Is sex over? Badly hurt vets and sexual intimacy
By KIMBERLY HEFLING – 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — When B.J. Jackson lost both his legs to an Iraq war injury, his doctors talked about a lot of things, but they didn't mention how it might affect his sex life.
Jackson's less-bashful wife brought it up. But even then the couple didn't get the answers they sought.
Jackson and his wife, Abby, say it's time to get the issue out in the open in both military medical settings and at home. And they got a lot of agreement at a conference Wednesday, billed as the first of its kind, that focused on wounded troops and intimacy with their partners — in the bedroom and outside it.
This is no minor matter.
About 3,000 of the troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered major physical impairment, said former Sen. Bob Dole, who served last year on a presidential commission that examined the treatment of wounded war veterans. Dole, who lost full use of his right arm to a combat injury during World War II, was among the speakers at the conference.
Vets who have lost a quality-of-life function, such as sexual ability, should be given quality-of-life compensation in addition to other payment, he said, because the magnitude of their disabilities will fully sink in as they age.
It's serious at any age, suggested Mitchell S. Tepper, assistant project director at the Center of Excellence for Sexual Health at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, which organized the conference.
Tepper said badly injured patients are extremely interested in the subject, even if they're shy about asking. He said studies of the general population of people with spinal cord injuries find that some rank the desire to have sex above the ability to walk again.
Healthy intimate relationships add meaning to life and can aid in recovery from other injuries, he said. And the loss of a relationship can be detrimental, even a factor in suicide.
As for injured troops, keeping feelings bottled up can be a problem for any couple, said Jackson, who is 26.
"My feeling is the sooner it's discussed and the more it's discussed, the more chance of having less arguments, less confusion, less frustration," he said in an interview. "The more you communicate among yourselves the better off you'll be, instead of well, 'I'm mad, so I'm just going to roll over.'"
The Jacksons' appearance Wednesday underscored the painful aftermath of war and stood as a stark reminder this Memorial Day of the sacrifices borne by many soldiers, veterans and their families. More than 30,000 troops have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than half of them 24 and under at the time.
Said Dole: "Most of us go through this transition from able-bodied to disabled, and it's tough. And I worry about these young men and women ... who are 17, 18, 19, because I don't think it's really going to hit them until they're 20, 25, 30 years of age."
For the injured, questions of self-worth and a fear of rejection because of physical or other changes they've undergone can form barriers in their relationships.
Tepper said doctors often aren't bringing up sex, but patients aren't always asking about it either.
"There's this gap where the doctors know that it's an issue, but don't feel they're prepared or if it's appropriate to ask about it," Tepper said. "Patients, it's on their mind but they're not talking about it. They're afraid."
Experts say issues of sexual intimacy don't affect just the relationships of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with physical wounds, but also those who come home with mental health problems.
A recent Rand Corp. study estimated that about 300,000 of the 1.6 million troops who have served in the recent wars have symptoms of major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. About one in five said they might have experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed.
Psychological and neurological disorders can interfere with behaviors necessary for successful intimacy, such as experiencing and expressing emotion and understanding someone else's needs, the study noted. And anger and aggression, including domestic violence, have been associated with mental disorders.
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YEP!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Was cause of military pneumonia deaths ever found
Earlier today I was listening to the Rachel Maddow show and she mentioned a new report about bronchial problems hitting the troops hard. While looking for more information, I came across the following.
When I was researching the non-combat deaths, there seemed to be a lot of deaths like this. How many more are there and what has been done to stop this from happening? This was reported in 2003.
News Archives
Military Vaccine Education Center.
[NEWS] Death of soldier from Missouri will be investigated amid spike in pneumonia cases
Associated Press - Friday August 01, 2003
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Epidemiologists are investigating two unusual deaths from illness among troops in the Middle East to see whether they are related to 10 cases of severe pneumonia, The Springfield News Leader reported.
A Missourian, Spc. Joshua Neusche, 20, of Montreal, Mo., died of an illness July 12. His parents said the disease caused various organs to break down.
..."The doctor said (Josh) got into some type of toxin that began degenerating his muscles," Mark Neusche said Friday.
...The investigation comes at a time of overall concern about pneumonia. DeFraites said there has been a noticeable increase in pneumonia cases among soldiers since the war in Iraq began.
http://www.jca.apc.org/~altmedka/2003eng/engl-030805-2.html
When I was researching the non-combat deaths, there seemed to be a lot of deaths like this. How many more are there and what has been done to stop this from happening? This was reported in 2003.
No Clues In Iraq Mystery Illness
At Least 100 U.S. Troops In Iraq Have Been Sickened; Two Are Dead
WASHINGTON, August 5, 2003
(CBS/AP) The Army is still trying to figure out what's causing a rash of serious pneumonia cases, including two fatalities, among troops serving in Iraq.
At least 100 soldiers have been sickened, 14 of them so severely that they ended up on ventilators; two men died from the disease.
Col. Robert DeFraites of the Army Surgeon General's Office said Tuesday that officials have found that two of the cases – not the fatalities – resulted from common bacteria. The cause of the other cases remains unknown.
A medical team is in Iraq, searching for the cause of the outbreak. At this point, investigators know more about what isn't causing the illnesses than what is.
"There's been no positive findings of any anthrax or smallpox or any other biological weapons," said DeFraites. There's also no evidence the respiratory disease SARS was involved or Legionnaire's Disease, he said.
No clear pattern has emerged among the stricken soldiers; no common times or places or Army units have been detected and there's been no person-to-person spread.
The Army is urging soldiers in Iraq to take new precautions while officials try to find the cause of the outbreak. Soldiers are being advised to avoid dehydration, to be careful when dealing with dust and to stop smoking.
DeFraites says those types of environmental issues can cause pneumonia.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/01/iraq/main566292.shtml?source=search_story
Sgt. Andrew Perkins remembered at Fort Bragg
All-American Week returns as 82nd Airborne mourns
By KEVIN MAURER | Associated Press Writer
2:07 PM EDT, May 21, 2008
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The return of the steady tromp of 16,000 jogging soldiers this week means the rhythm of life is right again at Fort Bragg, home to the Army's storied 82nd Airborne Division.
All-American Week is back at the base, a renewal of the 82nd's traditional homecoming that was canceled last year because the entire division was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The celebration also provides a balm this year, which follows a particularly tough one for the division -- the 82nd lost 87 paratroopers in 2007. About 150 members of "Gold Star" families, relatives of those killed, are to join President Bush on Thursday for the division's review ceremony and a rededication of a growing granite memorial to the 82nd's fallen.
Among those to be remembered is Andrew Perkins, a 27-year-old sergeant whose father clings to the stories of his son's heroism in Samarra, north of Baghdad. How he grabbed the fire extinguisher. How he rushed into the explosion three times. How the equipment was melting in his hands before a second blast hit.
"I'd go to Samarra if I could just to stand on the same ground," Walter Perkins said.
He has come instead to Fort Bragg, to stand among the dozens of other fathers without sons, wives without husbands, children without parents.
"Did I come here to get some closure? Yep. Am I getting it? Yep. And it surprises me how easy it is coming to me," Perkins said. "It helps that I am talking to guys who knew him."
The 82nd Airborne's 87 fatalities last year are more than in any other year since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. Three separate times in Iraq last year, seven or more paratroopers were killed at once. Sgt. Andrew Perkins died March 5 with six others outside of Samarra.
The paratroopers were on patrol when their lead truck hit a roadside bomb. The blast killed four of the paratroopers almost instantly. Perkins and two other paratroopers searched the flaming wreckage for survivors, a second bomb detonated -- killing them and wounding several others.
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By KEVIN MAURER | Associated Press Writer
2:07 PM EDT, May 21, 2008
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The return of the steady tromp of 16,000 jogging soldiers this week means the rhythm of life is right again at Fort Bragg, home to the Army's storied 82nd Airborne Division.
All-American Week is back at the base, a renewal of the 82nd's traditional homecoming that was canceled last year because the entire division was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The celebration also provides a balm this year, which follows a particularly tough one for the division -- the 82nd lost 87 paratroopers in 2007. About 150 members of "Gold Star" families, relatives of those killed, are to join President Bush on Thursday for the division's review ceremony and a rededication of a growing granite memorial to the 82nd's fallen.
Among those to be remembered is Andrew Perkins, a 27-year-old sergeant whose father clings to the stories of his son's heroism in Samarra, north of Baghdad. How he grabbed the fire extinguisher. How he rushed into the explosion three times. How the equipment was melting in his hands before a second blast hit.
"I'd go to Samarra if I could just to stand on the same ground," Walter Perkins said.
He has come instead to Fort Bragg, to stand among the dozens of other fathers without sons, wives without husbands, children without parents.
"Did I come here to get some closure? Yep. Am I getting it? Yep. And it surprises me how easy it is coming to me," Perkins said. "It helps that I am talking to guys who knew him."
The 82nd Airborne's 87 fatalities last year are more than in any other year since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. Three separate times in Iraq last year, seven or more paratroopers were killed at once. Sgt. Andrew Perkins died March 5 with six others outside of Samarra.
The paratroopers were on patrol when their lead truck hit a roadside bomb. The blast killed four of the paratroopers almost instantly. Perkins and two other paratroopers searched the flaming wreckage for survivors, a second bomb detonated -- killing them and wounding several others.
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"They lost their lives trying to help one another" on the Madeleine
Leaked argon gas in ship kills three at Florida port
By Brian Haas and Andrew Tran / South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. - One by one, the workers descended into the hold of the Madeleine at Dock 31, undeterred by the possibility of a gas leak below.
As the third and final worker went down the ladder to try and save his two co-workers, he was warned.
"I told him don’t go down," recalled Tarson Bodden. "You won’t come back up."
Bodden watched the third man descend and then scramble half-way up the ladder only to collapse. His body landed next to his two colleagues.
"They were trying to help each other," Bodden said, gripping his hardhat. "They lost their lives trying to help one another. It’s terrible."
Local, state and federal authorities are investigating what caused a leak in the tank of argon, and whether anyone broke safety laws or regulations.
"If you were following OSHA standards, you would not have accidents or deaths," said Michael Wald, spokesman for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Federal regulations require gases like argon be kept only in well-ventilated areas to avoid safety issues.
The three men’s employer, Florida Transportation Services, is one of about a dozen companies at Port Everglades that helps ships dock and move cargo. The company has been subject to dozens of safety complaints over the past five years and had at least one other death in an industrial accident during that time.
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By Brian Haas and Andrew Tran / South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. - One by one, the workers descended into the hold of the Madeleine at Dock 31, undeterred by the possibility of a gas leak below.
As the third and final worker went down the ladder to try and save his two co-workers, he was warned.
"I told him don’t go down," recalled Tarson Bodden. "You won’t come back up."
Bodden watched the third man descend and then scramble half-way up the ladder only to collapse. His body landed next to his two colleagues.
"They were trying to help each other," Bodden said, gripping his hardhat. "They lost their lives trying to help one another. It’s terrible."
Three fathers,
Hayman Sooknanan, 47;
James Cason, 43; and
Rene Robert Dutertre Jr., 25,
died in the bowels of the cargo ship Tuesday, suffocated by argon gas, which made the air in the hold unbreathable.
Local, state and federal authorities are investigating what caused a leak in the tank of argon, and whether anyone broke safety laws or regulations.
"If you were following OSHA standards, you would not have accidents or deaths," said Michael Wald, spokesman for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Federal regulations require gases like argon be kept only in well-ventilated areas to avoid safety issues.
The three men’s employer, Florida Transportation Services, is one of about a dozen companies at Port Everglades that helps ships dock and move cargo. The company has been subject to dozens of safety complaints over the past five years and had at least one other death in an industrial accident during that time.
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Soon, The Name "Carmelo Rodriguez" Will Be Heard In Congress
Case Sheds Light On Military Law
Soon, The Name "Carmelo Rodriguez" Will Be Heard In Congress
WURTSBORO, N.Y., May 19, 2008
(CBS) Today the name Carmelo Rodriguez marks a modest grave in upstate New York, where his family still visits, and still mourns.
But soon - as early as Tuesday - that name will be introduced on the floor of the U.S. Congress, CBS News correspondent Byron Pitts reports.
"The bill is called the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Malpractice and Injustice Act," said Rep. Maurice Hinchley.
CBS News reported exclusively on the life and death of Marine Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez last January. While he was serving as a platoon leader in Iraq, his family says a military doctor there "misdiagnosed" the sergeant's skin cancer, calling it instead "a wart."
A condition first diagnosed in 1997 during Rodriguez's original medical exam from his enlistment.
But doctors did not inform him or recommend any follow-up.
Untreated for years, the melanoma worsened. By the time Pitts met Sgt. Rodgriquez, the once-fit, gung-ho Marine had lost nearly 100 pounds. As we were preparing to interview him … he died.
His death sparked a rush of e-mails, letters and calls to CBS News and members of Congress. Due to what's known as the Feres Doctrine, Rodriguez's family, including his 7-year-old son, cannot sue the military for medical practice.
Unlike every other U.S. citizen, the Feres Doctrine forbids active military from suing the federal government for malpractice. One argument: it would disrupt military order and discipline.
"No Congress has ever changed it," said Maj. Gen. John D. Altenburg. "They've had 50-some years to have opportunity to change the federal tort claims act and to effect the Feres Doctrine, and they chose not to do that and I think for good reason."
go here for more
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/19/eveningnews/main4109454.shtml
Soon, The Name "Carmelo Rodriguez" Will Be Heard In Congress
WURTSBORO, N.Y., May 19, 2008
(CBS) Today the name Carmelo Rodriguez marks a modest grave in upstate New York, where his family still visits, and still mourns.
But soon - as early as Tuesday - that name will be introduced on the floor of the U.S. Congress, CBS News correspondent Byron Pitts reports.
"The bill is called the Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Malpractice and Injustice Act," said Rep. Maurice Hinchley.
CBS News reported exclusively on the life and death of Marine Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez last January. While he was serving as a platoon leader in Iraq, his family says a military doctor there "misdiagnosed" the sergeant's skin cancer, calling it instead "a wart."
A condition first diagnosed in 1997 during Rodriguez's original medical exam from his enlistment.
But doctors did not inform him or recommend any follow-up.
Untreated for years, the melanoma worsened. By the time Pitts met Sgt. Rodgriquez, the once-fit, gung-ho Marine had lost nearly 100 pounds. As we were preparing to interview him … he died.
His death sparked a rush of e-mails, letters and calls to CBS News and members of Congress. Due to what's known as the Feres Doctrine, Rodriguez's family, including his 7-year-old son, cannot sue the military for medical practice.
Unlike every other U.S. citizen, the Feres Doctrine forbids active military from suing the federal government for malpractice. One argument: it would disrupt military order and discipline.
"No Congress has ever changed it," said Maj. Gen. John D. Altenburg. "They've had 50-some years to have opportunity to change the federal tort claims act and to effect the Feres Doctrine, and they chose not to do that and I think for good reason."
go here for more
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/19/eveningnews/main4109454.shtml
Woman lies about daughter killed in Iraq, she never had
Woman invented dead soldier daughter
Published: May 21, 2008 at 6:02 PM
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., May 21 (UPI) -- A North Charleston, S.C., woman has admitted to inventing a daughter she claimed was slain in Iraq to convince creditors to give her more time to pay bills.
Melanie Grant, 39, said she fed a false story about a daughter who was killed while serving in Iraq to Suburban Funeral Home, which took out a $242.77 obituary in The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for the fictional Lt. Melissa Hope Grant, The Post and Courier reported Wednesday.
Grant said she decided to come clean about the fabrication after the obituary was published and comments were posted online expressing sympathy for the death.
go here for more
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2008/05/21/
woman_invented_dead_soldier_daughter/4388/
Published: May 21, 2008 at 6:02 PM
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., May 21 (UPI) -- A North Charleston, S.C., woman has admitted to inventing a daughter she claimed was slain in Iraq to convince creditors to give her more time to pay bills.
Melanie Grant, 39, said she fed a false story about a daughter who was killed while serving in Iraq to Suburban Funeral Home, which took out a $242.77 obituary in The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for the fictional Lt. Melissa Hope Grant, The Post and Courier reported Wednesday.
Grant said she decided to come clean about the fabrication after the obituary was published and comments were posted online expressing sympathy for the death.
go here for more
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2008/05/21/
woman_invented_dead_soldier_daughter/4388/
Veterans Attest to PTSD Neglect by VA
Veterans Attest to PTSD Neglect by VA
Wednesday 21 May 2008
by: Maya Schenwar and Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t Report
Firsthand Accounts of PTSD Crisis
Kristofer Goldsmith, a former Army sergeant who was forced to stay in the military beyond his contract because of the "stop loss" order given by the president, testified about his experience with mental health care at Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We were told that if we were to seek mental health, we would be locked away and our careers would not advance. If I admitted that I had severe chronic depression, if I thought I had PTSD ... my career could have been ruined," Goldsmith said.
He received an adjustment disorder diagnosis after experiencing a panic attack in March 2007. Because he was not granted the PTSD label - despite displaying many symptoms of the disorder - he was ordered to deploy to Iraq for a second tour.
What Goldsmith described as a "sharp downward spiral" came to a head the day before he was scheduled to ship back to Iraq with his unit.
"The day before I was supposed to deploy, Memorial Day, I went out onto a field in Fort Stewart and tried to take my own life ... I took pills and drank vodka until I couldn't drink anymore. The next thing I knew I was handcuffed to a gurney in the hospital. The cops had found me and literally dragged my body into an ambulance," Goldsmith said in his testimony.
Finally, in October 2007, months after his suicide attempt, Goldsmith received a PTSD diagnosis from the VA.
According to Goldsmith, his experience was far from unique.
"While undergoing psychiatric treatment, I heard of many people being diagnosed with personality disorder and adjustment disorder instead of PTSD," Goldsmith told Truthout. "I believe this is a way for the Army to hide the levels of PTSD among its ranks, through the usage of misdiagnoses."
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Read more about here
Wounded Times: Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith another face of PTSD
Last Memorial Day, Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith tried to kill himself.
He had just been stop-lossed along with 80000 other soldiers as part of the surge of U.S
'Welcome, America, to the Second Vietnam.'
"That Dream Turned Into Nightmares"
By Spencer Ackerman 05/15/2008 12:02PM
"That blue Arabic graffiti right there is on the side of a school somewhere in Sadr City. I didn't know until three days ago when I had a good friend of mine who is Iraqi translate it for me, but in 2005, an Iraqi spraypainted that. And it translates directly to, 'Welcome, America, to the Second Vietnam.' Vietnam and Iraq have been compared not only by Iraq Veterans Against The War and Vietnam Veterans Against The War, but by the very people in Iraq who Americans think are too ignorant to realize what's going on in the world. These are smart, educated people that are dying every day."
He continued to the next slide, which showed more graffiti this time in English. THE US AND ALLAWI ARE TERRORMEN.
"That is the feeling in Sadr City. They feel they have been let down by America and by their own government that George Bush's administration put in power.
"Before I go on I want to say that I do not blame you, as Congress-members, for not ending the war, as many Americans do. I do not blame the president for not ending the war. I blame the people of America and their apathy, because they are -- you are responsible for following what they say. And they have not done a good enough job to convince the rest of your peers -- namely Republicans -- to fight to bring our troops home and save lives in both America and Iraq."
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No it isn't a second Vietnam. Most of the Vietnam veterans did one tour and the war, officially anyway, was over for them. Drafted or enlisted, DEROS came and they got onto planes headed for home. They thought they could just pick up their lives where they left off. Go back to their jobs, their wives and girlfriends, their friends or finally head for college just like everyone else. They thought they were still like everyone else but they didn't know the war still laid claim to their lives. They were done with Vietnam, but Vietnam was not done with them. She followed many of them home like a scorn woman, heartless but oh so patiently waiting to finally claim their lives. Little by little, Vietnam took one more piece of their soul until they would welcome death or find the strength to fight here off. Their battle goes on even today. But for the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, it is not one tour, one year, it's many tours and many years raising the risk of being eaten alive by PTSD by 50% each time they return to combat.
I wanted to see if there was more on Sgt. Goldsmith when I came across this site.
Daughters of Vietnam Veterans
DOVV.net is an online publication for Children of Veterans.
I’m your biggest war wound Dad. I’m covered in your battle scars. I’m stuck in the middle of a war that ended six years before I was even conceived. That war is the only thing I’m ever going to carry inside me, carry on my back.
So don’t you dare tell me to shut up about it. I need to believe this neverending fucking fight is worth it.
Do you understand me, Dad? We’re on the same side. Give me something. I’m your ally.
-Kate Mulvany, "The Seed" A Daughter of a Australian Vietnam Veteran
Daughters of Vietnam Vets. They still pay the price for what combat did to their fathers after all these years. I knew it was happening but I didn't know this site was there. It's one more reminder that combat does not end just because the President calls the troops home.
When will the daughters of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans begin their sites trying to find support and understanding enough so they can vent their frustration and find a shoulder to cry on? No this is not another Vietnam. This is opening the doors of hell to far too many they were not ready to take care of. Now obviously it was not from lack of understanding the depth of the wound or the numbers that would need help. This was neglect, callously planned to carry out and we have the evidence thanks to people like Paul Sullivan and the law suit filed against the VA.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
The war on the streets of Oakland
War on the streets
Violence in Oakland creates symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder
Unresolved trauma, anger creating cycle of violence
By Angela Woodall
Oakland Tribune
Article Created: 05/20/2008 08:23:22 PM PDT
OAKLAND
For many on the streets of Oakland, violence has become so commonplace, death so expected, there exists a sense of chilling resignation.
An almost sinister acceptance of violence persists, leaving generations inflicted with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, similar to those of a soldier returned from combat.
"It feels like at times like the Iraq war is right here on the streets," said Franceyez, an 18-year-old rapper. "More and more violence has been created over the years. It's getting repetitive."
The tragic irony is that the people most in need of coordinated, sustained support services to deal with the trauma that violence inflicts most often do not have access to those services until after they hurt themselves or someone else, experts say.
Jail, prison or juvenile hall are the most common entry points for getting help, a sign that necessary services are lacking in communities, these experts contend.
Many others who need help fall through the cracks.
Many who don't get the support they need never commit a serious violent crime. But a common thread among adults and youths who do get help is that they were subject to abuse, neglect and a lack of nurturing, experts say.
Frequently, generations of the same family suffer from undiagnosed mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety, caused by the stress of urban poverty, racism, community and domestic violence, poor-quality schools and limited access to health care.
They feel helpless or powerless, as if they "didn't get theirs and have to do for themselves,'' said Madeleine Nelson, chief psychiatric social worker for Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services, which oversees the county's mental health and substance abuse programs.
"Putting a gun in their hand makes them feel like they can rule the world," even if the power comes at the expense of others and fuels revenge killings, Nelson said.
go here for more
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_9327607
Violence in Oakland creates symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder
Unresolved trauma, anger creating cycle of violence
By Angela Woodall
Oakland Tribune
Article Created: 05/20/2008 08:23:22 PM PDT
OAKLAND
For many on the streets of Oakland, violence has become so commonplace, death so expected, there exists a sense of chilling resignation.
An almost sinister acceptance of violence persists, leaving generations inflicted with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, similar to those of a soldier returned from combat.
"It feels like at times like the Iraq war is right here on the streets," said Franceyez, an 18-year-old rapper. "More and more violence has been created over the years. It's getting repetitive."
The tragic irony is that the people most in need of coordinated, sustained support services to deal with the trauma that violence inflicts most often do not have access to those services until after they hurt themselves or someone else, experts say.
Jail, prison or juvenile hall are the most common entry points for getting help, a sign that necessary services are lacking in communities, these experts contend.
Many others who need help fall through the cracks.
Many who don't get the support they need never commit a serious violent crime. But a common thread among adults and youths who do get help is that they were subject to abuse, neglect and a lack of nurturing, experts say.
Frequently, generations of the same family suffer from undiagnosed mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety, caused by the stress of urban poverty, racism, community and domestic violence, poor-quality schools and limited access to health care.
They feel helpless or powerless, as if they "didn't get theirs and have to do for themselves,'' said Madeleine Nelson, chief psychiatric social worker for Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services, which oversees the county's mental health and substance abuse programs.
"Putting a gun in their hand makes them feel like they can rule the world," even if the power comes at the expense of others and fuels revenge killings, Nelson said.
go here for more
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_9327607
Study Finds High Ground Zero Stress
Study Finds High Ground Zero Stress
By ANTHONY DePALMA
Published: May 21, 2008
A new study by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests that the percentage of ground zero workers who suffered post-traumatic stress is roughly the same as for airline crash recovery workers and returning Afghanistan war veterans.
The study of 10,132 workers, published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives and released Tuesday, showed that roughly one in 10 rescue and recovery workers who toiled at the site of the destroyed World Trade Center in 2001 and 2002 reported disturbing flashbacks and recurring nightmares.
The results are based on self-reported symptoms provided by workers when they filled out a questionnaire during the study period, which began 10 months after the twin towers collapsed and continued for five years.
Workers with post-traumatic stress reported experiencing symptoms associated with the disorder — intrusive memories, insomnia and numbness of emotions — in the month before they were interviewed.
The study also found that stress can exacerbate a range of medical conditions, including heart, lung, stomach and autoimmune disorders, caused by environmental exposures.
Of the workers who participated in the study, 11.1 percent met the scientific criteria for probable post-traumatic stress. That is about the same percentage as for returning war veterans and is significantly higher than the 3 to 4 percent found in the general adult population.
go here for more
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/nyregion/21mental.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
Their bodies walked away,,,,,,,
but their minds never left.
With PTSD, they travel back in time. They see it all as if time became a magnet pulling them back to the event that changed them in an instant. The smell of the debris returns. The sounds of the crunching under their feet, the sounds of the equipment running, the voices of their friends, all of it reverberates in their ears. They feel their strength being drained from them, muscles ache from being tightened under the stress of the urgency. The disbelief of what they witnessed returns. It's like a horror movie replaying over and over again, only with this, they are there.
We are all just humans. No matter how much training provided to do jobs very few are willing to do, no training can dehumanize any of us enough to be untouched, unmoved, unchanged.
Soldiers train to kill but no one can train them to escape all that makes them human.
Police officers are trained to protect citizens and often this places their own life in danger. They are placed in positions when they have to make a life or death decision, but often they cannot simply deal with what comes after.
Firefighters and emergency responders, are trained to rescue and take care of citizens but there is no amount of training that can make them immune to the carnage they find after an accident or after a fire.
So how is it that so few of us understand what any of them go through? Is it because we depend on them to take care of us that we forget they sometimes need someone to take care of them?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Army surgeon Maj. Felix Oduwa lobbies hard to save Iraqi girl’s life
The medical rules of engagement
Army surgeon lobbies hard to save Iraqi girl’s life with treatment at American hospital
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, May 20, 2008
JISR DIYALA, Iraq — Puss oozes from the gaping hole drilled behind her right ear.
A tube intended to drain excess fluid around the brain protrudes into a ridge that runs down the side of the skull to her abdomen. The scarred and malnourished 7-month-old looks like the victim of a back alley surgical hack job.
Marian, who comes from a village south of Baghdad, is running out of time.
"This is not good at all," Maj. Felix Oduwa mutters to himself as he conducts his examination.
For Army doctors, who spend a portion of their time doing medical outreach, such cases are agonizing. Oduwa, a doctor serving with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, knows what this child needs. He just doesn’t know whether he can deliver it.
To send an Iraqi to a U.S. military hospital, rules of eligibility dictate that life, limb or eyesight must be at immediate risk of being lost. But determining immediate danger isn’t an exact science. There are gray areas, and it’s not yet clear if Marian meets the standard.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54941
Army surgeon lobbies hard to save Iraqi girl’s life with treatment at American hospital
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, May 20, 2008
JISR DIYALA, Iraq — Puss oozes from the gaping hole drilled behind her right ear.
A tube intended to drain excess fluid around the brain protrudes into a ridge that runs down the side of the skull to her abdomen. The scarred and malnourished 7-month-old looks like the victim of a back alley surgical hack job.
Marian, who comes from a village south of Baghdad, is running out of time.
"This is not good at all," Maj. Felix Oduwa mutters to himself as he conducts his examination.
For Army doctors, who spend a portion of their time doing medical outreach, such cases are agonizing. Oduwa, a doctor serving with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, knows what this child needs. He just doesn’t know whether he can deliver it.
To send an Iraqi to a U.S. military hospital, rules of eligibility dictate that life, limb or eyesight must be at immediate risk of being lost. But determining immediate danger isn’t an exact science. There are gray areas, and it’s not yet clear if Marian meets the standard.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54941
Mexican soldiers shoot at Marine's car
Mexican soldiers shoot at Marine's car
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
(05-20) 16:23 PDT PLAYAS DE ROSARITO, Mexico (AP) --
A Mexican official says soldiers shot at the car of a U.S. Marine who allegedly sped through a military checkpoint outside the beach town of Playas de Rosarito.
Police Chief Jorge Eduardo Montero says the gunfire shattered Pfc. Joshua Kendall Monnet's window around 4 a.m. Tuesday and sent a small piece of glass into his eye. He was being treated at a Tijuana hospital, where U.S. Consulate officials were interviewing him.
U.S. military officials say Monnet is assigned to Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. Playas de Rosarito is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of the California border.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/20/state/n160545D85.DTL&tsp=1
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
(05-20) 16:23 PDT PLAYAS DE ROSARITO, Mexico (AP) --
A Mexican official says soldiers shot at the car of a U.S. Marine who allegedly sped through a military checkpoint outside the beach town of Playas de Rosarito.
Police Chief Jorge Eduardo Montero says the gunfire shattered Pfc. Joshua Kendall Monnet's window around 4 a.m. Tuesday and sent a small piece of glass into his eye. He was being treated at a Tijuana hospital, where U.S. Consulate officials were interviewing him.
U.S. military officials say Monnet is assigned to Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. Playas de Rosarito is about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of the California border.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/20/state/n160545D85.DTL&tsp=1
Marine son is wounded, woman lobbies to expand family leave act
After Marine son is wounded, woman lobbies to expand family leave act
By Emily Brown ,Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, May 22, 2008
PITTSBURGH — Marcia Chmill was able to bring her son John, a corporal in the Marine Reserves, home to Pittsburgh after he had spent a month at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
He was alive. She was so happy, she never mourned the loss of her son’s left eye or dwelled on the fact that two-thirds of his left hand was gone. His physical therapy was going well. John was making progress after several surgeries. A halo stabilized his shattered right leg.
But then came her own setback.
Her employer, the University of Pittsburgh, denied her coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act and said if she took any more time off to help her son, her job would be terminated. Her three-year battle was just beginning.
"How am I going to take care of my son?" Chmill asked. "In my heart I knew a mother can get her son to heal better [than a stranger] by tending to him."
She needed a lawyer to say her rights had been denied, but she could never get that confirmation. So she started writing letters and e-mails: one to the Department of Labor, one to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, one to the Chief of Naval Operations, one to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The list goes on, from congressmen and senators right up to the president.
Then she went to work taking care of her son.
John Chmill was bedridden and needed his mom to change the bandages on his hand, seal a plastic bag around his knee halo before he took a bath, put antibiotic drops in his eye socket and use a bone growth stimulator on his leg. He was on seven medications and needed transportation to regular doctor appointments.
The injuries were a result of a suicide bomb. His Marine Reserve truck company was activated in 2004 for a second tour, and he was attached to an Army brigade in Ramadi, Iraq, driving armored trucks with equipment or transporting soldiers on their missions.
While carrying about 20 soldiers in a seven-ton armored truck in November 2004, an Iraqi police car strapped with a bomb rammed into his driver’s side door. Amazingly, no one was killed. Chmill took the brunt of the hit, losing his left eye (which is now replaced by an acrylic eye) and all but the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. His right leg was shattered.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54979
By Emily Brown ,Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, May 22, 2008
PITTSBURGH — Marcia Chmill was able to bring her son John, a corporal in the Marine Reserves, home to Pittsburgh after he had spent a month at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
He was alive. She was so happy, she never mourned the loss of her son’s left eye or dwelled on the fact that two-thirds of his left hand was gone. His physical therapy was going well. John was making progress after several surgeries. A halo stabilized his shattered right leg.
But then came her own setback.
Her employer, the University of Pittsburgh, denied her coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act and said if she took any more time off to help her son, her job would be terminated. Her three-year battle was just beginning.
"How am I going to take care of my son?" Chmill asked. "In my heart I knew a mother can get her son to heal better [than a stranger] by tending to him."
She needed a lawyer to say her rights had been denied, but she could never get that confirmation. So she started writing letters and e-mails: one to the Department of Labor, one to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, one to the Chief of Naval Operations, one to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The list goes on, from congressmen and senators right up to the president.
Then she went to work taking care of her son.
John Chmill was bedridden and needed his mom to change the bandages on his hand, seal a plastic bag around his knee halo before he took a bath, put antibiotic drops in his eye socket and use a bone growth stimulator on his leg. He was on seven medications and needed transportation to regular doctor appointments.
The injuries were a result of a suicide bomb. His Marine Reserve truck company was activated in 2004 for a second tour, and he was attached to an Army brigade in Ramadi, Iraq, driving armored trucks with equipment or transporting soldiers on their missions.
While carrying about 20 soldiers in a seven-ton armored truck in November 2004, an Iraqi police car strapped with a bomb rammed into his driver’s side door. Amazingly, no one was killed. Chmill took the brunt of the hit, losing his left eye (which is now replaced by an acrylic eye) and all but the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. His right leg was shattered.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54979
USS Kitty Hawk, Seaman Phillip Simmons saves Japanese man
USS Kitty Hawk sailor honored for risking his life to save Japanese man
Japanese train stations chime a little tune when a train is about to arrive. On the morning of April 8, that was the last thing Seaman Phillip Simmons wanted to hear. The USS Kitty Hawk sailor was on the tracks with an injured leg — the result of hopping off the platform to rescue a Japanese man who had fallen seconds before. Simmons pulled the man out and handed him over to waiting Japanese bystanders, but his injury kept him from climbing out on his own.
Japanese train stations chime a little tune when a train is about to arrive. On the morning of April 8, that was the last thing Seaman Phillip Simmons wanted to hear. The USS Kitty Hawk sailor was on the tracks with an injured leg — the result of hopping off the platform to rescue a Japanese man who had fallen seconds before. Simmons pulled the man out and handed him over to waiting Japanese bystanders, but his injury kept him from climbing out on his own.
Does this look like what a grateful nation should do?
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."
- George Washington
With these words, I close out my posts when I have something to add to the articles I put up or when I write an entire article. These words come at the end of all the emails I send out. These words matter to me and should matter to every American.
"........how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." How do we treat them? How do we show we appreciate them?
Is any of the following showing appreciation from a grateful nation?
Redeployments, when it has been proven increases the risk of developing PTSD. When it takes away a soldier from their family again and again and again. When it puts National Guardsmen and Reservists in financial crisis over and over again.
Stop-loss, when they are kept and redeployed past the time they agreed to serve the nation. When they are told they are going back into Iraq or Afghanistan no matter what they agreed to do.
Wounded being sent back into combat when the doctors have already classified them as disabled and unable to work. When they have already been exposed to so much trauma they have their minds wounded and need medication just to function. When they have physical injuries that would prevent anyone from holding down a regular job, yet they are sent back into combat.
Wounded being told they entered into the military already wounded in their minds and what they are suffering from has nothing to do with their service, no matter if the flashbacks and nightmares along with all the other symptoms associated with PTSD all have to do with their service. When they are given dishonorable discharges for the simple fact they were wounded by honorably serving the nation doing what they were sent to do, doing their duty to their country. When they have to come back and fight the same country to have their wounds taken care of and be able to support themselves with the disability they were entitled to receive, yet are told they do not deserve it. When they are told they need therapy but they can come back in six months or longer. Or call a suicide hotline and are told to call back some other time. When they are told that they need to seek help as soon as possible to stop PTSD from getting worse, then being told that if they seek help it will ruin their career or keep them from getting security clearance or keep them from staying in the military if that is what they want to do and are still able to do.
When they are told all the money in the world is not too much to find in order to wage the combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan but it is too much money to fully fund the VA, provide them everything they need to do their jobs and take care of their families with a livable wage so they do not need to ask for food stamps and hand outs from families. When they are told they can go to college when they get out but then are told that to provide them with enough funding to do this, it is just too generous and may make it more attractive to leave the military than to stay in. This being said by a man running for the Presidency, who never voted against funding the occupations they are risking their lives in.
Does any of this resemble a grateful nation to you? I doubt it does to them. I doubt it does to the children of Vietnam veterans, now at an age when they too can serve the nation as their parents did, but won't because they saw their parents suffer for far too long neglected and abandoned to suffer in silence.
In a few days, we will honor, or are supposed to honor the fallen, for Memorial Day. Do you think we have done their lives justice by all we allowed to happen to this generation or the last, or the one before that? Do you think we honored their sacrifice by treating the veterans as if they should feel lucky enough just to have come home alive and should expect nothing more from us because it's too expensive or too generous? What possible reason could anyone in congress or the White House have for not supporting the veterans and what they need as token gestures of true appreciation for all they were willing to give up for us?
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
"Shame on you" and "May God forgive you." Yarmouth MA
Ruling may force hundreds out of Cape Cod motels
Panel suspends owner's license
By David Abel
Globe Staff / May 20, 2008
YARMOUTH - At the back of the motel room where Kerri Blackwell, her husband, and four young daughters have lived for more than a year, behind the mounds of laundry, the cans sorted for recycling, and the crib where the 10-month-old baby sleeps, the family has posted a handwritten sign.
It says: "Blackwell's Palace."
"It's not much, but it's the best we could find," said Kerri Blackwell, 37, who works at a nearby Dunkin' Donuts shop and says she cannot find a more affordable apartment in the area. "There should be a better place for us to live, but we can't afford the first month, last month, and security deposit to get in. Or the utilities. The rents we've seen are up to 2,000 a month."
The Blackwells don't want to leave the Cavalier Motel, but they may have no choice. Yesterday, the Board of Health in Yarmouth, citing a year-old law that prohibits motel owners from renting units beyond 30 consecutive days to customers without a permanent address, voted to suspend the motel's license, potentially forcing the Blackwells and 250 other low-income people from the Cavalier and two other motels in town.
Board officials have rejected pleas from community members, some of whom shouted from the audience yesterday, "Shame on you" and "May God forgive you." They said they had no choice and were just following laws passed by the town's selectmen, some of whom defended the board's vote after the meeting.
"We're not pushing anyone out to the curb; we're just not going to issue motel licenses to those who aren't acting as motels," said Suzanne McAuliffe, chairwoman of Yarmouth's Board of Selectmen. "The living conditions of some of the people in these motels are horrendous. We want them to live in adequate places. This is about shutting down dangerous, substandard, health-hazard-inducing housing."
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Panel suspends owner's license
By David Abel
Globe Staff / May 20, 2008
YARMOUTH - At the back of the motel room where Kerri Blackwell, her husband, and four young daughters have lived for more than a year, behind the mounds of laundry, the cans sorted for recycling, and the crib where the 10-month-old baby sleeps, the family has posted a handwritten sign.
It says: "Blackwell's Palace."
"It's not much, but it's the best we could find," said Kerri Blackwell, 37, who works at a nearby Dunkin' Donuts shop and says she cannot find a more affordable apartment in the area. "There should be a better place for us to live, but we can't afford the first month, last month, and security deposit to get in. Or the utilities. The rents we've seen are up to 2,000 a month."
The Blackwells don't want to leave the Cavalier Motel, but they may have no choice. Yesterday, the Board of Health in Yarmouth, citing a year-old law that prohibits motel owners from renting units beyond 30 consecutive days to customers without a permanent address, voted to suspend the motel's license, potentially forcing the Blackwells and 250 other low-income people from the Cavalier and two other motels in town.
Board officials have rejected pleas from community members, some of whom shouted from the audience yesterday, "Shame on you" and "May God forgive you." They said they had no choice and were just following laws passed by the town's selectmen, some of whom defended the board's vote after the meeting.
"We're not pushing anyone out to the curb; we're just not going to issue motel licenses to those who aren't acting as motels," said Suzanne McAuliffe, chairwoman of Yarmouth's Board of Selectmen. "The living conditions of some of the people in these motels are horrendous. We want them to live in adequate places. This is about shutting down dangerous, substandard, health-hazard-inducing housing."
click post title for more
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