VA Delivers Cutting-Edge Bionics to Above-Knee Amputees
The Department of Veterans Affairs now has the technology to enable Veterans with above-the-knee amputations to walk with a healthy, natural gait, just the way they did before they were injured.
“The BiOM is a unique piece of technology that actually mimics the human body and allows an amputee to walk with the same, natural gait as a non-amputee,” said John Fox, supervisor of the Orthotic and Prosthetic Services Lab at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Va. “The system even contains a battery and a motor that provide you with a ‘power push-off,’ propelling you as well as the weight of the device. It literally mimics what our feet do when we walk.”
He added: “With a traditional prosthetic, you get tired because you’re using so much additional energy to move. With the BiOM, no additional effort is needed, so you don’t get tired.”
Over several hundred people with below-the-knee amputations currently wear the BiOM ankle, developed by a company called iWalk. Made possible by funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, iWalk’s BiOM ankle is the world’s first bionic ankle system that utilizes robotics to restore the function of missing anatomy in the calf muscle and Achilles tendon.
Recently, however, VA has begun mating the bionic ankle with a microprocessor knee to allow Veterans with above-the-knee amputations to walk normally. iWalk refers to this ankle-knee combo as the BiOM ‘AK.’
“This device is literally a miracle,” said William Gadsby, a 34-year-old Veteran who has been outfitted with both the BiOM ankle and a microprocessor knee known as the X2, made by a company called Ottobock. “A few months ago I was walking at nighttime and had my hands in my pockets. For the first time in four years I was able to look up at the stars without stopping to balance myself. I’ve been able to walk up steep hills and stairs. I can walk down steep grades, and have been able to do some Yoga stances. Just walking —in and of itself— is awesome.
“I recently took my family to the Outer Banks in North Carolina,” he continued. “I was able to walk up the sand dunes with no problem. In fact, I kept shouting to my wife and my three-year-old son to keep up with me! I also went hiking in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia with a 50-pound pack. I was going up some pretty steep trails, and I wasn’t getting tired.”
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Friday, January 18, 2013
Tracking a serial killer
Tracking a serial killer
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
January 18, 2013
John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, along with many more have been entered into the history books as being among the worst serial killers. There are more but you get the point. These people were evil but there was something twisted in their minds that made them the way they were. Some say they simply didn't have a soul.
While they were going around killing people, thousands of hours were spent trying to find them by law enforcement including the FBI with reporters tagging along trying to get the latest reports to make the print deadline. With all the people involved there were the victims and their families plus communities living in fear while the killers were on the loose.
One of my favorite TV shows is Criminal Minds. I fell in love with the show when it started and have been hooked ever since. While they attempt to call the serial killer they need to find the "unsub" for unknown subject, because they do not want to glorify the criminal, they end up referring back to the real serial killers with not just their names but the labels reporters pinned on them.
Right now there is a list of mass murders making the news from Newtown, to Aurora and going backwards over the years but what they usually leave out is what happened at Fort Hood.
When the body of a Private was found in his barracks on August 24, 2009, no one knew there was a serial killer on Fort Hood. Few even paid attention to the reports coming out of non-combat deaths. No one paid attention until all hell broke loose on November 5, 2009 and the entire world tuned in to see what was happening at Fort Hood when a Major opened fire on other soldiers. In October they were cheering with the news that 16,000 of their soldiers were coming home. Francheska Velez had been home from Iraq for just three days. She survived a year there but was murdered on Fort Hood. Just a day after Lt. Col. Juanita Warman arrived at Fort Hood, the shooting started.
After the mass murderer was stopped, the deadly results were just beginning. I wrote this on November 5th.
The list of reports goes on and on and all of them are bad. What this is leading up to is simple. In 2010 when the Army should have been doing everything humanly possible, especially after the mass murder at Fort Hood, they were doing something stunningly stupid leading up to this result.
Now you can click the link to see what the picture looks like. I wonder if you spotted the same thing I did. They are totally bored. The program was two years ago. A year after the Fort Hood massacre.
It is safe to say that Major monster shot the soldiers at Fort Hood but I wouldn't call him a serial killer. Some rightfully want the murders called "terrorist" actions. The soldiers killed and wounded are not treated the same way they would have been if they were shot by the "enemy" even though in this case, it appears the enemy was within. His trial has become a joke over the beard he suddenly says he has a "religious" obligation to have even though he didn't have one while he was serving before the murders. Even with what he did, he does not come close to the serial killer I have been hunting for 30 years.
This serial killer doesn't just strike out. It is patient. It stalks. It invades piece by piece claiming more and more of the target until they are consumed. It is not satisfied with just the target. It has to claim more and more until it is defeated and killed.
The serial killer has a name and it is PTSD.
The military reported 349 servicemen and women committed suicide last year. The total they say cannot be attributed to PTSD because many of the suicides happened without being connected to deployments, so they want us to think they cannot be connected to PTSD, but they avoid mentioning the fact that civilians get PTSD without being deployed and they also commit suicide. Sure the DOD points out the suicides of civilians but never mention the fact those numbers involve 8,030 veterans. Yes, that's right. The latest news is 22 veterans a day commit suicide.
This is from the CDC in 2010
It would be delivering justice if everyone stopped treating PTSD as if it was not claiming more lives than serial killers every year. Until we do, there will be more and more when there should be less and less considering the Suicide Prevention Hotline claims it rescued 30,000, veterans charities claim they are doing more and more while collecting your money and Congress passes more and more Bills while the DOD has unspent funds.
While most people in this country are about as oblivious as they can be, they pay attention when this serial killer shows up in their neighborhood.
I am not calm and focused as Hotchner, brave as Morgan, patient as JJ, smart as Reid or a great writer like Rossi, but we sure could use the mind of Garcia to hack into all the information being hidden in plain sight because the reporters know more about asking questions they care about than why our veterans and troops are killing themselves.
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
January 18, 2013
John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, along with many more have been entered into the history books as being among the worst serial killers. There are more but you get the point. These people were evil but there was something twisted in their minds that made them the way they were. Some say they simply didn't have a soul.
While they were going around killing people, thousands of hours were spent trying to find them by law enforcement including the FBI with reporters tagging along trying to get the latest reports to make the print deadline. With all the people involved there were the victims and their families plus communities living in fear while the killers were on the loose.
One of my favorite TV shows is Criminal Minds. I fell in love with the show when it started and have been hooked ever since. While they attempt to call the serial killer they need to find the "unsub" for unknown subject, because they do not want to glorify the criminal, they end up referring back to the real serial killers with not just their names but the labels reporters pinned on them.
Right now there is a list of mass murders making the news from Newtown, to Aurora and going backwards over the years but what they usually leave out is what happened at Fort Hood.
When the body of a Private was found in his barracks on August 24, 2009, no one knew there was a serial killer on Fort Hood. Few even paid attention to the reports coming out of non-combat deaths. No one paid attention until all hell broke loose on November 5, 2009 and the entire world tuned in to see what was happening at Fort Hood when a Major opened fire on other soldiers. In October they were cheering with the news that 16,000 of their soldiers were coming home. Francheska Velez had been home from Iraq for just three days. She survived a year there but was murdered on Fort Hood. Just a day after Lt. Col. Juanita Warman arrived at Fort Hood, the shooting started.
After the mass murderer was stopped, the deadly results were just beginning. I wrote this on November 5th.
Aftermath of Fort Hood shootings may be worseFive days after the killings, this came out.
Crisis teams will address the traumatic events of today, but the soldiers that have already been involved in traumatic events cutting into them will need far greater help than anyone is really prepared to deliver. This is my greatest fear for them.
Soldiers' mental health comes under scrutiny Ft. Hood has had 10 soldier suicides this year, the second-highest of any Army post. Families of troops who have committed suicide say troubled soldiers are slipping through the cracks.
The list of reports goes on and on and all of them are bad. What this is leading up to is simple. In 2010 when the Army should have been doing everything humanly possible, especially after the mass murder at Fort Hood, they were doing something stunningly stupid leading up to this result.
Fort Hood reports a surge in soldier deaths by suicide in 2012This part is fascinating. Under a photo on the page that I am not using there is this.
Suicides surged last year at Fort Hood, one of the largest military installations in the country, reflecting a national trend that saw a record number of suicides in the military in 2012.
The Army post in Central Texas reported that 19 soldiers either killed themselves or were suspected of doing it.
File 2010/Staff Photo
Soldiers attend a mandatory suicide prevention program at Fort Hood.
Now you can click the link to see what the picture looks like. I wonder if you spotted the same thing I did. They are totally bored. The program was two years ago. A year after the Fort Hood massacre.
What constitutes a serial killer is open to interpretation. In the United States, Congress has defined a serial killer as someone who murders a minimum of three or more people. By definition, a cooling-off period separates the murders, making them appear random or unconnected. The victims — often prostitutes, runaways or other vulnerable populations — rarely know their killer and may serve as a symbol that triggers the attack. In other words, a serial killer's motive tends to be psychological, not material.
It is safe to say that Major monster shot the soldiers at Fort Hood but I wouldn't call him a serial killer. Some rightfully want the murders called "terrorist" actions. The soldiers killed and wounded are not treated the same way they would have been if they were shot by the "enemy" even though in this case, it appears the enemy was within. His trial has become a joke over the beard he suddenly says he has a "religious" obligation to have even though he didn't have one while he was serving before the murders. Even with what he did, he does not come close to the serial killer I have been hunting for 30 years.
This serial killer doesn't just strike out. It is patient. It stalks. It invades piece by piece claiming more and more of the target until they are consumed. It is not satisfied with just the target. It has to claim more and more until it is defeated and killed.
The serial killer has a name and it is PTSD.
The military reported 349 servicemen and women committed suicide last year. The total they say cannot be attributed to PTSD because many of the suicides happened without being connected to deployments, so they want us to think they cannot be connected to PTSD, but they avoid mentioning the fact that civilians get PTSD without being deployed and they also commit suicide. Sure the DOD points out the suicides of civilians but never mention the fact those numbers involve 8,030 veterans. Yes, that's right. The latest news is 22 veterans a day commit suicide.
This is from the CDC in 2010
All suicides
Number of deaths: 38,364 Deaths per 100,000 population: 12.4
Cause of death rank: 10
Firearm suicides
Number of deaths: 19,392
Deaths per 100,000 population: 6.3
Suffocation suicides
Number of deaths: 9,493
Deaths per 100,000 population: 3.1
Poisoning suicides
Number of deaths: 6,599
Deaths per 100,000 population: 2.1
It would be delivering justice if everyone stopped treating PTSD as if it was not claiming more lives than serial killers every year. Until we do, there will be more and more when there should be less and less considering the Suicide Prevention Hotline claims it rescued 30,000, veterans charities claim they are doing more and more while collecting your money and Congress passes more and more Bills while the DOD has unspent funds.
While most people in this country are about as oblivious as they can be, they pay attention when this serial killer shows up in their neighborhood.
I am not calm and focused as Hotchner, brave as Morgan, patient as JJ, smart as Reid or a great writer like Rossi, but we sure could use the mind of Garcia to hack into all the information being hidden in plain sight because the reporters know more about asking questions they care about than why our veterans and troops are killing themselves.
Wounded Iraq War Veteran Injured In Avalanche
Sgt. Keith Zeier, Wounded Iraq War Veteran, Injured In Avalanche While Raising Money For Charity
By HOLLY RAMER
01/18/13
CONCORD, N.H. — An avalanche has halted an attempt by a retired Marine and amputee to climb the Northeast's highest peak, but if his past comments are any indication, he'll likely try again.
Retired Sgt. Keith Zeier was in the hospital Friday, a day after he and two fellow climbers were injured in an avalanche on Mount Washington. The climb was part of a project called "Ascents of Honor" and was the latest of several grueling challenges the 26-year-old has taken on to raise awareness and money for the families of special operations forces killed or wounded in action.
"In the middle of anything that is difficult, we have the option of quitting, slowing down, or changing course. My life has been about ignoring that option," Zeier wrote last month on the Ascents of Honor blog.
According to an update on the group's Facebook page, Zeier was part of a 12-member crew trying to reach the 6,288-foot summit Thursday evening when a slab avalanche brook loose and swept three climbers to the bottom of Huntington Ravine. Zeier and the other injured climbers were able to slowly make their way to rescuers who assisted them off the mountain, the group said.
"While this is certainly not the outcome we had hoped for, we are thankful that all in our party are safely off the mountain," wrote Thom Pollard, the project's head cameraman.
read more here
By HOLLY RAMER
01/18/13
CONCORD, N.H. — An avalanche has halted an attempt by a retired Marine and amputee to climb the Northeast's highest peak, but if his past comments are any indication, he'll likely try again.
Retired Sgt. Keith Zeier was in the hospital Friday, a day after he and two fellow climbers were injured in an avalanche on Mount Washington. The climb was part of a project called "Ascents of Honor" and was the latest of several grueling challenges the 26-year-old has taken on to raise awareness and money for the families of special operations forces killed or wounded in action.
"In the middle of anything that is difficult, we have the option of quitting, slowing down, or changing course. My life has been about ignoring that option," Zeier wrote last month on the Ascents of Honor blog.
According to an update on the group's Facebook page, Zeier was part of a 12-member crew trying to reach the 6,288-foot summit Thursday evening when a slab avalanche brook loose and swept three climbers to the bottom of Huntington Ravine. Zeier and the other injured climbers were able to slowly make their way to rescuers who assisted them off the mountain, the group said.
"While this is certainly not the outcome we had hoped for, we are thankful that all in our party are safely off the mountain," wrote Thom Pollard, the project's head cameraman.
read more here
Command Sgt. Maj. James Hubbard's widow warning on burn pits
Woman blames husband, veteran's death on toxic smoke from burning waste pits
KCTV News
Posted: Jan 17, 2013
By Laura McCallister, Multimedia Producer
By Alice Barr, News Reporter
LEAVENWORTH, KS
President Barack Obama just signed into law a bill that may help veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who were exposed to a potential health risk - pits of burning waste.
A Leavenworth, KS, woman blames exposure to that toxic smoke for her husband's death and is speaking out about the danger he and other veterans faced.
With more than three decades of service to the U.S. Army, Command Sgt. Maj. James Hubbard certainly earned his place in Leavenworth National Cemetery. But proving the reasons he is now buried there were caused by his service turned out to be much more difficult.
read more here
KCTV News
Posted: Jan 17, 2013
By Laura McCallister, Multimedia Producer
By Alice Barr, News Reporter
LEAVENWORTH, KS
President Barack Obama just signed into law a bill that may help veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who were exposed to a potential health risk - pits of burning waste.
A Leavenworth, KS, woman blames exposure to that toxic smoke for her husband's death and is speaking out about the danger he and other veterans faced.
With more than three decades of service to the U.S. Army, Command Sgt. Maj. James Hubbard certainly earned his place in Leavenworth National Cemetery. But proving the reasons he is now buried there were caused by his service turned out to be much more difficult.
read more here
Military, the only job you can't just quit
I keep arguing with people when they bring up "non-deployed" soldiers committing suicide. They cannot seem to understand that just going into the military can be very traumatic for these young "adults" unprepared for the reality of combat training against playing war on a computer game. They think they are ready for it. Most of them are.
They are wired differently, able to put others first to the point where they are willing to die for their sake, endure every hardship and follow orders, ready, willing and able to be sent across the world for what this country says they need to do.
Among the many things we don't talk about is that the jobs in the military are not jobs these young "adults" can just quit. They get out of high school thinking it may be a cool job to have then when they realize they have made a huge mistake getting in way over their heads, they cannot just walk away. They will lose a lot when their record will follow them the rest of their lives.
We take jobs all the time we end up hating fast. We either don't show up for work or we give our notice and go work for some other company. For them, it is a totally different story with a very tragic outcome.
The case of Marine recruit changing his mind in just four days, escaping and then being chased by police, shows just how hard it is for them to change their minds.
They are wired differently, able to put others first to the point where they are willing to die for their sake, endure every hardship and follow orders, ready, willing and able to be sent across the world for what this country says they need to do.
Among the many things we don't talk about is that the jobs in the military are not jobs these young "adults" can just quit. They get out of high school thinking it may be a cool job to have then when they realize they have made a huge mistake getting in way over their heads, they cannot just walk away. They will lose a lot when their record will follow them the rest of their lives.
We take jobs all the time we end up hating fast. We either don't show up for work or we give our notice and go work for some other company. For them, it is a totally different story with a very tragic outcome.
The case of Marine recruit changing his mind in just four days, escaping and then being chased by police, shows just how hard it is for them to change their minds.
Marine recruit arrested at San Diego airport after mad dash to freedom from boot camp
A 22-year-old Marine recruit apparently had second thoughts about going through with boot camp. The man scaled two fences, one topped with barbed wire, before being arrested at a nearby San Diego airport. Police say this isn’t the first time a Marine recruit attempted an escape from the training facility.
BY DAVID KNOWLES
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013
Perhaps “Semper Infidelis” would be a better motto for this Marine.
A Marine Corps recruit proved anything but faithful on Thursday when he scaled several fences and attempted an escape from boot camp.
Police arrested the 22-year-old recruit, who has not been identified by name, at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, an airport that borders the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
After scaling two fences, one of which was topped with barbed wire, the newly conscripted Marine darted across the tarmac shortly before 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, and hid in a janitor’s van near the Southwest Airlines terminal.
read more here
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