mary Divine
February 10, 2019

Cindy Lannon talks about her late husband, Jerry Lannon, 58, a deputy with the Washington County sheriff’s office. “He has just a really strong faith and he loved studying God’s word. He loved history too,” Lannon said. “I felt that the day Jerry died some of his integrity was tarnished. He didn’t want his life to end that way.”

Cindy Lannon holds a picture of her late husband, Jerry Lannon, in May Township on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. Lannon, 58, a deputy with the Washington County sheriff’s office who was diagnosed with depression and PTSD, died by suicide last year. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)

Cindy Lannon instantly knew something was wrong.

Returning home from a medical appointment the Monday after Thanksgiving, Lannon expected to find her husband’s brown loafers on the front mat.

They weren’t there.

“Your head tells you one thing, but another side of your mind says ‘No, no, no,’ ” Cindy Lannon said. “His truck was in the driveway. I looked around the house, and I went up to our bedroom. The bed wasn’t made — he always made the bed when he got up — and he had taken his cellphone and propped it up on his pillow. It was almost like he was leaving a goodbye note.”

She called her brother Craig Pittman, who lives nearby, and he found Jerry Lannon’s body on the trail that runs behind the couple’s house near Big Carnelian Lake in northern Washington County. The veteran Washington County sheriff’s deputy, SWAT team member and firearms instructor had shot himself in the head. He was 58.

Nationally, law-enforcement officers are more likely to die by suicide than to be killed in the line of duty. At least 159 officers in the U.S. took their own lives in 2018, more than the estimated 145 who died while on the job, according to Blue H.E.L.P., a nonprofit organization that tracks officer suicides. Lannon was one of three officers who died by suicide last year in Minnesota; four died by suicide in Wisconsin.

“It’s a startling trend,” said Sgt. Tim Harris of the Washington County sheriff’s office, who is leading a new mental-health initiative for the department. “We’re very hard on ourselves, and we’re not getting help when we need it. We need to figure out how to change the stigma of seeking help.”

Cindy Lannon, 58, is on a mission to help. She is working to raise awareness about officer suicides and mental illness, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

It’s crucial, she said, that officers seek treatment.
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Why do they still remain clueless about PTSD? It means they survived and there is no shame in that. Considering there are over 7 million other Americans with PTSD after surviving most of the stuff these guys save us from, you'd think they would be the first to understand it...but they do not!

#FightPTSD and #TakeBackYourLife

Breaking news: Suspected suicide at OIA

UPDATE

OIA implements new safety measure after TSA worker jumped to his death

Investigators say the 36-year-old Robert Henry finished his TSA shift earlier this month. Henry, who had worked for the TSA for more than 12 years, then made his way to an upper level of the Hyatt Regency hotel, which has indoor balconies overlooking the large atrium that encloses the airport's security checkpoint.

update WESH2 News

Co-workers and friends of the TSA agent learned of his death during a meeting where they were getting information about resources available if there is another shutdown this month. TSA union representatives said crisis counseling is available to people in an effort to try to help them deal with everything going on.

TSA agent dead after jumping from balcony inside Orlando International Airport, police say

Travelers with flights at gates 70-129 will be re-screened, delays possible By Anna Johnson - Digital Journalist

ORLANDO, Fla. - A Transportation Security Administration agent is dead after he jumped from a balcony in the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Orlando International Airport, according to officials from the Orlando Police Department.

In a tweet, OPD officials said the man jumped into the atrium area of the airport Saturday morning. A statement from TSA officials said he fell, though they also said that it will be up to law enforcement to officially determine the cause of death.
check back here for updates

Some are connecting the shutdown and threat of another one as part of the reason. 

This is from Click Orlando

The apparent suicide comes after a 35-day shutdown, in which TSA and federal employees went without pay. 

"Our @TSA Officers have already suffered so much during the #GovernmentShutdown," Rep. Darren Soto posted on Twitter. "This apparent suicide only adds to tragedy experienced at Orlando Int'l. Our prayers go out to his family and coworkers after this difficult loss." 

"TSA agents have some of the toughest jobs, and these public servants often sacrifice a lot in order to keep us safe at our nation's airports," Rep. Stephanie Murphy said. "My thoughts today are with his family and coworkers, and I wish them well during this difficult time." 

"Terrible news from Orlando airport today with the death of a TSA agent," Sen. Marco Rubio said. "Please pray for the family and all impacted by todays horrible tragedy.​"

Researcher "listening to the dead" to prevent more suicides

'Like hearing their voices': Researcher analyzes suicide notes to save lives

CTV News
Daniel Otis, CTVNews.ca Writer
Avis Favaro, Medical Specialist, CTV National News
Elizabeth St. Philip, CTV News
Published Sunday, January 27, 2019

The search for clues about why people choose to die by suicide often starts with the words they leave behind. Dr. Rahel Eynan, a scientist with the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont., is unravelling such mysteries one heart-wrenching note at a time.

“When I’ll open a file, in my head I’ll say, ‘Tell me your story,’” she told CTV News. “Sometimes you actually can feel the pain of the individual that wrote them.”

In a 2018 study published by The American Association of Suicidology, Eynan analyzed 383 suicide notes left by children as young as 11 and adults as old as 98 to find signs that can be used to identify and help others who are at risk.

“About 57 per cent expressed love for others,” she explained. “Very few expressed that they felt loved… About 53 per cent expressed ‘sorry’ and apologies.”

Half, Eynan also found, were escaping illness, physical or psychological pain.

“They are so constricted in their thinking that they don’t see any other option -- the only option is to die,” she said.
read more here

One more sales job on suicide prevention~

Wrong answer of can suicide be prevented

I was really hoping that the article on The Wall Street Journal would actually be helpful, but it turns out it is yet one more sales job on something that does not address the actual prevention step that has to be taken before anything else should be tried. 

Get the stigma out of the way of them finding hope again!

There are many different things that work, but none of them will work unless the person facing such hopelessness sees there is a better life ahead for them. They will not see it unless they understand what they have and why they have it. 

Especially with PTSD, but with all mental illnesses, people are afraid to open up. Imagine that! Being more afraid to open up and seek help than they are to plan the way to end it all. 

Had the "experts" been more effective at defeating the one thing that blocks them from even thinking about a better day ahead, then the number of suicides would not have gone up every year in this country instead of down.

How many more times do you need to read about one more sickening stunt in your area where people get together to have some fun while the subject is veterans committing suicide. Not hard to guess how little they do know when they cannot even get the "number" right or even bother to know much more than what they read in a headline.

Anyway, here is the link to The Wall Street article that misses way too much to bother posting it here. If you have been on Facebook lately, then you know how many are talking about this as well as how few are actually doing anything to help anyone. Besides preventing suicides requires communication skills on behalf of the one suffering as much as it does to the one asking the questions.

Can Suicide Be Prevented?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which helps patients communicate and handle their emotions, can be effective at reducing suicidal thoughts and attempts

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

When they are spreading the pain instead of healing

Turning heartache into action requires more than love

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 15, 2018

When you suffer a loss of someone you love, the pain can be so great, the only way to relieve it, is to find something else to fill the void left behind.

While it is totally understandable to want to do something, doing the right thing requires so much more than the desire.

After more than half my life has been dedicated to defeating PTSD, it began because of the pain I was introduced to when I fell in love. I knew what was attached to the stigma preventing veterans from seeking help. What I did not know was how to get it out of the way.

It required a couple of years of research before I began to write about it. About ten years later, personal computers connected people just like me across the country, and we learned more. We shared more and then we began to change the conversation.

To say it is heartbreakingly frustrating to see the outcome today, is far from adequate. Putting my fist through my computer is closer to how I feel every time I read about someone starting a charity because they are hurting. How many more do we need before people finally wake up and take all of this as seriously as it deserves to be taken?

I was reading a report about a firefighter's Mom in the process of starting a charity because her son committed suicide. It has not even started yet, but managed to get the attention of the Chronicle Herald. It has a lot of claims in it that have been proven to have already failed, but that is not even mentioned.

The Mom knows what pain she feels, but did not know the pain her son was carrying, and lacked the knowledge to know what his job was doing to him. But this Mom decided that experience should be turned into yet another effort, based on what failed so she can share it?

(The Mom) highly praised the assistance (her son) received from Halifax Regional Fire services.“I can’t even begin to tell you how supportive they were,” she said. “Within the resources they have and the skills and tools they had, they over-performed by 500 per cent.”

She praised it after her son was failed by it? Then she talked about how there are things in place that work? We have got to stop being silent when so much of what works is not worth them mentioning!

Here in the US, we have far too many just like her, and that is our biggest problem. Wanting to do something and knowing how to do it are two very different things.

Preventing suicides requires a serious effort, but we have not seen as much dedication toward discovering what is already available and what has been proven to have failed. Resilience training failed with catastrophic results. 

The DOD began that "effort" over a decade ago, yet ever since 2012, we have seen more service members commit suicide, than those killed in two wars every year. 

This "effort" actually hinders them from seeking help because they are told they can "train their brains" to be mentally tough. Since they do not actually understand what PTSD, they end up believing they are mentally weak, instead of knowing PTSD hit their core because of the strength within them.

How long do we allow all of this to go on because we do not want to hurt someone who has suffered a loss? How long do we let people, with good intentions, spread what failed, because we feel sorry for them?

The number of known suicides has gone up because we have simply allowed grief stricken people to do whatever they wanted to do, blindly supported them in their "efforts" because we did not want to inflict more pain? Seriously? We managed to allow the pain to spread out so that more families knew exactly what the provider had been through the hard way. It happened to them!

If we keep failing to get serious about all this, we will continue to see more and more take their own lives because we failed to show them the way to take control of their healing. Too many never even knew they could!
#TakeBackYourLife

"...they held hands. He raised a gun to his chest and killed himself."

"Meredith said she and her husband went to their primary care physician and asked for a referral to another pain clinic. They were told it would take a minimum of six weeks."

"That was too much for Lawrence. In March, on the day of his next medical appointment, when his painkiller dosage was to be reduced again, he instead went to a nearby park with his wife. And on the very spot where they renewed their wedding vows just two years earlier, they held hands. He raised a gun to his chest and killed himself."

Go here to read the rest of this story...then maybe you'll understand how taking away pain medicine can be hazardous to our lives.

As doctors taper or end opioid prescriptions, many patients driven to despair, suicide

I have not had to take pain medicine for a long time, since the shots into my spine worked, but I remember what life was like in that kind of pain and no hope of it going away. The only thing that allowed me to keep going to work, was the medication to take some of the pain away.

Foundation says 2 firefighters commit suicide every week

Firefighter’s widow shares husband’s battle with PTSD, hopes to help others
KOLD 13 News
By Heather Janssen
October 7, 2018

He took his own life in April of 2017.
“To see him lose hope in himself from all the things he experienced was absolutely paralyzing,” she explained. His struggles with PTSD impacted the entire family, but the Samaniegos' story doesn’t stand alone.

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Helping others was second nature for Jose Samaniego, until he was the one who needed the help.

“(He was) so selfless. He was so laser focused on helping other people,” his wife, Serena Samaniego, explained.

He was a loving husband, a devoted dad, and a dedicated Golder Ranch firefighter.

But Jose struggled with post-traumatic stress and addiction. What he witnessed at work often haunted him when he got home.

Serena saw it firsthand.

“It was the middle of the night nightmares and not being able to sleep. It was being distracted and irritable throughout the day,” she said.

These were all signs of his struggle as he became imprisoned in his own mind, until he couldn't handle the battle anymore.

Mike McKendrick runs the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. He said it’s likely two firefighters take their lives each week.
read more here

Female Firefighter takes on PTSD and Ironman!

Woman to compete in Louisville Ironman wearing firefighter gear for PTSD awareness
WDRB News
By Fallon Glick
October 5th 2018

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If you think competing in an Ironman is tough, imagine what it's like in full firefighter gear.

That's exactly what Diana Woolf will be doing at the Louisville Ironman next weekend. The 47-year-old has been a firefighter for 23 years, and she’s raising awareness about PTSD among firefighters.

“I've lost friends. I mean, if my husband wasn't a firefighter, I probably would have lost him,” Woolf said while acknowledging her own PTSD. “And myself, I contemplated suicide at one point.”

Woolf found herself in hole she couldn't climb out of because her PTSD until she started competing in triathlons. In a way, it acted as therapy. Now, the Village of Highland Hills, Ohio, firefighter is gearing up, literally, for the Louisville Ironman.

“The jackets, the pants, I wear the liners, which is a huge portion of our gear," Woolf said. "It's like a thermal barrier, but it also contains a lot of heat, which is what makes it most difficult. I wear the helmet, and then I wear the air pack on my back."

She'll be wearing all 37 pounds of it during the marathon portion of the Ironman. She hopes to shed light on the silent killer, because she said most firefighters aren't talking about PTSD.

“They're not saying they're having problems, because it is such a sign of weakness, which is the point of why I'm doing this ... to show that you're not weak," Woolf said. "You complete a full Ironman in fire gear, and you can have PTSD, so just come out and say 'I have problems. I need help,'"

Woolf said, statistically, more firefighters die of suicide related to PTSD than line-of-duty deaths.
read more here