VA PTSD therapist yanked, veterans feel far from thanked

VA therapist yanked from clinic in Conway
Left adrift, say vets haunted by war
Arkansas Online
By Debra Hale-Shelton
June 17, 2018

"Had all things been normal, we would have anticipated that someone was leaving a position and we would have transitioned and have had someone in line to take that spot," she said in the interview later. "Because of the volatility and our concerns for safety, the decision had to be made to do this abruptly."

Larry Hay's Army tour in Vietnam was a half century ago, long before he married Margaret, his wife of 34 years.

The war has long ended; the trauma lingers.

"When he goes to bed at night, he goes back to hell. He goes back to Vietnam every night, and so do I," Margaret said. "We neither one get a good night sleep. ... I try to catch his nightmares."

Larry Hay enlisted in the Army in 1969. Three times, his helicopter was shot down in the jungles of Vietnam.

"At one point, he was on the flight lines where they were working on the helicopters, and one of his friends didn't get low enough," and Hay saw his friend decapitated, Margaret said.

Guard duty created more nightmares: "The Vietnamese would booby-trap the kids and tell them Americans have candy," Margaret said. "They [Americans] didn't have any choice. They had to shoot them. That really weighs on him. He absolutely loves children."

Margaret accompanies Larry to weekly support-group meetings and speaks for him when he isn't up to talking about the war.

"He has terrible nightmares ... to the point that he jerks so hard that he literally flops out of bed," Margaret said. "He's injured himself several times doing that."

Along with other Vietnam veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, Hay began getting help after the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System's outpatient clinic in Conway started two therapy support groups in 2013. The Vietnam veterans nicknamed theirs the Jungle Group; the Middle East veterans called theirs the Desert Group.
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PTSD Got a new name?

What drives the stigma is not the "D"
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 17, 2018

This morning on PTSD Patrol there is a special video on how some want to change the term of PTSD to PTS, as if that one little letter is keeping you from asking for help. 

Yep, they think that you are more afraid of the letter than anything else you faced off with that caused PTSD in the first place.

Will Google Learn that PTSD Got A New Name? by Laura Rittenhouse on Forbes June of last year. This is what she wrote.

On the subway recently, I complained about the MTA’s lousy service to the man sitting next to me. Every day, I said, there are more delays, route changes, and crowded cars. He agreed. Then I continued, “Of course there are worse things in life than subway disruptions.” He agreed.

He told me his brother-in-law, who was a veteran, had struggled with “PTSD” for two years, since returning from Afghanistan. Last week, he said, this man killed himself. “He took a gun to his head…”

“I’m so sorry,” I exclaimed. We sat and shared silence. I asked him, “Do you know that PTSD is now PTS for ‘post traumatic stress’? The “D” for “Disorder” was dropped.” He did not know. In fact, lots of folks, and Google, still don’t know this. I googled PTS and all I got was PTSD. Here is why it’s important to drop the D for "Disorder"

For some strange reason, as she wrote, she "broke the "silence" correcting him instead of comforting him. 

Aside from this guy pouring his heart out to this stranger on the subway and then getting smacked down with a correction, instead of showing empathy, she got it wrong. Imagine him sharing that kind of heartache with a stranger and then hearing a lesson on a letter!

Sure there are some folks pushing to drop the "D" but none of them really understand what the term means. If they think that one letter is feeding the stigma, perhaps they should consider what they are adding to it instead.

And then in the article she quoted George Carlin. It seems as if it has become her mission to make sure people stop using the D! She gave the same lesson to a waiter. After all, so many think it is adding to the stigma. Ya, I know, smacked me in the head too!

Rittenhouse ended with this thought.

Removing the stigma of “D” shows veterans that we support their physical, psychological and spiritual healing. It builds empathy and can transform lives.

Is she an expert on this? Nope! This is her bio.

I founded Rittenhouse Rankings Inc. after leaving Lehman Brothers in the '90s. I am the author of "Investing Between the Lines: How to Make Smarter Decisions by Decoding CEO Communications" and have been a featured author at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. My annual CEO Candor Surveys report on companies that excel in Candor and those that do not.

See, the thing is, they have been changing the name for decades, and that has not done much good, as we're seen by the results. We have also been seeing people running around the country talking about things they learned online. Most of the time their vast information comes from millions of keystrokes on Facebook with other experts sharing what they also assumed was true.

Rittenhouse is not alone. If you Google PTS you get "About 142,000,000 results (0.58 seconds)" with everything from Physical Therapy Specialist, Precision Test Solutions and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary established way back in 1794!

Google PTSD and you get PTSD and "About 37,700,000 results (0.43 seconds)"

I am offended by her being offended with the "D" after Vietnam veterans came back and fought for all the research done on what war did to those we sent, thus reaching out to every human who ever survived traumatic events. 

So let us take a look at what the "D" actually means.

Definition of disorder transitive verb
1 : to disturb the order of
2 : to disturb the regular or normal functions of

Normal is not having something put your life in danger. Combat puts your life in danger. Others are willing to risk their own lives to save someone else. You know, law enforcement, firefighters and emergency responders. Some of it even do it for free while in between their regular jobs and taking care of their own families.

My life had been in danger many times since childhood. I can tell you first hand there is nothing normal about any of this.

Now, we should also look at what "disturb" means. I am not taking about the great band Disturbed, but the word itself.

Definition of disturb transitive verb 1 a : to interfere with : interrupt disturbing the flow of traffic b : to alter the position or arrangement of the items on her desk had been disturbed c : to upset the natural and especially the ecological balance or relations of wetlands disturbed by development 2 a : to destroy the tranquility or composure of

But as with everything else, things can get put back into order, even if it is not the same order it was at the beginning.

The results of all the BS about the letter "D" has prevented the one thing veterans, and all others, need to hear. The "D" also means to move forward! You know, as in the "D" on your shifter letting you get from one place where you do not want to be to get to where you do want to get to.

No one can control how other people drive their vehicles but we do choose how we drive our own. In this case, that vehicle is your body.

We need to stop going in reverse and letting people put up road blocks deconstructing terms they do not understand when there are lives on the line, heartaches happening to more and more survivors because they never heard the news that they are not stuck where they are.

When they need real facts that will change the conversation, they have been forced into silence by people doing a hell of a lot of talking about things they do not understand.

Getting back to the band Disturbed, this is one of my favorite videos. The Sound Of Silence!

Fools, said I, you do not know 

Silence like a cancer grows 

Hear my words that I might teach you 

Take my arms that I might reach youBut my words, like silent raindrops fell 

And echoed in the wells of silence

Take a sledgehammer and break the silence! Understand that PTSD hit you and that you are not a victim, but a survivor. You beat it before and can do it again.

Today on PTSD Patrol we're talking about this and how some want to trivialize the term, as if it did not matter at all. They want to blame something they do not understand. If they would stop and think about what would really get rid of the stigma, then they'd be doing something worthwhile.

Guess it is just so much easier to say what they think instead of thinking about what they need to learn.

Go to PTSD Patrol and see what a difference can be made when we change the conversation from a knowledge based on assumptions into something empowering! 

UPDATE
Happy Father's Day Gunny!

Well the midnight headlights blind you on a rainy night
Steep grade up ahead, slow me down, makin' no time,
But I got to keep rollin'
Those windshield wipers slappin' out a tempo,
Keepin' perfect rhythm with the song on the radio,
But I got to keep rollin'
Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away, lookin' for a better way for me
Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away, lookin' for a sunny day

PTSD Experts need history lesson

I have been a news hawk for veterans for 36 years now, almost 11 years on this site alone. It does not matter which party control what to my readers and that is why this site was started.

Back in 2007 I received an email from a Marine serving in Iraq. He said he liked to read what I had on PTSD, but hated to have to get through my political BS. Long story short, I made a fool out of myself. He replied with one question. "Are you doing this for yourself or us?" Well, he got his answer because after he opened my eyes, I started Wounded Times. I promised from that moment on, he would only read about politicians when they did something for them or to them.

I kept my word. When President Bush was President, I went after him, and all other politicians. Same thing with President Obama and now, President Trump, as well as every member of Congress.

I love to praise people for being inspirational, heroic, noble, or anyone else doing something for the right reasons. I cannot stand those who take advantage of the troops or veterans, but Stolen Valor and veterans charity rip offs make my blood boil. Experts getting stuff wrong...well, that would be, 

Finding support for Veterans with PTSD in Southwest Georgia seemed like it may be a good article to read. It was not.

June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month, and psychologists say many war veterans struggle with this disorder. One Albany psychologist said PTSD with veterans has been pushed to the back, but he said in recent years, it's getting more recognition.

At least he got the June is PTSD Awareness month right...or was that the reporter?

As for the "recent years" just because he did not know what the rest of us knew...yes, decades ago. Where the hell did he think all the programs and research came from?

Vietnam veteran shares help for PTSD at VA

Vietnam Veteran: 'The VA has helped me through it and saved my sanity'
Fox Illinois
by Rachel Droze
Thursday, June 14th 2018

DECATUR, Ill. (WRSP) — About 200 people came out for a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday to celebrate the Decatur Community Based Outpatient Clinic, which moved from the east side of the city to the west side.

Decorated war hero James Hurd, who risked his life serving in the jungles of Vietnam, made the ceremonial cut.

"I went through several bad times over there,” Hurd said.

Hurd's introduction triggered his PTSD.

"Any reminder of [Vietnam] brings tears to my eyes 50 years later,” Hurd said.

In addition to helping with Hurd’s physical ailments, the VA clinics in Decatur and Danville also help with his mental health.

“I suffer from Post Traumatic Syndrome as a lot of Vietnam infantry veterans do,” Hurd said. "After 50 years I can deal with it, but the VA has helped me through it and saved my sanity.”
read more here

Doctor asked ER patient "are you dead"

This is not a regular hospital. The patient was having a mental health crisis and panic attack. Now, stop and think how some lawmakers think that veterans deserve to be treated like this under "Choice"

‘Are you dead sir?’ doctor asks patient in video that led to her removal from Los Gatos hospital
Mercury News
By JUDY PETERSON
PUBLISHED: June 15, 2018

“He collapsed on the grass outside the weight room,” Eitelgeorge said. “When we went outside he tried to get up but fell back down.” That’s when Eitelgeorge called 911 and “they (paramedics) took him away.”

A video of a doctor speaking harshly to an emergency room patient and asking if he’s dead has led to her removal from the work schedule at El Camino Hospital Los Gatos, a hospital spokeswoman said.

"Keegstra then pulls Bardwell’s arm and again tells him to sit up. Bardwell says he can’t get up and can’t inhale either. “He can’t inhale. Wow! He must be dead. Are you dead sir,” Keegstra asks. At one point Keegstra uttered an expletive."

The video shows the doctor, Beth Keegstra, mocking 20-year-old Samuel Bardwell, a newly-enrolled student at West Valley College in Saratoga who was brought to the hospital’s emergency room after becoming ill during a basketball practice.

Keegstra tells Bardwell, “I’m sorry sir, you were the least sick of all the people who are here who are dying. There, so you picked your head up. Now don’t try to tell me you can’t move. C’mon, sit up.”
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Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital Extra Mile Treats PTSD

Health care program for military, families is only 1 in state
Herald Net
By Stephanie Davey
Saturday, June 16, 2018

The hospital won’t turn a veteran away who might not have access to health care, Crockett said. If the person is homeless, they would be connected with Veteran Affairs offices in Seattle, and get help finding a place to stay.

SMOKEY POINT — People have traveled from as far as Okinawa, Japan to receive care here in Snohomish County.

The Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital now has a unit specializing in mental health care for those in the military. There’s no other program like it in the state.

The Extra Mile Military Care center opened in February, and earlier this month was dedicated in honor of retired Army Master Sgt. Leroy Petry. The ceremony was on the 74th anniversary of D-Day.

The hospital has been open for one year.

Veterans, current service members and their families can all use the program. All its staff have some sort of connection to the military, whether they’re a veteran themselves or they’ve worked closely with the community, said Matt Crockett, Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital CEO.

The program follows guidelines from the U.S. Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs. Practitioners use evidence-based care to treat disorders such as addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Canada faces "epidemic" of suicides among people who have PTSD

Senate passes bill to create PTSD strategy, sponsor hopes it curbs suicides
CTV News Canada
Rachel Aiello, Ottawa News Bureau Online Producer
June 14, 2018

Under the bill, Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor has to call a conference between her federal defence, veterans affairs, and public safety counterparts, alongside other stakeholders, within a year of the bill becoming law. Six months from then, the health minister has to report to Parliament with the official plan.

Hundreds of police patrol Parliament Hill before protest

OTTAWA – In 18 months, Canada is set to have its first federal plan to address post-traumatic stress disorder, after a private member's bill passed the Senate Thursday.

Bill C-211, sponsored by Conservative B.C. MP Todd Doherty, aims to curb what he calls an "epidemic" of suicides among people who have PTSD.

The bill requires the federal government to work alongside the provinces and territories, and members of the medical community, to create a federal framework to fully address post-traumatic stress disorder, from recognizing symptoms to treatment.

While the framework will apply generally, Doherty's inspiration for the bill was the paramedics, police officers, nurses, firefighters, military members, corrections officers, and RCMP who deal with PTSD as a result of their jobs.

"It is bittersweet. Today is a good day, but there are a lot of men and women that have lost their lives, and today we send a message that we, collectively, we are going to fight for those who fight for us," Doherty said.

He said numerous lives have been lost since his bill was first introduced, but in the last week alone, he's aware of four first responders who died by suicide.
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Two Wyandotte County Sheriff's Deputies Killed

Second sheriff's deputy dies following shooting in Kansas
CBS News
June 16, 2018

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A second sheriff's deputy has died after being shot while an inmate was being transported to a Kansas City courthouse. Kansas City, Kansas, police confirmed that 44-year-old Deputy Theresa King died early Saturday from injuries suffered when an inmate overpowered the two deputies.

The shooting happened Friday as an unidentified inmate was being moved. Police said it is possible that King and the other slain deputy, 35-year-old Patrick Rohrer, were shot with their own firearm, but police gave no other details.

Investigators said the inmate may have grabbed a weapon from one of the deputies during a struggle after he got out of a van transporting him late Friday morning. The inmate was shackled and in handcuffs, CBS affiliate KCTV reported.

Both officers were with the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Department. King had 13 years of service and Rohrer had been with the department for seven years.
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Trump Foundation accused of "vast illegal activity"

New York attorney general sues Trump Foundation, alleging vast illegal activity
NBC News
by Jane C. Timm
Jun.14.2018

The lawsuit seeks $2.8 million in restitution and additional penalties.

President-elect Donald Trump with his children Eric, left, Ivanka and Donald Jr. at Trump Tower on Jan. 11, 2017.Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images file

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood sued President Donald Trump and his charitable foundation on Thursday, alleging that the president and his adult children illegally used it for personal, business, and political expenses.

The lawsuit alleges illegal activity that took place over more than a decade, including "extensive unlawful political coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing transactions to benefit Mr. Trump's personal and business interests, and violations of basic legal obligations for nonprofit foundations," according to a statement from the attorney general's office.

The suit accuses the president, along with Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., of violating multiple counts of state and federal law. The New York attorney general's office began looking into the Trump Foundation in the summer of 2016, following an investigation by The Washington Post into the then-candidate's philanthropy.

Charity funds were also used to purchase personal items (including a $10,000 painting of Trump that was displayed in a Trump building, another incident of self-dealing, according to the petition), and influence the president's 2016 campaign, the suit said.
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Nebraska Disabled Veterans Cannot Get Care?

State senator claims VA Hospital locking out veterans from needed health care
KETV
Michelle Bandur
Jun 12, 2018

Carol Blood is working with veterans to get much needed equipment for hearing and visually impaired vets.

OMAHA, Neb.-
Nebraska State Senator Carol Blood said a growing number of veterans is being locked out of the VA health care system.

Some hearing and visually impaired veterans said they just want to be able to communicate with the TTY/TTD device.

"They are completely shut out of the VA system when it comes to communication," Shawn Wilbur, President of the Blinded Veterans Association said.

Wilbur said they can't do simple things like refilling a prescription because the VA lacks the proper equipment required by law.

"They are not equipped anywhere for these vets to do simplest of tasks," Wilbur said.

Another veteran advocated, Michael Young agreed.
read more here