I Don't Know How to Help My Husband
MS. VICKI
Dear Ms. Vicki,
I am worried about my husband of one year. Before we met, he was enlisted in the Army. He had two tours and then became a recruiter. He has been out of the Army for several years and gets VA benefits.
He now has horrible anxiety. At least once a week, he has nights where he says he feels like he can’t breathe or is having a heart attack. We have visited the ER several times, where he is told it’s an anxiety attack and given a sedative.
Little things set him off into an angry rage. We have two dogs that we have rescued, and they are taking some time to train. If the dogs bark or have an accident in the house, he screams and yells to the point that I have to leave the room and the dogs are terrified.
He has not been able to hold a job for a long time because of anger issues. He tells me all the time that the best thing he has ever done was serving in the military and nothing in his life will ever measure up to that.
He has not been diagnosed with PTSD, and when I bring up the idea of getting help, he tells me that it is too difficult to go to the VA.
He is still in contact with several other soldiers and recently found out that one had been killed in combat. This really upset him (which I completely understand).
read more here
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Disabled Iraq war vet and his service dog pass a test, together
Disabled Iraq war vet and his service dog pass a test, together
Carolina Live
by Joel Allen
Posted: 10.30.2013
A former Marine and Grand Strand resident who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder passed a crucial test Wednesday.
Donnell Nelson needs a therapy dog to help him cope with civilian life, but the man who helped him acquire the dog wanted to make sure dog and owner were fully prepared to be a team.
Nelson served three tours of duty in Iraq. He says Maximus, his pit bull terrier, helps him deal with day-to-day pressures, after the war.
"I have anxiety around in crowds, pretty much public places, loud noises, those small things. The dog is there to give me that comfort."
Pit bulls tend to be stereotyped. Nelson says the dogs sometimes get a bad rap. But in a way, that's exactly why he wanted a dog like Maximus.
"So I chose the pit bull because he represents me as who he is, and I represent him as who I am," Nelson explained.
read more here
Carolina Live
by Joel Allen
Posted: 10.30.2013
A former Marine and Grand Strand resident who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder passed a crucial test Wednesday.
Donnell Nelson needs a therapy dog to help him cope with civilian life, but the man who helped him acquire the dog wanted to make sure dog and owner were fully prepared to be a team.
Nelson served three tours of duty in Iraq. He says Maximus, his pit bull terrier, helps him deal with day-to-day pressures, after the war.
"I have anxiety around in crowds, pretty much public places, loud noises, those small things. The dog is there to give me that comfort."
Pit bulls tend to be stereotyped. Nelson says the dogs sometimes get a bad rap. But in a way, that's exactly why he wanted a dog like Maximus.
"So I chose the pit bull because he represents me as who he is, and I represent him as who I am," Nelson explained.
read more here
Dentist gives veterans reason to smile: free dental care
Issaquah dentist gives veterans reason to smile: free dental care
When Dr. Theresa Cheng, a dentist and a mother, read a profile about a mother and her son who was severely wounded in Iraq, she was inspired to offer free dental care to veterans.
Seattle Times
By Sarah Zhang
Seattle Times staff reporter
October 31, 2013
Where to begin talking about what Rory Dunn has been through since his head was blown open that day in Fallujah? His best friend, who bled out next to him? His traumatic brain injury that has altered his personality? His forehead held together by a plastic prosthetic?
It’s hard to know where to begin, so Dr. Theresa Cheng concerns herself with what she knows best as a dentist: his teeth.
In the nine years since his unarmored Humvee in Iraq was hit by explosives on his 22nd birthday, Dunn has been making a long, hard recovery. His mother, Cynthia Lefever, has been by his side the whole time — sleeping next to her then-comatose son at Walter Reed Army National Military Medical Center and later traveling the country to advocate for veteran care.
Inspired by a profile of mother and son in The Seattle Times in 2008, Cheng, whose practice is in Issaquah, began providing free dental care for veterans in need and has signed on dozens of other professionals to do the same.
Cheng has three sons, now in their early 20s, and she remembers thinking what it must have been like for Dunn’s mother to get that phone call and to drop everything to go to her son in a hospital thousands of miles away.
“I was thinking how when something like this happens in your life, you just put everything else on hold,” Cheng said.
In the upheaval, dental care was sure to fall by the wayside — and she could do something about that.
Cheng originally planned to offer care to the wives of returning soldiers, thinking the vets got dental care through their veterans’ benefits. But she learned that the rules were more complicated, and for the most part, only vets who are considered completely disabled qualify for the dental program.
read more here
When Dr. Theresa Cheng, a dentist and a mother, read a profile about a mother and her son who was severely wounded in Iraq, she was inspired to offer free dental care to veterans.
Seattle Times
By Sarah Zhang
Seattle Times staff reporter
October 31, 2013
Where to begin talking about what Rory Dunn has been through since his head was blown open that day in Fallujah? His best friend, who bled out next to him? His traumatic brain injury that has altered his personality? His forehead held together by a plastic prosthetic?
It’s hard to know where to begin, so Dr. Theresa Cheng concerns herself with what she knows best as a dentist: his teeth.
In the nine years since his unarmored Humvee in Iraq was hit by explosives on his 22nd birthday, Dunn has been making a long, hard recovery. His mother, Cynthia Lefever, has been by his side the whole time — sleeping next to her then-comatose son at Walter Reed Army National Military Medical Center and later traveling the country to advocate for veteran care.
Inspired by a profile of mother and son in The Seattle Times in 2008, Cheng, whose practice is in Issaquah, began providing free dental care for veterans in need and has signed on dozens of other professionals to do the same.
Cheng has three sons, now in their early 20s, and she remembers thinking what it must have been like for Dunn’s mother to get that phone call and to drop everything to go to her son in a hospital thousands of miles away.
“I was thinking how when something like this happens in your life, you just put everything else on hold,” Cheng said.
In the upheaval, dental care was sure to fall by the wayside — and she could do something about that.
Cheng originally planned to offer care to the wives of returning soldiers, thinking the vets got dental care through their veterans’ benefits. But she learned that the rules were more complicated, and for the most part, only vets who are considered completely disabled qualify for the dental program.
read more here
Boston Red Sox Win!
Red Sox Win World Series With 6-1 Win Over Cardinals In Game 6
(VIDEO/PHOTOS)
AP
By RONALD BLUM
Posted: 10/30/2013
BOSTON -- BOSTON (AP) — There hasn't been a party like this in New England for nearly a century.
Turmoil to triumph. Worst to first.
Shane Victorino, symbolic of these resilient Sox, returned from a stiff back and got Boston rolling with a three-run double off the Green Monster against rookie sensation Michael Wacha.
John Lackey became the first pitcher to start and win a Series clincher for two different teams, allowing one run over 6 2-3 innings 11 years after his Game 7 victory as an Angels rookie in 2002.
read more here
(VIDEO/PHOTOS)
AP
By RONALD BLUM
Posted: 10/30/2013
BOSTON -- BOSTON (AP) — There hasn't been a party like this in New England for nearly a century.
Turmoil to triumph. Worst to first.
Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara and catcher David Ross celebrate after getting St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Carpenter to strike out and end Game 6 of baseball's World Series Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox won 6-1 to win the series. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, baseball's bearded wonders, capped their remarkable turnaround by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to win their third World Series championship in 10 seasons.
Shane Victorino, symbolic of these resilient Sox, returned from a stiff back and got Boston rolling with a three-run double off the Green Monster against rookie sensation Michael Wacha.
John Lackey became the first pitcher to start and win a Series clincher for two different teams, allowing one run over 6 2-3 innings 11 years after his Game 7 victory as an Angels rookie in 2002.
read more here
This isn't a sports blog but considering how much the Sox have done with their foundation for veterans and others, I think I will be forgiven for being very proud of my home town boys! Boston Red Sox Home Base
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Ex-VA Official spent money to see if they were wasting money?
VA official who resigned in spending scandal repeatedly pleads fifth at hearing but should have pleaded insanity! The day they signed the check it proved that one.
This is just the beginning of what happened. Given the fact they wasted money to see if they wasted money, it actually got worse.
Although the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing was short on new revelations, one exchange concerned the fact that the VA spent more than $400,000 on consultants — to determine whether or not they were wasting money.
This is just the beginning of what happened. Given the fact they wasted money to see if they wasted money, it actually got worse.
VA official who resigned in spending scandal repeatedly pleads fifth at hearing
NBC News
By Courtney Kube and Daniel Arkin
October 30, 2013
A former Department of Veterans Affairs official who resigned from his post last year amid revelations that the department had spent vast sums of taxpayer money on a pair of extravagant conferences was tight-lipped at a hearing Wednesday.
John Sepulveda, the former Assistant Secretary of Human Resources at the VA, invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination, repeatedly saying: "On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based on my Fifth Amendment constitutional privilege." Sepulveda said he was exercising his "privilege to remain silent" — and he refused to even acknowledge whether or not he ever worked for the VA.
He stepped down from his position last year amid revelations detailed in a congressional report that two 2011 conferences held in Orlando, Fla., near Walt Disney World, cost taxpayers $6.1 million, and included spa treatments, helicopter rides, and expensive tickets to shows.
read more here
Tea Party leaving veterans without food, or coffee or tea
Mistreating The Military-Nearly One Million Veterans To Suffer The Pain Of Food Stamp Cutbacks
Forbes
Rick Ungar
October 30, 2013
In just two days, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)— better known as food stamps—will experience a drop in benefits as the boost provided as a result of the 2009 stimulus bill expires.
Clearly, this comes as good news to the many Americans who believe that the food assistance program has grown out of control, allowing many low-income Americans to ‘scam” the taxpayers by using our tax dollars to feed their children at government expense.
One wonders, however, if the millions of Americans who are so pleased to see food stamp benefits lowered—with more cuts likely to come— understand the impact this will have on a segment of society that one would be loathe to call ‘freeloaders’ seeking to live on the largesse of their country?
read more here
On the subject, here's a few more
Food stamp cuts for veterans ‘unacceptable’ and ‘revolting’
Forbes
Rick Ungar
October 30, 2013
In just two days, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)— better known as food stamps—will experience a drop in benefits as the boost provided as a result of the 2009 stimulus bill expires.
Clearly, this comes as good news to the many Americans who believe that the food assistance program has grown out of control, allowing many low-income Americans to ‘scam” the taxpayers by using our tax dollars to feed their children at government expense.
One wonders, however, if the millions of Americans who are so pleased to see food stamp benefits lowered—with more cuts likely to come— understand the impact this will have on a segment of society that one would be loathe to call ‘freeloaders’ seeking to live on the largesse of their country?
read more here
On the subject, here's a few more
GOP On Food Stamp Program-Let 'Em Eat Peanut Butter And Root Beer
Rick Ungar
Contributor
GOP Congressman Stephen Fincher On A Mission From God-Starve The Poor While Personally Pocketing Millions In Farm Subsidies
Rick Ungar
Contributor
The Conservative Case For Welfare Reform Suffers Massive Blow Via Cato Institute Study
Rick Ungar
Contributor
It's Official: House Republicans Could Not Care Less About Their Own Party Or The Hungry-It's Just All About Them
Rick Ungar
Contributor
That would be the 900,000 veterans who offered up their lives for their country only to return home to find employment exceedingly difficult to come by—thereby creating the need for food stamps to provide for their families.
Food stamp cuts for veterans ‘unacceptable’ and ‘revolting’
Australia troops take on war games look
Superhero or supervillain? Soldiers dressed for futuristic battlefield
News.com AU
OCTOBER 30, 2013
News.com AU
OCTOBER 30, 2013
The equipment is designed to save the soldiers in modern battlefield situations.
THEY look like superheroes or supervillains from the big screen, only they are real life soldiers.
New high-tech equipment and body armour developed for armies around the world is turning troops into flesh and blood versions of video game warriors.
The science fiction video game-style equipment is designed to save the lives of soldiers in modern battlefield situations, such as roadside bombs or close combat with high-powered assault weapons. read more here
Navy surgeon saves lives in Afghanistan, Iraq
Navy surgeon saves lives in Afghanistan, Iraq
CBS NEWS
By NOREEN O'DONNELL
October 29, 2013
Even as a trauma surgeon, U.S. Navy Capt. Joseph Rappold was not fully prepared for the kinds of devastating injuries he encountered in Afghanistan and Iraq, the terrible damage done by the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that marked the wars.
"I think when you see one of these wounded in front of you for the first time it's like, jeez where do you start," he said.
But quickly, his training took over and although he never became numb, as a surgeon on the front line, he did compartmentalize the bloodshed around him, he said.
"We have a whole generation of surgeons now in the military that I don't think there's much that they can see that fazes them any more," he said. "But certainly the first time you see it, it clearly leaves an impression on your mind."
Rappold, 53, retired from the military in January 2012, after seven deployments as a medical corps officer to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was in Afghanistan with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and in Iraq in Baghdad, Balad, Mosul, Tikrit and in the fierce fighting in Ramadi in 2006.
Two years later, he served as the director of the Joint Theater Trauma System, responsible for all surgical care in both wars. And then just when he thought he had come back to the United States for good, he was asked to return to war one more time in 2009, to the British field hospital at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Connie Johnson knows Rappold through her work as a coordinator in the trauma program at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. He saved many lives, but took his losses hard, she said.
read more here
CBS NEWS
By NOREEN O'DONNELL
October 29, 2013
Even as a trauma surgeon, U.S. Navy Capt. Joseph Rappold was not fully prepared for the kinds of devastating injuries he encountered in Afghanistan and Iraq, the terrible damage done by the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that marked the wars.
"I think when you see one of these wounded in front of you for the first time it's like, jeez where do you start," he said.
But quickly, his training took over and although he never became numb, as a surgeon on the front line, he did compartmentalize the bloodshed around him, he said.
"We have a whole generation of surgeons now in the military that I don't think there's much that they can see that fazes them any more," he said. "But certainly the first time you see it, it clearly leaves an impression on your mind."
Rappold, 53, retired from the military in January 2012, after seven deployments as a medical corps officer to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was in Afghanistan with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and in Iraq in Baghdad, Balad, Mosul, Tikrit and in the fierce fighting in Ramadi in 2006.
Two years later, he served as the director of the Joint Theater Trauma System, responsible for all surgical care in both wars. And then just when he thought he had come back to the United States for good, he was asked to return to war one more time in 2009, to the British field hospital at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Connie Johnson knows Rappold through her work as a coordinator in the trauma program at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. He saved many lives, but took his losses hard, she said.
read more here
Readers at CBSNews.com were asked to nominate their heroes for Veterans Day. If you know a hero, whether for conduct during a war or after, submit the details here.
Veteran, 'Regardless of your disability you can overcome and succeed'
Veteran, 'Regardless of your disability you can overcome and succeed'
Daily News
By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE
October 29, 2013
EGLIN AFB — It took more than eight years for veteran Rob Vickers to fully realize he was suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder.
While serving with the Army National Guard in upstate New York, Vickers was called to ground zero after 9/11. Sifting through the rubble in a smoggy cloud of jet fuel, burnt carpet and body parts, he saw things that haunt him still.
He already had spent four years in the Marine Corps and hadn’t planned to re-enlist, but “Al Qaeda changed all that,” he said. He quickly signed up for the Air Force and was sent on two tours to Iraq.
At one point he saw an aircraft get shot down in front of him. His pilot took evasive action and Vickers’ head was thrown against the fuselage, possibly causing a brain injury.
“As soon as we hit the air field we were off, it wasn’t about who was hurt; ‘Hey Vickers, is your head OK?’ ” he said.
The migraines started in 2007. Then came the nerve damage; he had trouble standing on his feet for long periods of time. He realized he was getting angry over little things —spilled coffee or a paper jam in the copy machine. He had a lot of anxiety.
Vickers finally was diagnosed with PTSD in 2010 and medically retired.
read more here
Daily News
By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE
October 29, 2013
EGLIN AFB — It took more than eight years for veteran Rob Vickers to fully realize he was suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder.
While serving with the Army National Guard in upstate New York, Vickers was called to ground zero after 9/11. Sifting through the rubble in a smoggy cloud of jet fuel, burnt carpet and body parts, he saw things that haunt him still.
He already had spent four years in the Marine Corps and hadn’t planned to re-enlist, but “Al Qaeda changed all that,” he said. He quickly signed up for the Air Force and was sent on two tours to Iraq.
At one point he saw an aircraft get shot down in front of him. His pilot took evasive action and Vickers’ head was thrown against the fuselage, possibly causing a brain injury.
“As soon as we hit the air field we were off, it wasn’t about who was hurt; ‘Hey Vickers, is your head OK?’ ” he said.
The migraines started in 2007. Then came the nerve damage; he had trouble standing on his feet for long periods of time. He realized he was getting angry over little things —spilled coffee or a paper jam in the copy machine. He had a lot of anxiety.
Vickers finally was diagnosed with PTSD in 2010 and medically retired.
read more here
Canadian wounded troops face discharge before pension
Military boots injured soldiers before they qualify for pension
OTTAWA — The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Oct. 29 2013
Gravely injured troops are being booted from the military before they qualify for a pension, despite assurances to the contrary from the federal government.
A former reserve combat engineer was let go last Friday on a medical discharge after begging for months to remain until hitting the 10-year mark.
Corporal David Hawkins is about a year shy of being eligible for an indexed pension, but was released because his post-traumatic stress means he is unable to deploy overseas.
Cpl. Glen Kirkland is also among those leaving. His plea to remain in the army last June was answered by former defence minister Peter MacKay with a pledge he could stay until September, 2015 – and that no members are released until they are ready.
But the offer turned out to be exclusive to Cpl. Kirkland, who chose within the last few days to leave rather than be given special treatment.
“I joined as a member of a team, as a family,” Cpl. Kirkland said in an interview from Shilo, Man. “So, when I was offered an opportunity when no one else was, it just goes against everything I joined for.”
read more here
OTTAWA — The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Oct. 29 2013
Gravely injured troops are being booted from the military before they qualify for a pension, despite assurances to the contrary from the federal government.
A former reserve combat engineer was let go last Friday on a medical discharge after begging for months to remain until hitting the 10-year mark.
Corporal David Hawkins is about a year shy of being eligible for an indexed pension, but was released because his post-traumatic stress means he is unable to deploy overseas.
Cpl. Glen Kirkland is also among those leaving. His plea to remain in the army last June was answered by former defence minister Peter MacKay with a pledge he could stay until September, 2015 – and that no members are released until they are ready.
But the offer turned out to be exclusive to Cpl. Kirkland, who chose within the last few days to leave rather than be given special treatment.
“I joined as a member of a team, as a family,” Cpl. Kirkland said in an interview from Shilo, Man. “So, when I was offered an opportunity when no one else was, it just goes against everything I joined for.”
read more here
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