Gulf War Navy Veteran fighting for life...from flu

Father of 4 in ICU After Catching the Flu: 'The Thought of Losing Him Is Unbearable,' Wife Says
PEOPLE
Jason Duaine Hahn
January 5, 2018

“Shawn is a great man, he’s a stubborn, big-hearted softie that has a hard exterior,” Jennifer says of Burrough, a U.S. Navy veteran who fought in the Gulf War who she has been with for 17 years. “But he’s all mush on the inside.”

A father of four from Southern California is in a fight for his life after he contracted influenza during an intense flu season that has put stress on many of the nation’s hospitals as their emergency rooms continue to fill up with patients experiencing symptoms.

Shawn Burrough, 48, is now heavily sedated and breathing with the help of a ventilator at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, California, after first showing signs of influenza over the Christmas holiday.

“His symptoms were a cough, body aches, runny nose, congestion, low-grade fever—typical symptoms,” his wife, Jennifer Burroughs, 36, of Lakeside, California, tells PEOPLE. “Things got worse about day five when he said his chest was tightening and he said it was hard for him to get his breath.”

On Dec. 30, Burrough went to urgent care, where doctors prescribed ibuprofen and an inhaler and advised him to rest. Yet, because he is the sole provider for his four children, Burrough—an aerospace quality assurance inspector—felt compelled to continue working as his health worsened. On New Year’s Day, Jennifer found her husband on the couch in their living room rocking back and forth struggling to breathe.

Jennifer took her husband to the emergency room, where doctors discovered Burrough had contracted influenza type-B and was experiencing renal failure. Additionally, his white blood cell count was high and he had a severe case of pneumonia.

More than 36,000 people die and more than 200,000 are hospitalized each year in the United States because of the flu, and since the virus can sometimes lead to pneumonia, it becomes increasingly deadly. According to the CDC, the flu and pneumonia combination was the eighth leading cause of death in 2016.
read more here

Navy Dentist Murder-Suicide Investigation

Navy dentist, thought to have been killed by ex, known for compassion and charity work
Chicago Tribune 
Ted Gregory, Karen Berkowitz and Vikki Ortiz Healy 
January 5, 2018

Linette Lowe remembers that first impressions of Claire VanLandingham could be misleading.

Claire VanLandingham, 27, died of multiple gunshot wounds in Lake Forest on Jan. 3, 2018. (University of Louisville)

“She may have come off as a little bit shy or quiet,” said Lowe, a staff member at the church VanLandingham attended while earning her degree in dentistry at University of Louisville from 2013 through 2017. “But her compassion for people overwhelmed that in pretty short order. She was able to reach out.”

Lowe and others made heartbreaking recollections of the example VanLandingham set Friday, two days after authorities said she died in Lake Forest from multiple gunshots wounds. Police confirmed Friday that they are investigating her death as a suspected murder-suicide at the hands of a former boyfriend.

“That’s the best working theory we have right now. But we are still interviewing people and trying to put all the facts together,” Lake Forest Deputy Chief Robert Copeland said.

“So we cannot say conclusively that is what happened,” the deputy chief added, but said authorities “have no reason to believe there is another gunman somewhere.”

Police say VanLandingham, 27, was found with gunshot wounds outside a Dunkin’ Donuts on Western Avenue in Lake Forest early Wednesday and was pronounced dead at Lake Forest Hospital. A man later identified as Ryan Zike, of Louisville, Ky., was found dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head, officials said.
read more here

Iraq Veteran did not settle for joining VFW, he took command

Iraq War veteran becomes new Valley Stream VFW commander

LI Herald
By Melissa Koenig
January 5, 2018

Since he returned from his second tour in Iraq, Peter Yarmel has helped renovate the basement, add new sheetrock and fix the plumbing of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1790’s building, at 65 East Merrick Road in Valley Stream. 

Now, he serves as the commander of the post he helped restore.

Yarmel, a 39-year-old Valley Stream native who currently lives in Lynbrook, also served on the post’s bartending and cleanup committees, according to Al Goldberg, a Vietnam veteran. “He’s a hard worker, cares deeply for the post and put in a lot of time,” Goldberg said.

Yarmel did not campaign for the commander position. As the senior vice commander, he took over in November after Commander Joe Marando died of lymphoma at age 84. “I got really close to Joe… so he kind of handed the reins over to me when he was starting to get sick,” Yarmel said. He became the senior vice commander over a year ago.

Yarmel served in the Marine Corps for two tours in Iraq, both of which lasted seven months.

His first tour was from January 2003 to July 2003. During that time, he served as a radio field operator for a shock trauma platoon. Yarmel radioed for Medivacs to get injured soldiers off the battlefield and transport them to a hospital.

“We were right there in the battlefield,” Yarmel said. “We went and got ’em, surgeons did what they had to real quick and patched them up, and sent them back to the real hospitals.”

read more here

Vietnam Veterans Going to Super Bowl For Winning

Vietnam forged their friendship — their story is taking them to the Super Bowl
Chicago Tribune
Mary Schmich
January 6, 2018

Randy Kusiak can’t recall winning anything, ever, except a few accordion lessons when he was a kid, so when he received Jim Zwit’s email on Christmas morning, he wasn’t convinced that his luck was about to change.

Zwit was writing to say that he’d entered a Chicago Bears contest to win two tickets to the Super Bowl. As a season ticket holder, all he’d had to do was submit a 2,000-character essay on who he’d bring and why.

The contest letter went on to describe the months that followed, the men’s shared jungle patrols, their disputes over baseball and shared love of the Bears, and how on an April evening Zwit was severely injured in a firefight. Kusiak was one of the comrades who carried him to safety. 

Eight men in their Army unit died that night. Odds were that Zwit would too. He didn’t.He spent 18 months in hospitals, in Vietnam, Japan and back in Illinois, and wherever he was, Kusiak sent him letters and pictures. When both men made it home, Kusiak came to visit. 

“Randy NEVER forgot about me,” Zwit wrote, concluding his contest entry by noting that Kusiak and his wife had retired in Florida a few years ago. read more here

Another Veteran's Suicide Leaves More Questions

This is the headline.

"Veteran suicide prompts awareness, resources available for those who need help"

And this is the story of the veteran who committed suicide three days into this New Year!

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)  

It was just two days ago that a 31-year-old man from Potterville took his own life and the situation has left many wondering what could have been done to prevent this tragedy from happening. 

The 31-year-old man from Potterville was a military veteran who deputies reported suffered from PTSD, depression and a serious brain injury. 

It was just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday that Clinton County Sheriff’s Officials were dispatched to East Olive Elementary School in St. Johns for a report of a psychiatric person.When they arrived on scene, sheriff’s officials determined the man was suicidal and armed with a handgun. 

Authorities contacted a Clinton County negotiator who spoke with the man for several hours. Unfortunately, the man ended up taking his own life and died of a single gun-shot wound.

Click the link to read more on this from WLNS News. 

In the interview, Eric Calley talked about all the resources that are available for veterans. The question that never seems to get answered is, "Why don't they turn to these 'resources' when they are in crisis instead of giving up?"

Last year law enforcement had to face off with veterans almost every week. Sometimes, it ended with the veteran getting some help. Other times it ended with the veteran being arrested and facing charges. Too often, it ended with the veteran's life being taken and members of law enforcement having to deal with the loss that did not needed to happen.

These men and women go from risking their lives to not being willing to live any longer. Something totally wrong with all of this, but then there has been something totally wrong going on with everything being "available" but failing too many.