After moving to New Hampshire, I was asked for an updated BIO. You would think after all these years, it should be easy, but it was not. I sat staring at a blank page for a long time. Then it dawned on me that there are a lot of people reading this site and wondering "Who is Kathie Costos and what qualifies her to come off as an expert?"
So, this is who I am.
I survived life threatening events 10 times, so I understand what it is like to have my life in jeopardy. I know what it is like to have nightmares and flashbacks, mood swings and feel as if the world is out to get me, as much as I know what it is like to take back my life from the "thing" that could have ended it.
In 1982, I met a Vietnam veteran and because of him, I do what I do everyday. I understand what it is like for him as well as what it is like for me and our family. We went through the worst and got into a better peace, so that we celebrated our 35th anniversary this year.
I researched PTSD as if my life depended on it at a local library with stacks of clinical books and a dictionary in whatever free time few had computers back then. The more I discovered about what it was, the more I loved my Vet! Oh, it isn't as if being around veterans was new to me. My uncles served in WWII and my Dad was a Korean War veteran.
Unknown to me, across the country, another Vietnam veteran working as a Seattle Police Officer was doing this work too. He started meeting veterans in 1984 at coffee shops and then created Point Man International Ministries to care for their spiritual needs, and supporting them to get the mental health help they needed from the VA. He also knew how important it was for families to have support too, so he started Home Fronts for them.
I started a lot of websites over the years but it was not until I wrote my first book FOR THE LOVE OF JACK HIS WAR MY BATTLE back in 2002, that I was contacted by an Out Post leader, learned what they did and why they did it, and have stayed with them ever since. That link goes to the three books I wrote and are available on Amazon. For The Love of Jack was republished in 2013.
In 2006 I created the first PTSD video Wounded Minds and was reaching veterans around the world.
That video was followed by about 300 more.
I started Wounded Times in 2007 after many other sites, because I thought that there should be a place to put all the research and reports I was reading, so they could be shared freely. It now has 30,855 posts with over 4 million views.
In 2008 I became a Certified Chaplain with the International Fellowship of Chaplains, specializing in veterans and first responders, crisis intervention, grief and loss, among other things. A video I did earned a Special Achievement award because while it was developed to help National Guards and Reservists, the IFOC was using it to help police officers and firefighters.
I also took every free class being offered to help me help them. I was certified in Critical Incidence and Stress Management and Peer Support in 2008. Disaster and Extreme Preparedness in 2009. The list goes on.
In 2012 after attending Valencia College, I received 5 certifications in digital media. Kind of funny considering that with all of that, I worked regular full time jobs, aside from when I was in college.
During my years, I began in Massachusetts, moved to Florida and currently live in New Hampshire. Now begins the new part of my work. Beginning soon, I will be focusing on female veterans and their families so they are no longer forgotten and going without the vital support they need.
I am a wife, Mother of a brilliant daughter and, if you ever watched the videos on PTSD Patrol, you also know I am a dogmom. This is Murray.
So that is who I am and why I do what I do. Oh, as a Chaplain, you also have to know that since I usually hang around with veterans/bikers, I am far from what you may think a chaplain is like. I drink, smoke and swear, plus I have a wicked sense of humor and bad temper that constantly has to be defused...but the older I get, the easier it is to do it. You may have noticed many of the times I freak out over an article in the press, but glad I do not have the video on as I hit the delete keys to take out a bunch of things that are not fit for public reading.
Wounded Times Kathie Costos December 1, 2019
After two months, Wounded Times is back in operation...although right now, I do believe only part of my brain arrived in our new home.
September 30th was our 35th anniversary. It was also the day we closed on our old home and headed up north. When the movers closed the door to the truck, we got into the car without a clue where we would end up living. We headed to a La Quinta because they allow dogs and then I thought about how strange life was. It was our anniversary and I was unemployed because of the move. We were also basically homeless since the house we thought we were going to buy did not do well on the inspection. We had to start the search all over again. The thought of all of this should have freaked me out but I cracked up laughing. Then I blurted out,"35th anniversary...I am unemployed and homeless! Yahoo! Road trip for our second honeymoon~We knew we had to do this so that we could live closer to our daughter. I had to leave my job at Fidelity National Title and everyone on our team in Timeshares. After 5 years it was very hard leaving them since they were more than coworkers...they were family too. Here is the catch up. Our first real estate agents in Florida sucked big time! The house was over priced and they were not interested in earning their commission. (Never deal with people you think are supposed to be your friends.) The pictures were horrible and they stopped returning my phone calls. Long story short, I had to get a lawyer to get them to cancel the contract. We lost two months with them. We got another agent Wes Garrison of ReMax and he knew what he was doing so well that he sold the house in less than 2 weeks. He also managed to keep me from losing my mind. He had a professional photographer show up with a drone and the pictures were so good, I was amazed our house could look like that...and we lived there for 15 years. We lost count on how many people came to see it, but the best part of all is that the buyers were actually people we knew and very glad to know they are in the home we loved. After we signed the agreement, Hurricane Humberto was going up the east coast, so we had to wait to fly to New Hampshire to find a house. We thought we found a great one just across the Maine border, made an offer, and flew back home. The inspection turned out to be lousy and we had to walk away. Since we had already agreed to sell our house, we did not want to go back on our word, so we started packing...and sweating it out. On the move side we had Catherine Allen of Keller Williams Coastal Realty. Moving over 1,600 miles away is hard, but after the mess the first selling agent put us in, Catherine was a true blessing! She got me through all that with some sanity left, got me through the inspection on the house in Maine killing the deal and then when it was time to search again, she had what we wanted all lined up. We spent the first week of October on the road. Then we stayed with our good friends for two more weeks. We started looking the second week in October. Some houses were OK but not what we wanted.
This house had just listed a couple of days before we saw it and we offered their asking price. They said "yes" and mortgage broker Brad Kelly of Annie Mac and his team were able to get us to the closing table early in November in less than a month after we saw it. Murray had to be boarded and we missed him so much that we picked him up and went to the Governor's Inn in Rochester.
All of the staff made the stay memorable. It was amazing how people can be so nice that you can feel as if you are home. I was so comfortable there, I started walking around the grounds with just my socks on to have a cigarette.
Murray started barking at the guests as if to say "get off my property" and I had a table in the bar for dinner every night since we had to eat in shifts so that Murray was not alone in the room.
It took two more weeks for our things to arrive from the movers and we are still unpacking. Coming soon is an organized office so that I can find stuff again. Also coming is that Point Man has decided that I will start the first Out Post for female veterans in the area, especially since I am near the border of Maine. Hopefully I will find a location soon and I'll let you know when and where. During all of this I have kept track of what has been going on with our veterans and I am more pissed off than ever! The news is terrible but too much is being accepted when none of what is going on should be accepted by anyone! With the national media and social media not paying attention to any of it, people run their mouths off with lies and slogans going unchallenged. The truth will only be known if we get as serious about sharing it as the liars have been for far too long. Plan on daily updates as much as I can while we are still in the process of getting settled...and my brain resuming normal operations again, or at least as close as that can be.
WOW after 10 years my site has won an award and made it into the top ten! Feedspot PTSD Blogs List
The Best PTSD blogs from thousands of top PTSD blogs in our index using search and social metrics. Data will be refreshed once a week.
These blogs are ranked based on following criteria
Google reputation and Google search ranking
Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
Quality and consistency of posts.
Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review
Top 75 PTSD Blogs Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to every blogger that has made this Top PTSD Blogs list! This is the most comprehensive list of best PTSD blogs on the internet and I’m honoured to have you as part of this! I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world.
If your blog is one of the Top 75 PTSD blogs, you have the honour of displaying the following badge on your site. Use the below code to display this badge proudly on your blog. You deserve it!:
If you don't get your news from Combat PTSD Wounded Times, then you're missing a lot. If you don't follow on Google+, you are missing even more!
A Fort Riley solider who was reported missing Wednesday was arrested on a Fort Riley warrant after being found “safe and in good health,” Riley County authorities said Thursday. Staff Sgt. Garett Michael Swift was originally sought to ensure his welfare.
"Kohne and his wife, Wren, were worried they would have to get rid of Kona, an adopted greyhound boxer mix, for safety reasons after developing a close bond with him. The dog has helped Kohne, who was a medic in Afghanistan, by keeping him calm in public situations with crowds and other factors that can trigger anxiety." #combatptsd
"Veterans in Windsor no longer face a two hour journey to voice their concerns and access services. After three years, a new Veterans Affairs office officially opened Friday to meet the needs of about 2,700 men and women who served as soldiers."
Unlike the older Montgomery GI Bill benefit, the post-9/11 GI Bill does not require any fees or pay reductions for eligibility. The new proposal would change that, taking up to $100 a month from new enlistees’ paychecks for the right to access the benefit after they leave the ranks.
"Titan, the service dog that made national news for accompanying an army veteran to his classes at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, is recovering after he was found lying in a pool of blood." #ptsdservicedog
"I've been in the profession a very long time,” Pedersen said. “There was a time when these types of things were not only unrecognized, but were hidden. There was a stigma associated with mental illness that suggested there was a weakness of character."
The chief was speaking after a police services board meeting this week, in which the force outlined its policies for helping front-line workers with #PTSD
"Toronto police officers who die by suicide will now be allowed to have their names included on the force's memorial wall honouring officers who died in the line of duty, if certain conditions are met."
"Police said the suspect poured liquid onto the victim, a 69-year old man who is now in critical condition, and then lobbed a burning object at him. The suspect then fled the scene."
Chief Master Sgt. Fredrick Gantzer will have a B-52 hanger named after him at Minot Air Force Base in Minot, North Dakota, reports the Weirton Daily Times.
Gantzer was stationed in Savannah, Georgia, Fairbanks, Alaska, Japan and Minot, North Dakota. He also did two tours in Vietnam."
"Philadelphia Police Department forensic graphic artist Jonny Castro created a digital painting of the Cleveland, Ohio, victim on Tuesday. The department shared the portrait of a smiling Godwin on its Facebook page, along with an eye-opening message..."
"The outreach event is a collaboration between the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System and Let’s Promote Hope. The program will include remarks from Rachel Patterson, whose husband, Travis, died Jan. 27. Other speakers include Megan Jackson, widow of veteran Greg Jackson; VA Eastern Kansas suicide prevention coordinator Stephanie Davis; and spokesman Joseph Burks." #combatptsd
Another quote on the number got me thinking about dialing a wrong number. "The number you have reached has been disconnected or is no longer in service. Please check the number and try again." But that would require someone to actually be willing to do whatever it takes to reach the other end of the line.
Its beyond time for someone to actually stop talking about a false number and start talking about how to change the outcome for the number of veterans they acknowledge as well as those who never even come into the conversation.
"The walk is a collaborative effort created by Marine Jason Stavely, and sponsored by Fratres Custodis, My Brother's Keeper, a veteran- owned and-operated company. If you would like to donate or request a mile dedication, see the event page for details and availability."
Just to let you know, there will be limited posts for the near future. I am dealing with arthritis in my spine, plus discs crushing some nerves. Not much fun working all day for a paycheck, then trying to sit at the computer doing this afterwards. I'll do what I can but please don't forget about me.
If you are a regular reader please take some time to check out my latest book, RESIDUAL WAR, SOMETHING WORTH LIVING FOR on AMAZON and also on Kindle. This one is fiction but totally inspired by the men and women I've met over the last 3 decades. It has a female hero, actually make that two, PTSD, suicides, murder, homeless veterans, and all the other bad stuff, but it also has hope, peer support, love, compassion and a whole lot of finding something worth living for after have plenty to die for in combat, like the others they served with. I was hoping to have part two done by Veterans Day, but that isn't going to happen. Hopefully by the end of the year anyway.
