First Responders fighting PTSD, you can walk in their shoes...sneakers

Iowa officer's shoe campaign helping first responders struggling with PTSD goes national

If you or your loved one is suffering from PTSD, you can contact the Code 9 Project here. Officer Slagle's shoes are back up for sale and can be found here.

FOX 28 News
by Kayla James
July 3rd 2019

It was just this spring Marion officer Ron Slagle announced the pre-ordering of his footwear, the Honor and Respect Shoes. 

The sneakers, sporting a patriotic design, are an effort of Slagle's to raise money for the Code 9 Project and Blue H.E.L.P. Both are organizations focusing on providing help and resources to first responders and their families battling post traumatic stress disorder.

On Wednesday morning, Officer Slagle appeared on "Fox and Friends" to discuss his shoes and his mission. Code 9 Project co-founder, Deborah Ortize, tells CBS2/Fox28 News the shoes quickly sold out after his appearance. In addition to them selling out for a brief period of time, Ortize says she's been receiving many calls and e-mails to the Code 9 Project's headquarters.
read more here

Iowa Mom shocked kids at school

Central Iowa mom surprises children following 10-month deployment to Afghanistan

ABC 9 News

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - Captain Keri Pender, of the Iowa National Guard, pulled a fast one on her three children Thursday in West Des Moines. She surprised her three children at their schools following a ten-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Before she left the United States, Pender, who has served with the Iowa National Guard for eight years, told her kids Caleb, a sixth grader; Devin, an eighth grader; and Bailey, a tenth grader, that she was going to be deployed longer than expected. go here for more

Idaho Soldier lives life to the fullest--After Lightning Stuck

Struck by lightning, Idaho Soldier lives life to the fullest
Idaho National Guard
By Capt. Robert Taylor
Oct. 2, 2018

Karla said A.J. was non-responsive for approximately 20 minutes before he breathed again. The ongoing storm prevented LifeFlight from responding so A.J. was transported to the hospital by ambulance. Local media reported two teammates were also injured by the lightning strike.

Boise, ID - Idaho Army National Guard Capt. A.J. Edwards poses for a photo while tossing a football Sept. 27, 2018, on Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. Edwards was struck by lightning on Sept. 30, 1998, at a football practice in Inkom, Idaho. He was wearing the helmet and holding the football shown. His teammates signed the football.

BOISE, Idaho - The National Weather Service estimates the odds of being struck by lightning in the United States are one out of 14,600. Despite those odds, Idaho Army National Guard Capt. A.J. Edwards was struck by lightning playing football as a 12-year-old 20 years ago.

Doctors told his parents he might not live, and that if he did live, he might not walk again.

Edwards beat those odds. The lightning temporary ended his life and caused him to relearn how to walk. He ran track for his school the next spring, ran a marathon the following year and earned an ROTC scholarship to Brigham Young University – Idaho. He enlisted into the Idaho Army National Guard in 2010 and earned his commission in 2013.

Lightning strikes

Edwards was struck by lightning Sept. 30, 1998. The last thing he remembers that day is riding his bike to football practice in Inkom, Idaho. His mother, Karla Edwards, remembers A.J. didn't want to go to practice that day because it was hot. She made him go anyway.
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250,000 radiology orders at VA canceled?

‘I knew something was not right’: Mass cancellations of diagnostic test orders at VA hospitals draw scrutiny
USA TODAY
Donovan Slack
Oct. 1, 2018

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Radiology technologist Jeff Dettbarn said he knew something was wrong at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, when a patient arrived in February 2017 for a CT scan, but the doctor’s order for it had been cancelled.

“To have a patient show up for a scan and not have an order – you’re like, ‘What the heck is going on?’” he told USA TODAY in an interview.

Dettbarn started collecting cancellation notices for diagnostic procedures such as CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds.

“I knew something was not right,” he said. “Because none of them were cancelled by a physician.”

Cancellations of more than 250,000 radiology orders at VA hospitals across the country since 2016 have raised questions about whether – in a rush to clear out outdated and duplicative diagnostic orders – some facilities failed to follow correct procedures. At issue is a concern over whether some medically necessary orders for CT scans and other imaging tests were cancelled improperly.

The VA inspector general is now auditing mass cancellations at eight VA medical centers “to determine whether VA processed radiology requests in a timely manner and appropriately managed canceled requests,” VA Inspector General Michael Missal said.

Those hospitals are in Tampa and Bay Pines, Florida; Salisbury, North Carolina; Cleveland; Dallas; Denver; Las Vegas; and Los Angeles.
read more here

Robotic therapy moving arms again

New equipment helps people regain arm movement 
Helps veterans regain movement to disabled arms 
Our Quad Cities
By: Yukare Nakayama 
Posted: Sep 18, 2018 

DAVENPORT, Iowa - A breakthrough in robotic therapy. The Myomo orthosis is now helping those suffering from paralyzed or weakened arms and hands gain back motion.

"I just really see the excitement and hope it brings patients," says Myomo business manager, Kim Smith. The device reads nerve signals from the surface of the skin. It then activates small motors to move the arm and hand. The brace amps up the weak muscle signal to move the limb.

This device is for those who've suffered from strokes or similar disabilities. Myomo's business manager says repetition of these movements can really do wonders. "We have some patients who are able to return to work. 

It's basically the future and the hope that there is a way to restore that arm," says Smith. Myomo is targeting a specific audience, veterans. About 3.8 million veterans in the U.S are disabled. 

This device not only helps them gain function back to their elbow or their arms but also their independence. And that is something the Veteran Outreach Center in Davenport is looking forward to. read more here

Veteran with PTSD grabbed 30 lb Meatloaf for comfort

Sad update! 
Meatloaf the Cat has passed on to kitty heaven. The 30-pound cat went viral after King's Harvest Pet Shelter in Davenport posted a picture of the adoptable chunky cat. 
read more here


30-lb shelter cat ‘Meatloaf' adopted by veteran in Iowa to help with PTSD
WSB TV Atlanta
By: Lauren Padgett, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Updated: Aug 21, 2018

A 30-pound cat, named Meatloaf (not pictured) was adopted from a shelter in Davenport, Iowa, by a veteran suffering from PTSD. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

DAVENPORT, Iowa - A shelter cat who became internet-famous for his physique has found a new home with an Iraq veteran living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Meatloaf, a 30-pound cat, was put up for adoption by King’s Harvest Animal Shelter in Davenport, Iowa, after his older owners weren’t able to take care of him, according to the Des Moines Register.
read more here

Reports on PTSD and fireworks focus on veterans

Reports on PTSD and fireworks focus on veterans because when they saw things "bursting in the night" in combat, people died.

CBS Los Angeles

“Sounds bother me […] because I don’t like loud noises,” former Marine master sergeant and Vietnam vet Tom Roulier told CBS2 News. “I’m still paranoid if I here like a loud bang or something like that. Sometimes I’ll duck, or I’ll just quickly look around to see where it came from.”

Siouxland Proud 

Sioux City, IOWA - As our country celebrates its independence, some of our most patriotic Americans dread this time of year. Michael Powell proudly spent 22 years serving our country."I was in Iraq constantly under mortar attacks, small arm fire, road side bombs," says Powell. And Like many veterans, he suffers from PTSD.

Community searches for Veteran's Service Dog

A community comes together to help Pennsylvania trucker, Army veteran find dog lost at Lake Station truck stop
NWI Times
Dylan Wallace
Jun 29, 2018 Updated 4 hrs ago

It wasn't until a few days ago when they questioned workers at the truck stop that one revealed they saw another truck driver scoop up a dog and take it with him. The employee's description of the dog matched Jade's, so Morris and DiBenedetto are certain it was her.

Gilson is from Pennsylvania and is a U.S. Army veteran who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The distance between his home and Lake Station hasn't stopped him from trying to find his dog. Co-workers give him routes that allow him to pass through Indiana, so he can stop by.

Truck driver Doug Gilson stopped by the TA truck stop in Lake Station on Thursday morning and stared at the empty seat next to him.

"It's tough looking over at that seat, and she's not there," Gilson said.

Just three weeks prior, on June 8, Gilson was driving to Iowa when he made a pit stop at that same truck stop around 1 a.m.

Accompanying him was his service dog, Jade — a female Australian shepherd and companion of Gilson's for 12 years.
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Iowa Senate Outlaws Fake Service Dogs

Iowa Senate passes bill outlawing fake service dogs
THE HILL
BY MORGAN GSTALTER
03/08/18

Iowans could face jail time if they lie about having a service dog under a new bill passed by the Iowa Senate on Wednesday.

The bill was introduced in response to veterans who came forward with concerns after their highly trained service dogs, meant to help with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were attacked in public by untrained companion animals, according to the Des Moines Register.

Dogs go through rigorous training to assist with PTSD, blindness, epilepsy and other types of disabilities.

People were buying dog harnesses and fake certificates online so their untrained dogs could pass as qualified service animals or service-animals-in-training in order to get certain privileges, the Register reported.
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Iowa Veterans Given Unproved PTSD Treatment?

It is stunning what comes out of some articles that you think may have absolutely nothing to do with veterans and then discover something like this!

"At the time, some mental health professionals were questioning the ministry's efforts to recruit hundreds of Iowa military veterans to participate in an unproven treatment program for post-traumatic stress disorder. “Operation Zhero” used unlicensed, volunteer counselors to provide free-of-charge counseling to soldiers who returned home from the war with PTSD."

You can read the rest of the article here 

State agency head fired; audit shows $380,000 of misspending

 The San Diego Union Tribune took a look at that group in 2016. The headline question was "Can faith help cure PTSD?

The answer to that question is, it can help them heal but not cure them. If I did not believe that, I would't have been invested in it for over 35 years. Point Man International Ministries would not have been invested in it for almost as long. It does work but only if it is done right.

The question in my mind right now is why would so many groups pop up around the country, claiming to be doing what has been done, and honestly, done right, for all these years? Especially when Point Man has been doing it with all generations of veterans and not like this...

"What he (Chad Robichaux) credits with saving him is faith. Now, his Temecula-based nonprofit group is part of a nationwide circle of Christianity-based programs focused on post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, as a generation of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer the aftermath of combat." 

Maybe if they knew the majority of the veterans the VA knows about, were not OEF or OIF veterans, but over the age of 50, they would have done things differently. 

Family and Church Members Send Guardsman Off With Promise

Local Soldier gets special surprise before deployment

WQAD News 8

Jenna Morton

September 29, 2017

They got "IGY6" tattooed, a permanent symbol that they have his back.

DAVENPORT - Today the Iowa National Guard had a send-off for its largest, single unit deployment since 2010.

Send-off ceremonies were held at several locations, including Muscatine, Davenport, Waterloo, and Boone.

Around 400 soldiers of the 248th Aviation support Battalion will head to Fort Hood, Texas for additional training before assignment to overseas locations.

One of those soldiers is Michael Novitske, from Davenport.

His family will tell you the goodbyes never get easier.

"It`s our second but our first with kids so it`s going to be extra hard," said Michael's wife Kaylee.

The Iowa Army National Guard facility in Davenport was packed with people to say goodbye.

However, for Michael's family and friend's actions speak louder than words. Michael's family and his church family went out and got matching tattoos.
read more here

Iraq Veteran With PTSD Got Keys to New Home

Iraq War veteran receives keys to new home

KWQC News
Gabriella Rusk
September 3, 2017

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Sunday at the QC Festival of Praise featured the Christian rock singer Crowder as the headlining act.

But before he took the stage, Sgt. Angel Camacho received a special gift.

"It means a lot to us," Camacho says.

After serving for 13 months in Iraq, Camacho returned home suffering from PTSD and needing the aid of a service dog. His wife quit her job in order to help her husband adjust.

At the concert, the Military Warriors Support Foundation gifted the Camacho family with keys to a new, mortgage free home.

"I can't even describe how wonderful it makes you feel because you see their lives change right in front of your eyes," says Retired Lt. General Leroy Sisco, who works with the Military Warriors Support Foundation.
read more here

Iowa Veteran Sued VA and Won

VA to pay Iowa vet $550,000 to settle suit over treatment

Associated Press

August 26, 2017

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Department of Veterans Affairs is paying an Iowa veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that he suffered life-shortening heart damage because of a three-year delay in treatment.

John Porter, 68, of Greenfield, sued last year in federal court in Des Moines after he says VA staff overlooked a test result showing his heart was failing. Porter told the Des Moines Register on Friday he was glad he lived long enough to see the case settled.

Porter's lawsuit says he went to the emergency room of the Des Moines VA hospital in October 2011 after feeling tightness in his chest, and tests showed he might have heart problems. The lawsuit said a follow-up test three weeks later showed his heart was functioning at less than half of normal levels, indicating heart failure, but no VA doctors told Porter of the findings.

read more here

Accident Claimed Life of 20 Year Old Camp Pendleton Marine

Camp Pendleton Marine Killed in Accident On Base

Military.com

August 6, 2017

Camp Pendleton, Calif. - Lance Cpl. Cody J. Haley, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, was gravely injured in an accident Aug. 4 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Haley, from Hardin, Iowa, was 20 years old.

Emergency medical personnel pronounced the Marine deceased at the site of the accident. Officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident at this time.

read more here

Iowa Veterans Charities Still Waiting For Donations After Fireworks Sales?

Following the Money: Where are the donations from fireworks to veterans?

KWWL 7 News

Elizabeth Amanieh

August 1, 2017

"These people are our heroes, why are they homeless?" said an Iowa Fireworks Company employee. "They deserve our respect, our admiration, they deserve our help..."

Iowa fireworks sales have come and gone. But some are questioning one company that advertised they would be donating a portion of the money they made to veterans. 

Iowa Fireworks Company, who operated a number of tents across the state, advertised with the slogan, "Buy Local, Help Nonprofits. Celebrate Freedom."

One of their tents selling fireworks was stationed along LaPorte Rd. in Waterloo. During their sales, the tent advertised they would be donating a portion of the money they made to veterans. 

In an interview with KWWL, an employee for Iowa Fireworks Company who was working the tent, explained where a portion of the sales profit would go.

"These people are our heroes, why are they homeless?" said an Iowa Fireworks Company employee. "They deserve our respect, our admiration, they deserve our help. And that's what we're here to do so a portion of the proceeds from this tent is going to be donated directly to the Americans for Independent Living who manage the Waterloo transitional veterans homes. "

After firework tent sales were over on July 8th, the tent closed down, and left. 24 days later, and neither Americans for Independent Living nor the Black Hawk County VA received a single penny in donations from Iowa Fireworks Company, which led KWWL to follow the money. 
read more here

Iowa Vietnam Veterans Served With Honor

They Served With Honor: North Iowa's Vietnam Veterans

Globe Gazette

From the Thanking North Iowa service members and veterans in 2016 series 
9 hrs ago

The Globe Gazette will publish 50 stories — starting on Veterans Day — about North Iowa’s Vietnam Veterans. The stories will appear on Sundays and Wednesdays. 

We’ll culminate this  "They Served With Honor" project with a special section (publishing on the day before Memorial Day) that will include all of the profiles. It will be great keepsake and resource for family members, educators and part-time historians.

read their stories here

Body of Missing Veteran Army Ranger Found

Missing Iowa veteran with PTSD found dead
WQAD News
BY SARAH TISINGER
FEBRUARY 2, 2017

"My heart is absolutely broken with the news I got today. Aaron was a Army Ranger vet, my husband , a father to our 2 beautiful daughters and a great friends to many and he is no longer with us... I am overwhelmed by all the texts and Facebook messages so please don't take offense if I don't get back to you. Aaron Goff I loved you more than anybody could imagine and I don't know what I and your kids are going to do without you.. I love you."

COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa — An Iowa veteran who has been missing since Jan. 30 has been found dead.

Authorities say they received a call around 7:40 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, by a person who found a body under the Monkey Run Bridge on Second Street in Columbus Junction. The body has been identified as missing 34-year-old Aaron Goff.

Goff was reported missing by family in the early hours of Monday, Jan. 30, says the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office.
read more here

Brother Speed Motorcycle Club Fighting Battles For Veterans After War

Local motorcycle club is taking the war to PTSD; SEICAA Veterans Services and Veterans Court receive donation from BSMC, Eastside
Iowa State Journal
By Alessandra Toscanelli For the Journal
November 21, 2016

Hook said he was inspired to champion the cause after hearing stories of those suffering PTSD, watching a YouTube video regarding PTSD and getting in touch with Idaho State University’s Todd Johnson, the director of the university’s Veteran Student Services Center.

POCATELLO — The Eastside chapter of the Brother Speed Motorcycle Club raised money to support the war on PTSD and used the funds from the campaign to help SEICAA’s Veterans Services this last October.

On Nov. 7, the SEICAA Veterans Services and the Sixth Judicial District’s Veterans Court received a combined donation of $3,000 from the motorcycle club.

Those in attendance were Sixth District Magistrate Rick Carnaroli, judge for the Sixth District Veterans Treatment Court; Debra Hemmert, CEO of SEICAA; Kale Bergeson, SEICAA Veterans Services Director; Shantay Bloxham, Operations Director of SEICAA; George “Woody” Woodman, Mentor Coordinator; Casey Cornelius, ISU Addiction Specialist; Andrea Hook, Vocational Rehabilitation; Scott Hook, president of the motorcycle club’s Eastside chapter; local veterans from the program; and fellow motorcycle club members.

SEICAA’s Veterans Services is available for military veterans who are facing homelessness or are currently experiencing homelessness. The program is dedicated to empowering veterans to overcome life’s obstacles and advocate for long-term self-sufficiency. Veterans often struggle with PTSD, physical health problems, mental illness or substance abuse issues and severe isolation.

One recent success story of the Veterans Services program comes from a 54-year-old veteran who wishes to be kept anonymous.

“Before coming into the program, I knew I was screwed up but I didn’t know how to move forward,” he said.
read more here

Pink Elephant Tattoo Inks Memorials for Curtis Gearhart

Friends of Fallen Iowa Veteran Honor His Memory in Ink
WHO 13 News
BY REID CHANDLER
NOVEMBER 19, 2016

ANKENY, Iowa - A group of tattoo artists in Ankeny are remembering a dear friend through ink.

Curtis Gearhart, an Iraq War veteran and Des Moines native who took his own life last week, had many friends and family who want to honor him in a permanent way. That's why the artists at Pink Elephant Tattoo in Ankeny opened their doors Saturday for a special charity event; $50 tattoos to customers would ensure every penny be donated to Gearhart's family. What's more, the tattoos people could choose included designs Gearhart either had on his own body, or designs he intended to get.

"It's a piece of him that everybody can have," said Jesse Drake.

It's a tragedy told too often, but when Gearhart took his own life, it hit the people here inside this tattoo shop like a train.
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Disabled Vietnam Veteran Alan Meisel Beaten By Sex Offenders?

update

Senators demand investigation into disabled veteran's death Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst sent a letter Friday to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, asking him to look into the circumstances of Alan Meisel’s death. The senators referred to a Des Moines Sunday Register article about Meisel, who lived for decades in Iowa before moving to Texas in 2013 to be near a brother-in-law.

How did Iowa veteran end up dead in Texas
Des Moines Register
Tony Leys
October 1, 2016

SPRINGTOWN, Texas — Alan Meisel’s Iowa friends can’t imagine how he came to spend his final months here, stuck in a rundown rental house with two paroled sex offenders instead of in a nursing home.

Meisel, who lived in Des Moines much of his life, wasn’t a criminal. He was a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, who qualified for a significant disability pension and free health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was exposed to the chemical Agent Orange during the war, sparking a severe form of Parkinson’s disease that left him barely able to walk, talk or eat, his friends say. It also left him unable to defend himself last March, when two roommates in the Texas rental house allegedly shoved him out of his wheelchair and beat him black and blue, according to sheriff's investigators.

The 68-year-old veteran died three weeks after the alleged attack. A medical examiner listed “natural causes” for his death, but the autopsy report notes numerous scabs and yellowing bruises on his arms, legs and face. Just 102 pounds remained on his 5-foot-7-inch frame.

His friends back in Iowa aren’t satisfied with the fact that the two roommates are charged with assaulting Meisel. They see the tragedy as an example of how a vulnerable person can be neglected if no one speaks up on his behalf.

They want to know how he ended up in the rental home, which they believe was grossly inadequate for his medical needs. Why was he no longer in a nursing home with professional care? Why wasn't his veteran status enough to guarantee him that care? What happened to his money?
read more here