Neurosurgeon desperately needed in New England

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos
February 27, 2024

URGENT Neurosurgeon desperately needed in New England

I am posting this FOR THE LOVE OF JACK

After a couple of years of my husband's suffering, we finally had an answer as to why it was happening to him. He had an MRI that showed too much fluid in the ventricles of his brain. They suspected it was Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.  

In between May and November, he was in and out of hospitals and rehabs. He was sent home with visiting nurses and for a while, he went into physical therapy as an outpatient. Eventually, we were told that nothing would work until he had a spinal tap to see if he improved.

We had to wait to see a Neurologist. That finally happened in November. He diagnosed my husband and it was as others suspected. The Neurologist was certain it was not brain shrinkage. He sent the MRI and report to a Neurosurgeon. We finally saw him in January.

First, he said he was sure it was brain shrinkage and ran down a list as to why nothing would help. I was not about to let my husband leave that office without knowing how the Neurologist was sure that was not his problem. Long story short, he excused himself, left the exam room, and returned to say he was willing to try a spinal tap.

The spinal tap was done last week and it helped but he needed a blood patch because of a really bad headache. That made him improve even more. I had hope again. That hope was crushed today when the Neurosurgeon called to tell me why a shunt wouldn't help and that all of a sudden his diagnosis was that my husband's nervous system was shutting down. He keeps changing what he's saying, so all trust in him is gone.

It is bad enough to see my husband suffer all this time, and then have to wait months for experts. Most of us have to deal with that. When you end up with an expert who can't decide what is happening or what to do about it, that's torturous. 

My husband went from going to the gym 5 times a week and riding his Harley, to not being able to walk and riding a wheelchair in two years. You know we've been together since 1982 and we'll be married for 40 years this year. This is the longest we've been away from each other. Watching him suffer is tearing me apart and that's why I haven't been able to focus on much else. My life and work are on hold because I'm falling apart. 

I feel blessed to have great people helping us get through all this and doing all they can to figure out what else they can do. If you've heard bad things about the VA, it isn't the VA doctors we have a problem with. It is out in the community because New Hampshire doesn't have a VA hospital. The VA has been wonderful. I don't know how I would have gotten through all this without them. 

I also feel blessed to have such loyal readers and I am praying someone knows a Neurosurgeon who can help my husband, or at least give us a second opinion that will make sense. I am desperate and pleading for help because if anyone deserves it, it is my husband. He's the reason why I've helped veterans and their families for over 40 years. All I do is because of him, so if you have found help with my books, videos, or posts, it is because of him. If I spent time with you on the phone and helped you find hope that you can heal, it was because of him. This time I need help from you for him. PLEASE HELP US FIND THE HELP HE NEEDS.

American history is offensive to Nike?

Ruled by the offended instead of the brave?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 2, 2019

Since when is it OK to obliterate the history of this country and the people who put their lives on the line to live it? 

It seems that anyone who is offended by something is suddenly empowered to dictate to all others. You know the type. Bow down your free will, your own thoughts, and forget about silly things like history and facts.

Their Mom's must have really gotten carried away with telling them "you're special" because evidently, they are all that matters.

The "American" who first thought it was OK to take a knee during a football game while the National Anthem was playing, has just been handed the Nike crown to do with as he pleases. 

It is complete with 13 stars and now, it seems that it is so offensive to him, they have joined the NFL cowards afraid to take a stand for those who paid the price for "Americans" like him to speak his own mind.

Somehow he ended up believing that everyone not only had to hear what he had to say...they had to subject themselves to his power.

I just saw the movie Aladdin and like the song Jasmin sings...I won't be speechless in return.

Nike Nixes ‘Betsy Ross Flag’ Sneaker After Colin Kaepernick IntervenesThe Wall Street JournalBy Khadeeja Safdar and Andrew BeatonUpdated July 1, 2019

Nike Inc. NKE -0.53% is yanking a U.S.A.-themed sneaker featuring an early American flag after NFL star-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick told the company it shouldn’t sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sneaker giant created the Air Max 1 USA in celebration of the July Fourth holiday, and it was slated to go on sale this week. The heel of the shoe featured a U.S. flag with 13 white stars in a circle, a design created during the American Revolution and commonly referred to as the Betsy Ross flag.

After shipping the shoes to retailers, Nike asked for them to be returned without explaining why, the people said. The shoes aren’t available on Nike’s own apps and websites.

“Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured the old version of the American flag,” a Nike spokeswoman said.

After images of the shoe were posted online, Mr. Kaepernick, a Nike endorser, reached out to company officials saying that he and others felt the Betsy Ross flag is an offensive symbol because of its connection to an era of slavery, the people said. Some users on social media responded to posts about the shoe with similar concerns. Mr. Kaepernick declined to comment.

The design was created in the 1770s to represent the 13 original colonies, though there were many early versions of the America flag, according to the Smithsonian. In the 1790s, stars and bars were added to reflect the addition of Vermont and Kentucky as states. U.S. flag designs continued to change as states were admitted to the union until the 50th star, for Hawaii, was added in 1960.read it here

I was born and raised in New England by first generation American parents who understood that this country was worth working hard to make a better place, as well as worthy of risking their lives to defend. My Dad and uncles were all in the military.

Our history began by those who were much more offended by being ruled by someone else, namely, the King of England, than they were concerned about what price they would pay for the freedom they were willing to die for.

For a company to be yield to someone being offended by what so many were willing to die for to obtain equals being ruled by someone else...namely the king of the take a knee stunt no matter what football fans thought of it...or him.

Nice work Nike. Maybe you need to appeal to Heaven for a miracle to get your reputation out of the gutter this time too.

"Appeal To Heaven"
The phrase is a particular expression of the right of revolution used by British philosopher John Locke in Second Treatise on Civil Government which was published in 1690 as part of Two Treatises of Government refuting the theory of the divine right of kings.

Locke's works were well-known and frequently quoted by colonial leaders, being the most quoted authority on the government in the 1760-1776 period prior to American independence. Thomas Jefferson was accused of plagiarizing Locke in certain sections of the Declaration of Independence by fellow Virginian delegate Richard Henry Lee.

Prior to Colonel Reed's suggestion and Massachusetts General Court establishing the Pine Tree flag as the standard of the Massachusetts navy, "an appeal to Heaven" or similar expressions had been invoked by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in several resolutions, Patrick Henry in his Liberty or Death speech, and the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. Subsequently, it was used again by the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of Independence.

Do they know that men and women gave their lives to obtain our freedom from England? 

The Revolutionary War (1775-83)

Or the men and women who once again defended this nation in 1812? Or that is what was behind the writing of the National Anthem they protest?

More gave their lives so that everyone would be free?

Civil War (1861-1865)

We are not perfect but so far, most generations have tried to make it better than it was...until this generation decided history no longer mattered and companies like the NFL and Nike gave them the power over the rest of us.

Arizona governor to withdraw Nike financial incentives after shoe company pulls ‘Betsy Ross’ American flag sneakers


More of us are offended they are not only offended, but that they GET TO RULE BECAUSE THE ARE BRATS! Wonder if he'll take a knee on the 4th of July while everyone else is looking up?

Plugged back in

Today and tomorrow I will be trying to play some catch up from a much needed unplugging! 

The last time I unplugged from the site and news was back in October of 2017.

We spent Christmas in New England!

Yes, those are mushrooms growing on the tree!

New Durham has a volunteer fire department

New England Veterans Alliance "Cannabis Gateway Drug to Wellness"

The New England Veteran's Alliance Is Using Cannabis As A Gateway Drug To Wellness

WAAF

107.5 FM

August 8, 2017

To Derek Cloutier and Devin Tellier of New England Veterans Alliance, cannabis IS a gateway drug.  But as Devin says in this interview, 

"The gate swings the other way"  

Both are veterans (Derek, Marines, Devin, Army) and have done tours of duty in Iraq.  Both came home with personal struggles from their experiences.  Both have used cannabis to help them fight addictions and personal demons.  

Through NEVA they are helping other Vets and their families do the same. Check out the podcast above to hear more details about their mission and experiences.  

go here for more

Guindon Military Family Suffers Second Tragedy

New England native fatally shot on first patrol as police officer
Boston Globe
By Maria Cramer Globe Staff
FEBRUARY 28, 2016

The shooting ended a young life already marked by tragedy. In 2004, when she was in high school, her father, Air National Guardsman David Guindon, killed himself the day after he returned from a grueling six-month tour in Iraq.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT PHOTO

Officer Ashley Guindon of the Prince William County (Virginia) Police Department.

New England native Ashley Guindon first joined the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia in 2015 but left abruptly for personal reasons. She returned less than a year later.

“She felt like she still wanted to do this job,” Police Chief Stephan M. Hudson told reporters. “She couldn’t get it out of her blood.”

Late Saturday afternoon, on her first day back with the department, 28-year-old Guindon and two other officers approached a house in Woodbridge, a suburban community 20 miles south of Washington, D.C. A woman there had called police after a fight with her husband. As they neared the front door, the husband, Ronald Hamilton, a 32-year-old Army staff sergeant, allegedly opened fire, striking all three officers, Hudson said during a press conference Sunday.

Guindon, who was born in Springfield, Mass., and raised in Merrimack, N.H., was killed.

On Sunday morning, Merrimack police escorted Guindon’s mother, Sharon, to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport so she could fly to Virginia.

Determined and intellectually gifted, Guindon graduated in 2005 from Merrimack High School and went to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. She spent six years in the US Marine Corps Reserve and was drawn to forensic science, a fascination that led her to work in a funeral home while she was still in college.
read more here

States activate National Guards ahead of Hurricane Sandy

National Guard soldiers activated for Sandy
750 Pennsylvania National Guard troops called
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Oct 29, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania National Guard has activated 750 soldiers and expects to have a total of 1,600 placed on active duty to deal with damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Guard spokesman Staff Sgt. Matthew Jones said 50 guardsmen had already been on duty since Friday and 800 more based in Pittsburgh and Scranton expect to be activated by noon Monday.

Forecasters predict winds up to 75 mph and as much as 10 inches of rain to hit parts of Pennsylvania as Sandy slams into the mid-Atlantic.

N.Y. GOV. CALLS UP 1,000 NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS

VA. GUARD STAGES 600-PLUS FOR STORM RESPONSE

W.VA. GOVERNOR DECLARES EMERGENCY FOR STORM

VT. GOVERNOR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

MAINE PREPARES FOR ‘SUPERSTORM’

N.H. BUCKLES DOWN FOR HURRICANE SANDY

MASS. COASTAL AREAS EVACUATE, BOSTON TRANSIT SHUTS DOWN

CONN. NATIONAL GUARD RESPONDS TO E. HAVEN, DARIEN

R.I. NATIONAL GUARD ON STANDBY TO PROVIDE SUPPORT
read more here

60% "New England's Own" Marines Suffer From War Trauma

New Englanders are a strange lot. I should know because I will never stop being a New Englander. Although I've adapted to living in Florida, in the three years we've lived here, I've been home seven times. We have a sense of history. After all, it's not the New England accent but the rest of the country has an accent and New Englanders speak our own kind of English. (The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth and last I heard, it was still in Massachusetts.) We are proud of our heritage even though most of us were from either a first or second generation American families, we all claimed to be Bostonians. I swear to this day most of what makes New Englanders unique is in the water. A tough bunch as well. With brutal winters and sweltering summers, no other part of the country can compare to the foliage of the Berkshires or traveling down Old Route One in Topsfield headed to the fair grounds Columbus Day Weekend. The shoreline from Maine to the Cape, old houses lining cobble stone roads of Salem and some of the best seafood you'd ever eat in Gloucester and Ipswich or taking a stroll in Rockport, if you can get a parking space.

From the time this nation was formed in the minds of the father's courage and determination brought it all to reality, New Englanders have always been patriots and not just as a football team. The needs of the many always outweighed the desires of the few. American history began in New England and today, history is still being recorded by the deeds of the patriots who still today are willing to risk their lives for the needs of the many.
The Boston Globe April 10, 2005

Military cuts are sharpest in New England
Officials worry for security, culture
By Bryan Bender,

New England has experienced a greater decline in military presence since the end of the Cold War than any other region of the country and is now at risk of losing its only active-duty air and naval bases, according to data compiled by the Globe and government officials.

Thirty-five of 93 major bases shuttered across the nation since 1988, or a third of the total, were in Northeastern and Midwestern states, part of an exodus of large military installations from Northern states over the last decade and a half to the economically friendlier South and West.

The six New England states saw the largest drop in active-duty personnel over the period. Nearly 60 percent of full-time military personnel based in the region went away as their installations were closed by decisions of four Base Realignment and Closure commissions, the last in 1995.

In 1988, New England was home base for 30,600 active-duty personnel. It is currently home to less than 12,700.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050410-military-cuts.htm

Of these remaining, we have New England's Own Marines. A tough bunch of Marines, with history in their souls, tried by weather and toughened by the sea, lulled by country air and the wonder of nature, embraced by families and a bond that will remain with them until they leave this earth. With the Marines facing 60% of battle wounded minds, it further proves the risk of redeployments on those we send and ask all of. What we did before this day is deplorable by not preparing for them to come home. What we do from this day on had better be equal to the need and we better figure out what that need will be for them tomorrow, next year, ten years from now and for the rest of their lives so emergency measures will take care of them all. If not, it is not they who have suffered wrongly. It is the patriots who saw this nation as one of greatness who would have died for nothing. If we fail to take care of those who were willing to risk their lives for the sake of this country, we are not worthy of the sacrifices of any generation that has gone before them. kc




Bravo Company of the first battalion 25th Marine regiment, known as "New England's Own," during a training weekend at Fort Devens in Ayer. (Bill Greene/ Globe Staff)
Battered returning veterans struggle with transition

The 878 men of the First Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment who came home have struggled to come to terms with the fact that 11 did not; that 68 others suffered combat wounds; and that many more were hit with injuries less visible but with long-term effects.
It is as if they all shared in those losses, and, in a real sense, most did. A Globe survey of more than 130 members of the battalion found that nearly 60 percent report one or more symptoms of war trauma - anger, depression, nightmares, hypervigilance - even if they have not been diagnosed with the disorder.
There is also a powerful consensus that while most of their neighbors appreciate their service, civilians don't quite get it. A sense of isolation grows out of that, particularly in New England, where military bases are few and hostility to the war runs high.


More than a few of the Marines have doubts about this war, too. But their focus is on their duty - and on getting well, or helping others to do so. In that, members of the battalion report some ringing successes but also some shameful failures as the nation delivers, unevenly, on its pledge to care for those wounded in service.

PDF Survey Veterans on life after Iraq
Chat transcript 11/12/07
Globe reporter Charles Sennott discussed veterans' issues

Coming Home
After a long brutal tour of duty in Iraq, the first battalion 25th Marine regiment returns home.

The Roulette Wheel
Three are killed and three wounded during the longest day for the battalion.

Moving On
The Marines of "New England's Own" struggle with life back home after Iraq.