Home Base run to help veterans with PTSD

UPDATE on this story 5/23/11

Fenway run raises $2.6m to aid veterans
By Stewart Bishop
Globe Correspondent / May 23, 2011

On a cool, overcast morning at Fenway Park yesterday, 33-year-old Meredith Griffin paid tribute to seven members of her family who have fought in the Iraq war — especially to the one who never made it home.

She joined more than 2,000 runners, including almost 300 active duty military service members, to raise money to support veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with combat stress or brain injuries.

Griffin’s cousin, Army Captain Anthony Palermo Jr. of Brockton, was killed in the line of duty in Baghdad in April 2007. Yesterday she ran the race wearing a shirt bearing Palermo’s photo, along with the dates of his birth and death.

“It’s really kind of a labor of love to run today and to really be involved in this cause,’’ said Griffin, of Raynham, as she stood in front of the Red Sox dugout after the race. “This is in honor of Tony and in honor of my other relatives that are still with us and that are still struggling.’’

Griffin said many of her family members who have served have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, a debilitating anxiety condition that often affects soldiers exposed to severe trauma.

“A lot of them, the ones that came home, have been diagnosed with PTSD. There’s a lot of emotion they don’t share with you, a lot of mood swings, fear, and mixed emotions. It’s hard to deal with all of that,’’ Griffin said. “We have a pretty amazing family and a great support group, but not everybody’s that lucky. “

Organizers said the 5.6-mile run — which began on Yawkey Way, stretched over the river to Memorial Drive and ended with runners crossing home plate inside the park — raised an estimated $2.6 million for the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program. It was the second annual Run to Home Base, and participants were required to raise $1,000.
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Fenway run raises $2.6m to aid veterans

Charity Run At Fenway To Raise Money For Local Veterans

Charity Run At Fenway To Raise Money For Local Veterans


9K Run To Home Base Supports Those Affected By Stress Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury

BOSTON -- One in five soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan struggles with a stress disorder, like PTSD, or traumatic brain injury, according to the Massachusetts General and The Red Sox Foundation's Home Base Program, which provides care to veterans with deployment and combat-related stress disorders and traumatic brain injury.

"Because we've had so many improvised explosive devices and RPGs go off near our nation's heroes, we have a number of people coming back with cognitive problems, memory issues, behavioral issues (and) problems with sleep," said Dr. Ross Zafonte, the traumatic brain injury director at the Home Base Program. "If we don't remember the same way, if we don't evaluate situations the same way, if we can't interact with our family in the same way, the consequences can be devastating."

Air Force veteran Dee Lane saw that firsthand with her brother Billy, who served in Iraq.

"It's all kind of kept within you," said Lane. "It was a very lonely, a very lonely five years, and he kept so much to himself."
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Charity Run At Fenway To Raise Money For Local Veterans