Local veteran of Iraq war to be featured on MTV show
Austin American-Statesman - Austin,TX,USA
Adam Coleman, 26, will share his experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder in 'True Life' episode.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Round Rock native Adam Coleman, 26, became a Marine to see the world and "do some good," he said. "I thought it'd be an easy way to be proactive and get something accomplished."
Coleman found himself in Iraq three times after he enlisted in 2002. After what he called increasingly violent deployments, Coleman was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder when he left the Marines. The disorder develops in some war veterans and survivors of other traumatic experiences and can trigger violent episodes and flashbacks. Coleman is one of three war veterans featured tonight in a new episode of MTV's documentary series "True Life."
MTV executives say the show reflects the state of youth culture at any given moment by documenting the lives of young people from myriad perspectives. Coleman agreed to be on the show, in part, to raise awareness about the increasing number of young war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress.
A recent Pentagon study estimates that one in six veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan reports symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The condition affects an estimated 7.7 million adults, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
"PTSD is something that people hear about, but they don't really know what it is," Coleman said. "They imagine Tom Cruise on ('Born on) the Fourth of July' or the crazy Vietnam veteran. But there are a lot of people out there — and new, younger guys coming back — with it. This will give people an opportunity to see what it is and what it's like."
Medication didn't seem to work, though he tried several types, he said. He moved to Alaska for a summer to get away, then tried taking sleeping pills to no avail. In July , he and several other veterans started Save a Vet (saveavet.com ), a charity that raises money to build a treatment center that will not require medication for war veterans suffering from PTSD.
click link above for more
Saturday, December 6, 2008
PTSD:MTV True Life Tries To Save A Vet
NY Firefighters Travel for NC Wounded Warriors
NY Firefighters Travel for NC Wounded Warriors
WNCT - Greenville,NC,USA
NY Firefighters Travel for NC Wounded Warriors
By Arthur Mondale
Reporter
Published: December 5, 2008
It’s something many of us will be doing, to support our troops this holiday season: sending care packages.
But what’s better than sending a simple package?
How about hand- delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of supplies in person.
It seems Santa and his helpers got a new mode of transportation in the form of a flat bed U-Haul truck…the elves, firefighters…but instead of coming from the North Pole, they came from the big apple.
“You can’t put a monetary price on this, said Daniel O’Keefe, a member of NY Nassau County Fire. “People stop working for days to get this done…raised $22,000 in about 4 hours in one night, we raised over $100,000 this year alone.“
Men and women representing all 71 fire stations in New York’s Nassau County brought a truck load of care packages to members of Camp Lejeine’s Wounded Warriors Battalion East.
From the basics like tee’s, and physical-training gear, to the pricier items like lap tops and I-pods, no marine left empty handed.
After all these first responders say these marine’s sacrifices are why they’re here.
click above for more of this and for video report
Friday, December 5, 2008
Urine found in ice at senior-living center
Urine found in ice at senior-living center: Owner suspects disgruntled workers
Urine soaked ice was found in an Idaho senior assisted living center. The owner says she thinks it might be disgruntled former employees.
By Meghann M. Cuniff
The Spokesman-Review
Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of UseSee more mapped stories
The soda tasted like urine, so she poured a new can into a different ice-filled glass.
After another sip, Kathleen Chmura realized it wasn't the soda that was tainted — it was the ice, taken from a bin at the By the Lake senior assisted living center she owns in Hayden, Idaho.
Chmura suspects the urine-soaked ice bin was the final move by an employee who'd joined two other employees in a September walkout to protest the firing of two employees three days earlier.
Before walking out, the three employees woke up the residents and told them the facility was closing and everyone had been fired, according to a Kootenai County Sheriff's Department report.
Chmura discovered the bin later that day.
She told the story to a Kootenai County deputy Wednesday while reporting suspected theft and fraud by the former employees.
"I won't put up with this crap," Chmura said in an interview Thursday.
Chmura fired two employees Sept. 23 because she suspected they'd been stealing money and prescription drugs from the center, according to the report by Deputy J. D. Brandel.
click post title for more
Urine soaked ice was found in an Idaho senior assisted living center. The owner says she thinks it might be disgruntled former employees.
By Meghann M. Cuniff
The Spokesman-Review
Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of UseSee more mapped stories
The soda tasted like urine, so she poured a new can into a different ice-filled glass.
After another sip, Kathleen Chmura realized it wasn't the soda that was tainted — it was the ice, taken from a bin at the By the Lake senior assisted living center she owns in Hayden, Idaho.
Chmura suspects the urine-soaked ice bin was the final move by an employee who'd joined two other employees in a September walkout to protest the firing of two employees three days earlier.
Before walking out, the three employees woke up the residents and told them the facility was closing and everyone had been fired, according to a Kootenai County Sheriff's Department report.
Chmura discovered the bin later that day.
She told the story to a Kootenai County deputy Wednesday while reporting suspected theft and fraud by the former employees.
"I won't put up with this crap," Chmura said in an interview Thursday.
Chmura fired two employees Sept. 23 because she suspected they'd been stealing money and prescription drugs from the center, according to the report by Deputy J. D. Brandel.
click post title for more
Man dies after EMTs suggest antacids
Man dies after EMTs suggest antacids
Authorities investigate emergency workers who misdiagnosed a man's heart attack for acid reflux. WJLA reports.
This one hits close to home. My brother died less than a week after he got laid off of a heart attack. He didn't feel well but didn't want to go to the doctors. He had a job interview coming up and didn't want to go to hospital because he would miss the interview. He died. My father, well we were constantly watching for him to need help and he always asked for it. He always got great care until the night he died. His heart just gave out. He was gone by the time the ambulance arrived. They got his heart to start again but it stopped for the last time.
The man who just died did what he was supposed to do. The family did what they were supposed to do. They called for help. Something was missed and they let him down.
Sailor who worked at Pentagon found dead
Sailor who worked at Pentagon found dead
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 5, 2008 16:17:00 EST
A sailor who worked in the Pentagon’s Office of the Chief of Naval Operations was found dead in her Virginia apartment Tuesday in an apparent homicide, local police said.
Yeoman 2nd Class (SW/AW) Juantissa Hill, 24, of Detroit, suffered a “violent death,” but the exact cause was not publicly disclosed, said Ashley Hildebrandt, a spokeswoman for police in Alexandria, Va.
At the Pentagon, Hill did secretarial work such as preparing letters from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead to the Office of Secretary of Defense, members of Congress, and foreign dignitaries.
Hill enlisted in 2004 and was named Junior Sailor of the Year by her previous command, Carrier Strike Group 2 in Norfolk, according to Navy records. She was assigned to the Pentagon in January.
On her MySpace page, Hill said she thought her move to the Pentagon was “a great stepping stone for my career.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/navy_homicide_cno_120508w/
Bystander dies in police shootout
Bystander dies in police shootout
Dec 5, 2008
PLANT CITY -- A civilian bystander died from a stray bullet this morning after a murder suspect stopped his vehicle amid a sheriff's pursuit and turned an assault weapon on veteran deputies, firing at least 17 rounds, the Sheriff's Office reported.
No deputies were wounded. The suspect got away.
Scores of law enforcement officers are sweeping Plant City today, going door to door seeking Fransisco Rangel, 25, of 4536 Golfwood Blvd. in Tampa, pictured.
Hillsborough Sheriff's Maj. Harold Winsett identified the shooting victim as Candelario Lagunes, 58, a passenger in a vehicle on J.L Redman Parkway.
It's unclear whether Lagunes was killed by Rangel's weapon or by the rounds returned by deputies, the Sheriff's Office said.
click above link for more
FDLE: Office affair began spiral that ended in suicide
FDLE: Office affair began spiral that ended in suicide
Rene Stutzman Sentinel Staff Writer
December 5, 2008
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement lawyer who killed himself at his New Smyrna Beach home in September had been having a yearlong affair with a co-worker, the secret got out, and both knew they were in trouble with the agency, according to a newly released state report.
Steve Brady, 58, was found dead in his home Sept. 22. Nearby was the body of his wife, Pamela Brady, 56.
Steve Brady had put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to his autopsy report.
New Smyrna Beach police would not say what killed Pamela Brady. There were no signs of trauma to her body, and that investigation is continuing.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its internal-affairs report on Steve Brady on Wednesday night. The agency did not explain what happened at the Bradys' home or why the longtime husband and wife wound up dead.
But the report made clear that Brady had broken agency rules, as had his lover, Vicki Canter, 45, of Port Orange, an FDLE investigator working in Daytona Beach.
The agency launched its investigation Aug. 15, the day after Canter's husband, Douglas Canter, 48, returned home early from an out-of-state trip. He found Brady in his living room with his wife, who was wearing only a towel.
click link for more
Rene Stutzman Sentinel Staff Writer
December 5, 2008
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement lawyer who killed himself at his New Smyrna Beach home in September had been having a yearlong affair with a co-worker, the secret got out, and both knew they were in trouble with the agency, according to a newly released state report.
Steve Brady, 58, was found dead in his home Sept. 22. Nearby was the body of his wife, Pamela Brady, 56.
Steve Brady had put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to his autopsy report.
New Smyrna Beach police would not say what killed Pamela Brady. There were no signs of trauma to her body, and that investigation is continuing.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its internal-affairs report on Steve Brady on Wednesday night. The agency did not explain what happened at the Bradys' home or why the longtime husband and wife wound up dead.
But the report made clear that Brady had broken agency rules, as had his lover, Vicki Canter, 45, of Port Orange, an FDLE investigator working in Daytona Beach.
The agency launched its investigation Aug. 15, the day after Canter's husband, Douglas Canter, 48, returned home early from an out-of-state trip. He found Brady in his living room with his wife, who was wearing only a towel.
click link for more
Lawrenceburg TN Man Had Mold Growing In His Mouth
How could anyone allow this to happen to another human?
Man Had Mold Growing In His Mouth
TBI Looks Into Neglect Allegations
Reported By Deanna Lambert
POSTED: 10:20 am CST December 5, 2008
LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. -- Staff at Maury Regional Medical Center allege that an elderly man staying at a local rest home was so neglected he had mold growing out of his mouth.
go here for more
http://www.wsmv.com/health/18211695/detail.html
linked from CNN
O.J. Simpson gets 15 years at new address, prison
No one is beyond redemption. I really hope this knocks some of the ego out of him.
Simpson sentenced to at least 15 years
A Las Vegas judge today sentenced fallen gridiron great O.J. Simpson to at least 15 years in prison for leading an armed hotel room confrontation over sports memorabilia in 2007. Earlier, an emotional Simpson apologized to the judge and said he did not know he was doing anything illegal. "I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody." developing story
Simpson sentenced to at least 15 years
A Las Vegas judge today sentenced fallen gridiron great O.J. Simpson to at least 15 years in prison for leading an armed hotel room confrontation over sports memorabilia in 2007. Earlier, an emotional Simpson apologized to the judge and said he did not know he was doing anything illegal. "I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody." developing story
From WWII to Vietnam, Ret.Command Sgt. Major William G. Bainbridge, passes away at 83
Funeral today for ex-sgt. maj. of the Army
Staff report
Posted : Friday Dec 5, 2008 9:20:52 EST
William G. Bainbridge, the fifth sergeant major of the Army, died Nov. 29 in Palm Bay, Fla.
Bainbridge, 83, was a veteran of two wars, beginning his career in 1943 as a draftee, and retiring in 1979 after four years as the Army’s senior enlisted soldier and primary noncommissioned officer adviser to the chief of staff.
A native of Galesburg, Ill., Bainbridge’s first unit of assignment was with the 423d Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division, the last Army division organized for service in World War II.
After deploying into the Ardennes region of Belgium in late 1944, Bainbridge’s regiment was overrun by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge.
Bainbridge was captured and would spend the remaining months of the war in a German POW camp before being liberated by the 6th Armored Division.
Upon returning to the United States, Bainbridge left active duty and joined the Army Reserve. He subsequently returned to active service during the mobilization for the Korean Conflict.
After a series of assignments and promotions in the United States and Germany, Bainbridge became a battalion sergeant major with the 1st Infantry Division, and deployed with the division to Vietnam, where he would become sergeant major of II Field Force.
Upon returning from Vietnam, Bainbridge had a series of high-level sergeant major assignments before becoming one of the Army’s first command sergeants major in 1968.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/army_bainbridge_120508w/
Staff report
Posted : Friday Dec 5, 2008 9:20:52 EST
William G. Bainbridge, the fifth sergeant major of the Army, died Nov. 29 in Palm Bay, Fla.
Bainbridge, 83, was a veteran of two wars, beginning his career in 1943 as a draftee, and retiring in 1979 after four years as the Army’s senior enlisted soldier and primary noncommissioned officer adviser to the chief of staff.
A native of Galesburg, Ill., Bainbridge’s first unit of assignment was with the 423d Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division, the last Army division organized for service in World War II.
After deploying into the Ardennes region of Belgium in late 1944, Bainbridge’s regiment was overrun by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge.
Bainbridge was captured and would spend the remaining months of the war in a German POW camp before being liberated by the 6th Armored Division.
Upon returning to the United States, Bainbridge left active duty and joined the Army Reserve. He subsequently returned to active service during the mobilization for the Korean Conflict.
After a series of assignments and promotions in the United States and Germany, Bainbridge became a battalion sergeant major with the 1st Infantry Division, and deployed with the division to Vietnam, where he would become sergeant major of II Field Force.
Upon returning from Vietnam, Bainbridge had a series of high-level sergeant major assignments before becoming one of the Army’s first command sergeants major in 1968.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/army_bainbridge_120508w/
Happy Holidays: Military Divorce Numbers On the Rise and why
This is what Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA has to say on this. He talks about the re-deployments, which is part of it. He talks about the economy, again, part of the problem. He also puts in the National Guard and Reservists, again, correct. But he left out the biggest reason for divorces of all.
What's the biggest reason people, regular people, have for getting divorced? They say their partner changed. Most of us can put up with the stress of money. After all that happens in just about every marriage. Most of us can put up with a lot if the person we married stays the way they were and we know we are loved. That is the reason we decide to marry the person we marry. We love them and they love us. We want to spend the rest of our lives with them and we expect them to stay just the way they are.
We may allow for slight changes because no one is really totally honest when we are dating. What we don't want to allow for is drastic changes. We don't know how to handle them. We don't know what to expect when the person we thought we knew changes. We end up wondering when the changes will stop happening and if we will even still like them.
This is PTSD. Unexpected drastic changes.
I was watching a video the other day addressing how a National Guardsman came home and was changed by PTSD. He was thinking about committing suicide. The wife was stunned and hurt by the fact her husband, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, wanted to leave her and wanted to die. She knew he had PTSD but still she didn't know enough to understand where all of that was coming from and it really didn't matter what she meant to him when he was being eaten up alive. The fact is, nothing we do, no matter how much we love them, we cannot get them past PTSD without professional help.
What knowledge does is it helps us to get them to go for help. It helps us help them. With support, they are a lot more likely to seek help. One more thing knowledge does, and this is a big one, it keeps us from making PTSD worse.
How many times have you heard about a wife getting punched out for waking up her husband from a nightmare? It happens a lot more times than you will ever hear about. It happens when they are also having a flashback. In those times, they are in the grips of danger and under tremendous stress, reliving having their lives on the line. If we understand this, we are a lot less likely to make serious mistakes that can escalate into violence. The same thing happens with arguments. They think differently, process things differently, remember differently. If we know what comes with PTSD, we know when to drop a subject and walk away before things get out of hand. We know we can talk about it later when things are calmer.
I've been married for 24 years and made all the mistakes the newer wives are making even knowing what I know. Even with all the knowledge in the world, we're still human emotional people. When those times come we're able to get over without holding a grudge and forgive. There are unacceptable things done that I will not put up with but he knows what they are. If I didn't know what came with PTSD, it would be nearly impossible to not take it personally.
What really gets me is when a wife will tell me they don't want to know what PTSD is, or a husband does not want to know what happened when his wife was deployed. When they refuse to acknowledge life away from them and what the men and women deployed into combat go thru, they are paving the road to disaster. If they have children, it's even worse. The kids end up more upset and pulling away from their parent and resenting both of them.
Until we all take a serious look at what goes into destroying a marriage in the military, we're doomed to see a lot more of them collapse when they could be saved.
We can talk all we want about the usual suspects in wreaking a marriage but there is nothing usual about putting PTSD into a household without acknowledging it. My marriage would have been over and done with within the first four years if I didn't know what was doing it to both of us. Too many marriages have failed when they could have been saved. We have enough problems living with a "normal" spouse that has not been changed by PTSD and the divorce rate in the civilian population proves that. When you add in PTSD, it's the prefection of misery if they don't fully understand it.
Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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
Happy Holidays: Military Divorce Numbers On the Rise
Paul RieckhoffPosted December 5, 2008 09:08 AM (EST)
The holidays are usually a joyous time to spend with family and friends, sipping eggnog, trading presents, singing carols. But this year given the gloomy economic circumstances and ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I'm reminded of a line from the holiday classic Christmas Vacation: "It's Christmas and we're all in misery."
For some military families, the stress of war has proven to be too much:
While 1st Lt. Mike Robison was serving in Iraq in 2003-04, his wife, Candance, depicted him as a "good, brave man"... But the marriage fell apart after Robison's return home to Texas. Candance said they argued over her role managing the household and how he treated her 10-year old daughter from a previous relationship.
"It absolutely changed him," Candance said of his deployment. "I still struggle every day--that year has affected every single aspect of my life."
Heartbreaking stories like the Robisons' are increasingly common. This week, new numbers from the Department of Defense confirm that the divorce rate among active-duty troops is rising.
click link above for more
What's the biggest reason people, regular people, have for getting divorced? They say their partner changed. Most of us can put up with the stress of money. After all that happens in just about every marriage. Most of us can put up with a lot if the person we married stays the way they were and we know we are loved. That is the reason we decide to marry the person we marry. We love them and they love us. We want to spend the rest of our lives with them and we expect them to stay just the way they are.
We may allow for slight changes because no one is really totally honest when we are dating. What we don't want to allow for is drastic changes. We don't know how to handle them. We don't know what to expect when the person we thought we knew changes. We end up wondering when the changes will stop happening and if we will even still like them.
This is PTSD. Unexpected drastic changes.
I was watching a video the other day addressing how a National Guardsman came home and was changed by PTSD. He was thinking about committing suicide. The wife was stunned and hurt by the fact her husband, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, wanted to leave her and wanted to die. She knew he had PTSD but still she didn't know enough to understand where all of that was coming from and it really didn't matter what she meant to him when he was being eaten up alive. The fact is, nothing we do, no matter how much we love them, we cannot get them past PTSD without professional help.
What knowledge does is it helps us to get them to go for help. It helps us help them. With support, they are a lot more likely to seek help. One more thing knowledge does, and this is a big one, it keeps us from making PTSD worse.
How many times have you heard about a wife getting punched out for waking up her husband from a nightmare? It happens a lot more times than you will ever hear about. It happens when they are also having a flashback. In those times, they are in the grips of danger and under tremendous stress, reliving having their lives on the line. If we understand this, we are a lot less likely to make serious mistakes that can escalate into violence. The same thing happens with arguments. They think differently, process things differently, remember differently. If we know what comes with PTSD, we know when to drop a subject and walk away before things get out of hand. We know we can talk about it later when things are calmer.
I've been married for 24 years and made all the mistakes the newer wives are making even knowing what I know. Even with all the knowledge in the world, we're still human emotional people. When those times come we're able to get over without holding a grudge and forgive. There are unacceptable things done that I will not put up with but he knows what they are. If I didn't know what came with PTSD, it would be nearly impossible to not take it personally.
What really gets me is when a wife will tell me they don't want to know what PTSD is, or a husband does not want to know what happened when his wife was deployed. When they refuse to acknowledge life away from them and what the men and women deployed into combat go thru, they are paving the road to disaster. If they have children, it's even worse. The kids end up more upset and pulling away from their parent and resenting both of them.
Until we all take a serious look at what goes into destroying a marriage in the military, we're doomed to see a lot more of them collapse when they could be saved.
We can talk all we want about the usual suspects in wreaking a marriage but there is nothing usual about putting PTSD into a household without acknowledging it. My marriage would have been over and done with within the first four years if I didn't know what was doing it to both of us. Too many marriages have failed when they could have been saved. We have enough problems living with a "normal" spouse that has not been changed by PTSD and the divorce rate in the civilian population proves that. When you add in PTSD, it's the prefection of misery if they don't fully understand it.
Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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
PTSD:The difference between "secondary stressor" and "secondary PTSD"
by Chaplain Kathie
If you have PTSD or someone in your family does, you may have heard these two terms. There is a big difference between the two of them. In plain English without all the medical terms no one can understand this is what they are.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Secondary Stressor
First you need to understand there are different levels of PTSD. It's why the VA has different levels of compensation for it. Some can have mild PTSD. They are able to function. They are able to have relationships and work. While they still have nightmares, flashbacks and mood swings, they are able to cope to a certain extent.
They go on believing that "it's not that bad" and they don't seek treatment. They just bury it. They bury it with work and doing things. They stuff it in the back of their minds and focus on other things.
We know that the healing rate for PTSD is higher the sooner they get help but with mild PTSD, it's easier to avoid doing anything about it. It happened to Vietnam veterans.
Because they didn't know what PTSD was when they came home, they thought they would just have to get used to being the way they are. After all, bad things come into everyone's life. Considering they heard all the usual denials from the people they were surrounded by, avoiding it was easier than facing it.
They managed to get by. That is until another traumatic event hit them hard. In our case, I miscarried twins. It was a very traumatic day for me but it was catastrophic for my husband. He had been my best friend. He took time off of work to go to appointments with my doctor. He worried about what I ate, if I was getting enough rest and if my feet were swelling too much. We knew he had PTSD even though he wanted to deny it.
My father, a Korean war veteran was used to seeing veterans like him. My Dad was 100%, well known at the DAV and the VA regional office, as well as with other veterans. The day he met Jack, I asked him what he thought. He said, "He seems like a nice guy, but that guy has shell shock." I told my Dad the new term was PTSD. What I didn't know back then was that it would get worse without being treated.
I was still thinking that when they had PTSD, it was what it was and couldn't get worse. I thought we could just deal with the "quirks" of having to sit in a certain place in our favorite restaurant. That having to leave a party or get-together early because it got too much for him, was no real problem. His twitches didn't bother me or our friends. His memory lapses were not that hard to deal with. I could handle all of it. The problem was, Jack wasn't.
The day I lost the twins, Jack was right there with me. He saw it all and saw me falling apart. Later, after it was over, I had to call Jack to come back to the hospital because I needed him with me. He didn't want to come. I had to beg him to come back. The secondary stressor hit him that hard, that fast. The man I thought I knew as well as myself, was gone. A stranger showed up at the hospital.
The next day as the doctor was explaining the egg just separated wrong, Jack was twitching like crazy, couldn't hear what the doctor was saying and kept talking about Vietnam and Agent Orange.
Our lives fell apart after that. All the symptoms of PTSD grew stronger and I was watching him die inside. I couldn't get him to listen to me about PTSD or that he needed help. My Dad tried to get him to go to the VA but Jack said the VA was for veterans who couldn't work and the veterans without limbs. It was not what he needed. He just needed time to "get over it" and become what he used to be. He saw the changes in himself but was still in denial.
It didn't matter what I knew or how hard I tried to get him to go to the VA. He just didn't want to hear it.
That is what a "secondary stressor" does. It's PTSD on steroids. If they seek help as soon as symptoms begin, PTSD stops getting worse. If they don't, if they bury it, it is storing up the energy to hit them hard. We're seeing it in the older veterans as they reach retirement. When they have nothing to help them bury it with, it all comes seeping out. When they look back at their lives, they are able to see all the signs and how hard they worked at stuffing it all in their minds.
Secondary PTSD
Secondary PTSD is when you live with someone with PTSD.
The way they act.
The way they treat others.
The mood swings.
The unacceptable behavior making you feel as if you don't matter at all. Especially when they don't seem to care about accountability, showing up on time, saying hateful things and taking off for days at a time.
Causing arguments getting out of control.
Their disconnect from their families.
Self-medicating to kill off the feelings they don't want to feel.
The list goes on.
If a child acts like a child and is noisy, they snap. If a child drops a glass and it crashes, they overreact. Any kind of simple commotion sends them over the edge. Nothing a child can do will make the PTSD parent happy. The negativity is extreme. Often the child believes their parent hates them. In turn, the child will begin to hate the parent.
It is all traumatic growing up with a parent and untreated PTSD. Much like the children of alcoholics have to heal from growing up with a "drunk" as a parent, children of PTSD parents also have to heal so they lead happier lives. They also need to have the help of mental health professionals just as their parent does.
When it is a spouse, it is the same because they treat everyone in the family the same way.
My Dad was an alcoholic and I grew up in a household that was under attack. He came home drunk most of the time. My oldest brother was usually his favorite target. He was beaten until he got bigger than our Dad. Then the fights were a two way street. There was a lot of smashing, breaking and punching. When I was 13, my Dad stopped drinking and joined AA. It took a long time for him to begin to change, but the damage was done to my family.
I understood what it was and that helped me to forgive him and come to terms with the way he treated us. There are still issues I have with feeling unloved at times because of the way my Mom ended reacting. She held a lot resentment and so did my two brothers. When it comes to me, nothing is ever good enough. I have a hard time dealing with any acclaim, people appreciating what I do and do not take compliments very well. I get uneasy with any kind of attention finding it more comfortable to sit in the back of the room.
When I was writing without my married name, I excused it by saying my husband wanted to remain private. The stigma of PTSD was still with him. The truth is that I wanted to remain anonymous as well. I wanted to just do what I do and then go sit in the back of the room letting everyone else get attention. I thought they deserved it more than I did anyway. I fight against the way I have been conditioned to respond. I still get sick to my stomach when I have to be the "center of attention" even though part of me believes I've worked very hard to get where I am in all of this, part of me remains the little kid that wanted to be invisible.
Living with my husband and PTSD, it's the same way. I understood what it was and was able to forgive him for the way he acted and sometimes still does. I know when the dark days are overshadowing his character. When those days come, I know when to pretty much stay away from him. I hesitate to say some things to him because I know he will not react appropriately. I stopped feeling attractive, stopped wearing makeup and dress plainly to avoid any attention. That is unless I have to wear the Chaplain's attire to be taken seriously. It is all a constant process and a growing experience but my faith has sustained me. Spiritual connection has been vital to me in all of this.
While I've had traumatic events happen in my life, plus almost dying 5 times, (I'll tell you about that some other time) it has all gone into what I deal with inside of me. I do not have PTSD but it has all gone into the way I feel inside about myself and other people. I think my life has helped me to understand how some people can develop PTSD at a rate of one out of three. Everything in our lives becomes a part of us. The good as well as the bad. We have to fight to overcome the bad and we have to sometimes force ourselves to focus on the good. That's all human nature.
I believe in a way we all have pieces of traumatic events in our lives if we really take an honest look at ourselves. I don't know anyone that has escaped trauma totally. When you lose a job, that's traumatic and the next job you have, you end up acting different until you feel comfortable on the new job. When you have a traumatic relationship, you act differently than you did in that relationship because deep inside you blame yourself for the way it went. Yet when it is a parent, you cannot get new parents to act differently with. When it's a spouse, you can find a new one but again, you will not be the same.
The thing is, in all of this the choice is your's to hang onto the bad, or grab the good. Focus on what is wrong or reach for what is good. I have a hard time trusting people. This goes into my amazement when I meet someone I can trust, when I see the actions that restore my faith in humanity. I may doubt, but I'm willing to believe when I see "fruits of their deeds" and believe in what I see with my own eyes. People can say anything they want but who they are inside, comes out in what they do. I saw my Dad overcome the alcoholism. I saw my Jack fight to heal and keeps fighting to stay level. Both of them could have become enemies in my heart but I saw what was good in them instead. They have made me stronger and gave me the ability to look at the cause of the pain they had within themselves so that I could come to terms with the pain they caused in me.
I hope you have a better understanding now of what the difference is between secondary stressor and secondary PTSD. More, I hope you can forgive the people in your life causing you pain. You need to see what caused the pain within them so that you can forgive them for your own pain.
Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Secondary Stressor
First you need to understand there are different levels of PTSD. It's why the VA has different levels of compensation for it. Some can have mild PTSD. They are able to function. They are able to have relationships and work. While they still have nightmares, flashbacks and mood swings, they are able to cope to a certain extent.
They go on believing that "it's not that bad" and they don't seek treatment. They just bury it. They bury it with work and doing things. They stuff it in the back of their minds and focus on other things.
We know that the healing rate for PTSD is higher the sooner they get help but with mild PTSD, it's easier to avoid doing anything about it. It happened to Vietnam veterans.
Because they didn't know what PTSD was when they came home, they thought they would just have to get used to being the way they are. After all, bad things come into everyone's life. Considering they heard all the usual denials from the people they were surrounded by, avoiding it was easier than facing it.
They managed to get by. That is until another traumatic event hit them hard. In our case, I miscarried twins. It was a very traumatic day for me but it was catastrophic for my husband. He had been my best friend. He took time off of work to go to appointments with my doctor. He worried about what I ate, if I was getting enough rest and if my feet were swelling too much. We knew he had PTSD even though he wanted to deny it.
My father, a Korean war veteran was used to seeing veterans like him. My Dad was 100%, well known at the DAV and the VA regional office, as well as with other veterans. The day he met Jack, I asked him what he thought. He said, "He seems like a nice guy, but that guy has shell shock." I told my Dad the new term was PTSD. What I didn't know back then was that it would get worse without being treated.
I was still thinking that when they had PTSD, it was what it was and couldn't get worse. I thought we could just deal with the "quirks" of having to sit in a certain place in our favorite restaurant. That having to leave a party or get-together early because it got too much for him, was no real problem. His twitches didn't bother me or our friends. His memory lapses were not that hard to deal with. I could handle all of it. The problem was, Jack wasn't.
The day I lost the twins, Jack was right there with me. He saw it all and saw me falling apart. Later, after it was over, I had to call Jack to come back to the hospital because I needed him with me. He didn't want to come. I had to beg him to come back. The secondary stressor hit him that hard, that fast. The man I thought I knew as well as myself, was gone. A stranger showed up at the hospital.
The next day as the doctor was explaining the egg just separated wrong, Jack was twitching like crazy, couldn't hear what the doctor was saying and kept talking about Vietnam and Agent Orange.
Our lives fell apart after that. All the symptoms of PTSD grew stronger and I was watching him die inside. I couldn't get him to listen to me about PTSD or that he needed help. My Dad tried to get him to go to the VA but Jack said the VA was for veterans who couldn't work and the veterans without limbs. It was not what he needed. He just needed time to "get over it" and become what he used to be. He saw the changes in himself but was still in denial.
It didn't matter what I knew or how hard I tried to get him to go to the VA. He just didn't want to hear it.
That is what a "secondary stressor" does. It's PTSD on steroids. If they seek help as soon as symptoms begin, PTSD stops getting worse. If they don't, if they bury it, it is storing up the energy to hit them hard. We're seeing it in the older veterans as they reach retirement. When they have nothing to help them bury it with, it all comes seeping out. When they look back at their lives, they are able to see all the signs and how hard they worked at stuffing it all in their minds.
Secondary PTSD
Secondary PTSD is when you live with someone with PTSD.
The way they act.
The way they treat others.
The mood swings.
The unacceptable behavior making you feel as if you don't matter at all. Especially when they don't seem to care about accountability, showing up on time, saying hateful things and taking off for days at a time.
Causing arguments getting out of control.
Their disconnect from their families.
Self-medicating to kill off the feelings they don't want to feel.
The list goes on.
If a child acts like a child and is noisy, they snap. If a child drops a glass and it crashes, they overreact. Any kind of simple commotion sends them over the edge. Nothing a child can do will make the PTSD parent happy. The negativity is extreme. Often the child believes their parent hates them. In turn, the child will begin to hate the parent.
It is all traumatic growing up with a parent and untreated PTSD. Much like the children of alcoholics have to heal from growing up with a "drunk" as a parent, children of PTSD parents also have to heal so they lead happier lives. They also need to have the help of mental health professionals just as their parent does.
When it is a spouse, it is the same because they treat everyone in the family the same way.
My Dad was an alcoholic and I grew up in a household that was under attack. He came home drunk most of the time. My oldest brother was usually his favorite target. He was beaten until he got bigger than our Dad. Then the fights were a two way street. There was a lot of smashing, breaking and punching. When I was 13, my Dad stopped drinking and joined AA. It took a long time for him to begin to change, but the damage was done to my family.
I understood what it was and that helped me to forgive him and come to terms with the way he treated us. There are still issues I have with feeling unloved at times because of the way my Mom ended reacting. She held a lot resentment and so did my two brothers. When it comes to me, nothing is ever good enough. I have a hard time dealing with any acclaim, people appreciating what I do and do not take compliments very well. I get uneasy with any kind of attention finding it more comfortable to sit in the back of the room.
When I was writing without my married name, I excused it by saying my husband wanted to remain private. The stigma of PTSD was still with him. The truth is that I wanted to remain anonymous as well. I wanted to just do what I do and then go sit in the back of the room letting everyone else get attention. I thought they deserved it more than I did anyway. I fight against the way I have been conditioned to respond. I still get sick to my stomach when I have to be the "center of attention" even though part of me believes I've worked very hard to get where I am in all of this, part of me remains the little kid that wanted to be invisible.
Living with my husband and PTSD, it's the same way. I understood what it was and was able to forgive him for the way he acted and sometimes still does. I know when the dark days are overshadowing his character. When those days come, I know when to pretty much stay away from him. I hesitate to say some things to him because I know he will not react appropriately. I stopped feeling attractive, stopped wearing makeup and dress plainly to avoid any attention. That is unless I have to wear the Chaplain's attire to be taken seriously. It is all a constant process and a growing experience but my faith has sustained me. Spiritual connection has been vital to me in all of this.
While I've had traumatic events happen in my life, plus almost dying 5 times, (I'll tell you about that some other time) it has all gone into what I deal with inside of me. I do not have PTSD but it has all gone into the way I feel inside about myself and other people. I think my life has helped me to understand how some people can develop PTSD at a rate of one out of three. Everything in our lives becomes a part of us. The good as well as the bad. We have to fight to overcome the bad and we have to sometimes force ourselves to focus on the good. That's all human nature.
I believe in a way we all have pieces of traumatic events in our lives if we really take an honest look at ourselves. I don't know anyone that has escaped trauma totally. When you lose a job, that's traumatic and the next job you have, you end up acting different until you feel comfortable on the new job. When you have a traumatic relationship, you act differently than you did in that relationship because deep inside you blame yourself for the way it went. Yet when it is a parent, you cannot get new parents to act differently with. When it's a spouse, you can find a new one but again, you will not be the same.
The thing is, in all of this the choice is your's to hang onto the bad, or grab the good. Focus on what is wrong or reach for what is good. I have a hard time trusting people. This goes into my amazement when I meet someone I can trust, when I see the actions that restore my faith in humanity. I may doubt, but I'm willing to believe when I see "fruits of their deeds" and believe in what I see with my own eyes. People can say anything they want but who they are inside, comes out in what they do. I saw my Dad overcome the alcoholism. I saw my Jack fight to heal and keeps fighting to stay level. Both of them could have become enemies in my heart but I saw what was good in them instead. They have made me stronger and gave me the ability to look at the cause of the pain they had within themselves so that I could come to terms with the pain they caused in me.
I hope you have a better understanding now of what the difference is between secondary stressor and secondary PTSD. More, I hope you can forgive the people in your life causing you pain. You need to see what caused the pain within them so that you can forgive them for your own pain.
Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Prosecutor: Trio used bat, knife, belt on shackled teen
Ok I admit it. When I first read this story a couple of days ago, I thought it would turn out to be some kind of a hoax. When I saw the news report on CNN last night, I finally believed this could happen. How it happened and what is wrong with the people who treated this kid like this is still beyond me.
Prosecutor: Trio used bat, knife, belt on shackled teen
Story Highlights
Three alleged abusers tortured teen with a bat, knife and belt, court documents say
Police: Teen escaped year of captivity Monday and walked into a fitness center
Bruised and battered, he wore only boxer shorts and bloody ankle shackle, police say
The 17-year-old had been in a group home but had run away
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- The three alleged abusers of a 17-year-old teen, who escaped captivity with a shackle on his ankle, tortured him with a bat, knife and belt, court documents released Thursday contend.
Police say a bruised, emaciated teen boy wandered to this gym after being held in a home in Tracy, California.
A 14-page criminal complaint adds more chilling details to the bizarre tale that shocked the central California city of Tracy.
The teen escaped a year of captivity Monday and walked into a fitness center in Tracy, bruised and battered, wearing only boxer shorts and with his bloody ankle shackled, police said.
Police arrested Caren Ramirez, 43; Kelly Layne Lau, 30; and her husband, Michael Luther Schumacher, 34, in the case. Lau and Ramirez did not enter pleas as they made their first court appearances Thursday. Bail was set at $ 2.2 million each, a court official said.
Ramirez is scheduled to appear in court at a later date, the official said.
The judge also issued a gag order for people connected to the case, Tracy police said.
Authorities this week have been trying to piece together how the teen ended up shackled in the home of Lau and Schumacher in Tracy, about 70 miles east of San Francisco
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/04/shackled.teen.trio/index.html
Report: Mild TBI linked to multiple ailments
Report: Mild TBI linked to multiple ailments
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 4, 2008 13:47:28 EST
A review of about 2,000 studies reveals that service members with mild traumatic brain injuries — or concussions — are more susceptible to depression, aggression, memory problems, dizziness and irritability.
And according to the review by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, those who suffered a moderate or severe brain injury are more likely to have dementia, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine dysfunction, growth hormone insufficiency, long-term social function problems such as unemployment or diminished relationships, and premature death.
The researchers also found evidence suggesting connections between people with moderate or severe head injuries and diabetes, psychosis and neurocognitive issues; and between mild head injuries and seizures, visual deterioration, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and post-traumatic stress disorder.
There also may be a link between decreased drug and alcohol use and traumatic brain injury, as well as suicides. The scientists said more research needs to be done in those areas.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_tbireport_120308w/
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 4, 2008 13:47:28 EST
A review of about 2,000 studies reveals that service members with mild traumatic brain injuries — or concussions — are more susceptible to depression, aggression, memory problems, dizziness and irritability.
And according to the review by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, those who suffered a moderate or severe brain injury are more likely to have dementia, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine dysfunction, growth hormone insufficiency, long-term social function problems such as unemployment or diminished relationships, and premature death.
The researchers also found evidence suggesting connections between people with moderate or severe head injuries and diabetes, psychosis and neurocognitive issues; and between mild head injuries and seizures, visual deterioration, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and post-traumatic stress disorder.
There also may be a link between decreased drug and alcohol use and traumatic brain injury, as well as suicides. The scientists said more research needs to be done in those areas.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_tbireport_120308w/
FBI: Girls told agent evangelist Alamo abused them
FBI: Girls told agent evangelist Alamo abused them
By PEGGY HARRIS, Associated Press Writer Peggy Harris, Associated Press Writer – Thu Dec 4, 6:19 pm ET
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Before evangelist Tony Alamo's arrest on federal sex charges, three girls who lived at his Arkansas compound told an FBI agent that he had sexually abused them, and one said he had threatened to have "someone take care of you" if she talked, according to a newly unsealed FBI affidavit.
Two of the girls said Alamo married them, one at age 9 and the other at age 11, according to the affidavit unsealed Tuesday. One also allegedly said she saw photos Alamo had taken of naked girls.
Alamo, 74, who heads Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, has pleaded not guilty to 10 federal counts that accuse him of violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for "prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." The minister has maintained that "consent is puberty" when it involves sex with young girls.
Thirty-two juveniles associated with Alamo have been taken into protective custody since a Sept. 20 raid on his compound in Fouke. Alamo was arrested in Arizona five days after the raid.
Before the raid, FBI agent M. Randall Harris filed an affidavit describing information he said he received in interviews with three girls who had lived at the compound and from a confidential informant.
One girl, now 17, said Alamo molested her when she was 8 and she and the minister "exchanged wedding vows" May 17, 2000, when she was 9.
go here for more
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081204/ap_on_re_us/evangelist_child_abuse
Linked from RawStory
By PEGGY HARRIS, Associated Press Writer Peggy Harris, Associated Press Writer – Thu Dec 4, 6:19 pm ET
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Before evangelist Tony Alamo's arrest on federal sex charges, three girls who lived at his Arkansas compound told an FBI agent that he had sexually abused them, and one said he had threatened to have "someone take care of you" if she talked, according to a newly unsealed FBI affidavit.
Two of the girls said Alamo married them, one at age 9 and the other at age 11, according to the affidavit unsealed Tuesday. One also allegedly said she saw photos Alamo had taken of naked girls.
Alamo, 74, who heads Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, has pleaded not guilty to 10 federal counts that accuse him of violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for "prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." The minister has maintained that "consent is puberty" when it involves sex with young girls.
Thirty-two juveniles associated with Alamo have been taken into protective custody since a Sept. 20 raid on his compound in Fouke. Alamo was arrested in Arizona five days after the raid.
Before the raid, FBI agent M. Randall Harris filed an affidavit describing information he said he received in interviews with three girls who had lived at the compound and from a confidential informant.
One girl, now 17, said Alamo molested her when she was 8 and she and the minister "exchanged wedding vows" May 17, 2000, when she was 9.
go here for more
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081204/ap_on_re_us/evangelist_child_abuse
Linked from RawStory
2 teens shot in Federal Way Washington leaves frightened neighborhood
Two teens found shot at Federal Way park
Two teens were found shot near a small park in a quiet Federal Way neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, police said. Police and medics responding to the scene of the double shooting found a 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old male with gunshot wounds.
By KOMO Staff Watch the story FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Two teens were found shot near a small park in a quiet Federal Way neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, police said.
Police and medics were called to the scene, in the 2800 block of South 340th Place, at about 2:35 p.m.
There they found a 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old male, each with gunshot wounds, at Alderdale Park in Federal Way, officials said. Both victims were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The 19-year-old reportedly was shot in the head and was rushed to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, officers said.
The 17-year-old has less serious, non-life-threatening injuries. He also is being treated at Harborview.
The double shootings frightened some area residents.
click link for more
Two teens were found shot near a small park in a quiet Federal Way neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, police said. Police and medics responding to the scene of the double shooting found a 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old male with gunshot wounds.
By KOMO Staff Watch the story FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Two teens were found shot near a small park in a quiet Federal Way neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, police said.
Police and medics were called to the scene, in the 2800 block of South 340th Place, at about 2:35 p.m.
There they found a 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old male, each with gunshot wounds, at Alderdale Park in Federal Way, officials said. Both victims were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The 19-year-old reportedly was shot in the head and was rushed to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, officers said.
The 17-year-old has less serious, non-life-threatening injuries. He also is being treated at Harborview.
The double shootings frightened some area residents.
click link for more
Shrine Built for NY Starbucks Homeless Man
Fleming may not have had a family to go home to but he sure found one at Starbucks. Once you read what they had to say when Fleming died, you'll know what I mean.
A Shrine for a Friend Who Made a Starbucks a Village
By PETER APPLEBOME
Nyack’s coffee drinkers are still coming to grips with the death of a compulsively affable, flirtatious, apparently homeless man who held court at a local Starbucks.
One by one, people made their own small contributions to the purple velvet shrine for Fleming Logan. Or was it Fleming Taylor? Everyone just called him Fleming, so we will, too.
There were red roses and modest bouquets, letters, cards and trinkets all left on the purple padded chair at the Starbucks on Main Street where he sat, chatted and took in the world every day for more than a year.
Some of the messages had the feel of letters to a child away at camp or a friend off on some long trip.
“Dear Fleming,” began one. “We all love you and miss you. It’s not the same without you here. You are a gem of a person. The joy you brought to our lives is incredible.”
Others were full of regret for words not spoken or things not done.
“Dear Fleming,” began another one. “I wish you were here now because I never got to tell you that I enjoyed our conversation and that you had a warm, funny personality. I liked when you’d see me coming down the street and say, ‘There she is,’ that hilarious voice like I was some famous movie star. I wish I had taken the opportunity to buy you that coat you said you needed and to be a lot kinder.” It was signed, “Love in Jesus, Stephanie.”
They found Fleming’s body in a stairwell just up the street from the Starbucks at 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 26. The Rockland County Medical Examiner’s office determined that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 62. A week later, Nyack’s coffee drinkers are still coming to grips with the apparently homeless man who, it seemed, had found a home, at least from the time Starbucks opened at 6 each morning until it closed at 10 p.m.
click link for more
Shackled teen was beaten daily
Shumacher speaks to ABC7 about torture case
Thursday, December 04, 2008 10:14 AM
By Alan Wang and Laura Anthony TRACY, CA (KGO) -- Kelly Shumacher speaks exclusively to ABC7's Alan Wang from jail and the details unravel.
The story gets more disturbing at every turn. On Wednesday night, ABC7's Alan Wang got an exclusive jailhouse interview with Kelly Schumacher, a woman accused in taking part in kidnapping and torture of a teenager.
Kelly Schumacher is being held in a maximum security portion of the San Joaquin County Jail. Wang says they were separated by a glass window and for 45 minutes she answered all of his questions.
Schumacher said the boy was, often times, chained to the coffee table while the family carried on with their daily lives. Then there were times he walked around freely.
Schumacher said they met Caren Ramirez through a mutual friend. They invited her and the boy, who they believed was her son, to live with them. She says Ramirez instructed them to discipline the boy the same way she did. Schumacher admits she hit the boy in the stomach and arm, and used an aluminum bat to hit him in the knee at least five times. She says her husband Mike hit him less than she did. Toward the end of the summer, Schumacher says the beatings were daily.
Wang asked Schumacher what Ramirez did and she said: "She burned him with a bat. She stuck it in the fireplace and pressed it against him ... I knew it was wrong in the back of my head."
But she did it because she was afraid Ramirez would hurt her children. Schumacher says only Ramirez could feed the teenage boy. She, her husband, her four children and Ramirez, would eat at the table while the boy watched in the living room.
She says he got a shower once a week or every other week. Schumacher said Ramirez, "Made him take it outside in the backyard with a hose. Then she took a pitcher of hot water and threw it on him."
On Monday, Schumacher says she was watching TV with her kids, Ramirez was upstairs, and that's when the boy bolted out the door and hopped over the wall. She said Ramirez told her to drop her off at the 99 Cent Store. She said that's the last time she saw her and 20 minutes later the police arrived.
go here for video and the rest
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=6534730
Thursday, December 04, 2008 10:14 AM
By Alan Wang and Laura Anthony TRACY, CA (KGO) -- Kelly Shumacher speaks exclusively to ABC7's Alan Wang from jail and the details unravel.
The story gets more disturbing at every turn. On Wednesday night, ABC7's Alan Wang got an exclusive jailhouse interview with Kelly Schumacher, a woman accused in taking part in kidnapping and torture of a teenager.
Kelly Schumacher is being held in a maximum security portion of the San Joaquin County Jail. Wang says they were separated by a glass window and for 45 minutes she answered all of his questions.
Schumacher said the boy was, often times, chained to the coffee table while the family carried on with their daily lives. Then there were times he walked around freely.
Schumacher said they met Caren Ramirez through a mutual friend. They invited her and the boy, who they believed was her son, to live with them. She says Ramirez instructed them to discipline the boy the same way she did. Schumacher admits she hit the boy in the stomach and arm, and used an aluminum bat to hit him in the knee at least five times. She says her husband Mike hit him less than she did. Toward the end of the summer, Schumacher says the beatings were daily.
Wang asked Schumacher what Ramirez did and she said: "She burned him with a bat. She stuck it in the fireplace and pressed it against him ... I knew it was wrong in the back of my head."
But she did it because she was afraid Ramirez would hurt her children. Schumacher says only Ramirez could feed the teenage boy. She, her husband, her four children and Ramirez, would eat at the table while the boy watched in the living room.
She says he got a shower once a week or every other week. Schumacher said Ramirez, "Made him take it outside in the backyard with a hose. Then she took a pitcher of hot water and threw it on him."
On Monday, Schumacher says she was watching TV with her kids, Ramirez was upstairs, and that's when the boy bolted out the door and hopped over the wall. She said Ramirez told her to drop her off at the 99 Cent Store. She said that's the last time she saw her and 20 minutes later the police arrived.
go here for video and the rest
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=6534730
Death of Hernando student touches many
Death of Hernando student touches many
By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
In print: Monday, December 1, 2008
SPRING HILL
A "No Outlet" sign is, quite literally, a big, yellow warning sign. But George and Suzanne Abell never saw it. Eric Millican made sure to hide the sign from his grandparents, sliding it underneath the spare tire in the trunk of his new Saturn Ion. The sign was both a trophy to go on his bedroom wall and proof of a simmering rebellious streak in an honor student who hardly ever broke the rules. "I didn't know he had it in him," said George Abell, chuckling at his grandson's shenanigans.
There are a lot of things the Abells, other family members and friends will never know about Eric. Beneath the smirk and normal schoolboy angst was a teen who lived in a great deal of pain. A 16-year-old student at Nature Coast Technical High School, Eric Millican had already had four open-heart surgeries, with a fifth likely on the way, and a stroke. He also suffered through debilitating migraine headaches and pancreatitis.
One day, for whatever reason, Eric had had enough.
He hanged himself Nov. 13 in the garage of his home in the 2400 block of Dustin Circle, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. He left a note. His grandparents found him a little after 5 p.m. Deputies are calling the death an apparent suicide. The case is open pending a report from the medical examiner.
The night after Eric's death, dozens of his friends made their way over to the Abells' home to pay their respects and sort through their grief. At some point in the evening, one of the boys took the keys to Eric's car, went outside and came back with the "No Outlet" sign.
By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
In print: Monday, December 1, 2008
SPRING HILL
A "No Outlet" sign is, quite literally, a big, yellow warning sign. But George and Suzanne Abell never saw it. Eric Millican made sure to hide the sign from his grandparents, sliding it underneath the spare tire in the trunk of his new Saturn Ion. The sign was both a trophy to go on his bedroom wall and proof of a simmering rebellious streak in an honor student who hardly ever broke the rules. "I didn't know he had it in him," said George Abell, chuckling at his grandson's shenanigans.
There are a lot of things the Abells, other family members and friends will never know about Eric. Beneath the smirk and normal schoolboy angst was a teen who lived in a great deal of pain. A 16-year-old student at Nature Coast Technical High School, Eric Millican had already had four open-heart surgeries, with a fifth likely on the way, and a stroke. He also suffered through debilitating migraine headaches and pancreatitis.
One day, for whatever reason, Eric had had enough.
He hanged himself Nov. 13 in the garage of his home in the 2400 block of Dustin Circle, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. He left a note. His grandparents found him a little after 5 p.m. Deputies are calling the death an apparent suicide. The case is open pending a report from the medical examiner.
The night after Eric's death, dozens of his friends made their way over to the Abells' home to pay their respects and sort through their grief. At some point in the evening, one of the boys took the keys to Eric's car, went outside and came back with the "No Outlet" sign.
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Hillsborough Deputy Malachi McCoy wins Medal of Heroism
Hillsborough Deputy Malachi McCoy wins Medal of Heroism
By Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer
In print: Wednesday, December 3, 2008
TAMPA — Six months ago on a Saturday morning, Hillsborough sheriff's Deputy Malachi McCoy's bullet ended one man's murderous rampage.
Today, Gov. Charlie Crist will honor McCoy along with 10 other recipients of the Medal of Heroism — an award presented to first responders who knowingly risk their lives in the line of duty.
"It's definitely an honor, getting an award from the governor," said McCoy, 29, as he drove Tuesday to Tallahassee with members of his family.
On June 7, McCoy shot and killed murder suspect Jorge Bello Garcia, 54, as Garcia struggled to wrestle the gun away from a wounded deputy.
By Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer
In print: Wednesday, December 3, 2008
TAMPA — Six months ago on a Saturday morning, Hillsborough sheriff's Deputy Malachi McCoy's bullet ended one man's murderous rampage.
Today, Gov. Charlie Crist will honor McCoy along with 10 other recipients of the Medal of Heroism — an award presented to first responders who knowingly risk their lives in the line of duty.
"It's definitely an honor, getting an award from the governor," said McCoy, 29, as he drove Tuesday to Tallahassee with members of his family.
On June 7, McCoy shot and killed murder suspect Jorge Bello Garcia, 54, as Garcia struggled to wrestle the gun away from a wounded deputy.
At the time, all three deputies said that, while they appreciated the recognition, they could not lose sight of the fact that three others died that day: Gina Marie Lamantia-Bello, 44, Garcia's estranged wife and a mother of two; and two of her friends — Hillsborough Fire Rescue Capt. Chris Artigas, 45, and Regina Ann Coffaro, 44.
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article924193.ece
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