"This is a nightmare that I'm not going to wake up from." Brenda Marles

West Palm Beach VA Medical Center 'failed' veteran who died by suicide, lawsuit says

WPTV
By: Dave Bohman
Jul 27, 2023

This is a case about not listening to the needs of a Marine veteran who was reaching out to get help

WPTV
Brenda Marles describes the heartbreak of losing her husband to suicide and why she is suing the West Palm Beach VA.

According to her lawsuit, he went to the VA in January 2021 complaining "of anxiety, hallucinations, chest pain, insomnia, night sweats, and 'having crazy dreams.'"

The suit claims his PTSD was triggered in part by the Jan. 6 siege on the nation’s capital days earlier.

But after two visits to the West Palm Beach VA, the suit claims Rico Marles told his wife, "he did not believe anyone in the [Emergency Department] took his complaints seriously." Instead, "he felt 'brushed off.'"

After returning from his second VA visit, Brenda Marles said she fell asleep next to her husband. Then heard, "the sound of a pop."

Rico Marles shot himself.

Brenda Marles said her husband's suicide left her diagnosed with PTSD.

"This is a nightmare that I'm not going to wake up from," she said. read more here

I hate to read something like this. Not just because it is so sad, but because it is still happening. Veterans fight our battles and then have to fight the government for what they need to heal and recover. They give up and then it is up to the families to fight for them. That's what happened to us in the '90s. My husband is still here and the VA is doing everything he needs. Once his claim was finally approved they have been wonderful but it was a hell of a battle to get there. The thing that wounds my soul the most is this is still happening and Brenda Marles has to fight the battle as a widow and her own battle with PTSD after her husband committed suicide. WHY?

Major General Greg Knight: We don't have resources to give needed help

Finally, someone has told the truth about veterans committing suicide. Why finally? Because I've been saying it since 2012. It took all this time for the truth to be told and it may, prayerfully, cause the change that has been needed. It was bad enough that people used "22 a day" as a number linked to veterans committing suicide because that number was never a real one. It became worse when they raised millions a year to let veterans know they were killing themselves. They already knew that. They didn't know how to stay alive.

So, with the number finally getting out of the way, do you think people will change the conversation to something that will help them understand they can heal #PTSD? Until they get the help they need, none of us will either!

WCAX Investigates: Suicides after Service - Pt. 2

By Darren Perron
Published: Apr. 13, 2023

“I don’t think we have enough providers for brain health in Vermont,” said Vermont National Guard Commander Major General Greg Knight. He says many vets have no place to turn to get help. “That’s immensely frustrating for us to know. I can encourage people to get the resources they need and we may not have them to give.”

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - A startling number of veterans die by suicide every day in the U.S. The VA estimates the number to be around 17 daily. But allegations in Operation Deep Dive, an extensive study by America’s Warrior Partnership, estimate the amount could be double that, something the VA denies.

In part 2 of his special report, Darren Perron looked at what’s being done to stop veteran suicides and the losing battle in finding adequate mental health care.

Susan Sweetser has a room full of keepsakes from her daughter, Ginny, inside her Essex home. And three years after her daughter took her own life, Sweetser keeps her daughter close to her heart -- a pendant containing Ginny’s ashes. “The pain that’s left when somebody dies by suicide -- it’s there for the rest of our lives,” Sweetser said.

Army Sgt. Ginny Sweetser deployed to Iraq in 2003 as part of the Global War on Terror. She spent more than a year under constant attack, driving military vehicles through insurgent hot spots.

She survived but lost the battle to stay alive after she returned home. Ginny’s struggle with suicidal ideation began right after she returned from deployment. She made a TikTok video alongside another soldier to raise awareness about the difficulties veterans face. The hashtag #IGY6 stands for “I’ve got your back” -- to let other vets know they’re not alone. But shortly after posting the video in 2020, at 39 years old, her mother says she took her gun and shot herself. “After 15 years of struggling, Ginny was gone,” Sweetser said. “Our lives will never be whole again without her.”
read more here

Brandon Caserta's death changed nothing and we should be asking why

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

March 11, 2023

This is one of the reasons I gave up after 40 years of trying to change the end of the lonlyist battles they have.

"In 2021, the latest year for which numbers are available, 519 US service members died by suicide. Though a slight decrease from the previous year’s 582 suicides, the trend over the last decade and more has been increasing."

That came from CNN but while it is a recent report, it has been reported over and over again with different names attached to bills that have resulted in outcomes like this.

The Brandon Act is named after Brandon Caserta, a young sailor whose parents described him as a “very charismatic and upbeat young man” who “always helped everyone he could.”

But in June 2018, Caserta took his own life at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia. In letters to his parents and to his friends, Caserta said he was constantly hazed and bullied in the Navy, and he saw no other way out. He notified his commanders he was depressed but they took no action and showed no sympathy, according to Brandon Caserta’s father Patrick, who served 22 years in the Navy. (CNN)

Joshua Omvig's parents pushed for change and in 2007 President Bush signed the bill in his name too.

In 2007, I did a massive report on what was happening because of wars and battles they fought alone. I was asking why the press wasn't on suicide watch. After all, they spent a lot of time reporting on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not not so much about what those wars were doing to those we sent to fight them. They didn't report on what was going in the military itself.

Brandon Caserta's parents tried to do something to save lives and spare other families from what they went through. It was the same reason the families of Erie County National Guards Matthew A. Proulx, Andrew L. Norlund, Justin C. Reyes and Gary M. Underhill's families grieved. Kevin Grosser and far too many others suffered needlessly with nothing really changing. I was looking up more of their names and bills attached to their names, but sadness started to take over and I had to stop. 

The problem is, people like me know what the truth is and we know what failed, but the most troubling thing is, we know what has saved lives. We should stop asking why members of the military, so committed to saving the lives of those they serve with, end up being unable to save their own. We should start asking why hasn't the military figured out what we knew 40 years ago!

Kathie Costos author of Ministers Of The Mystery Series

Peeving and perplexing problems to ponder on PTSD

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 17, 2022

Peeving because the following story has been repeated over decades of promises from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to do better addressing PTSD. A claim we've been hearing for decades. Not a typo because they started working on PTSD in the 80's.

Perplexing because I lost count of how many times this was reported on from different alerts. Not one of the reports had solutions and didn't seem to ask many questions. 

Like for starters, why is this such a huge story when there are so many other people, in the millions with #PTSD but reporters don't seem to report on any of us? How on earth will veterans finally understand that when humans survive trauma, that is the only way PTSD happens, if reporters don't report on the rest of us? Wouldn't that go a long way toward getting rid of the stigma for all of us?

Ponder this one.

KABC STUDIO CITY, LOS ANGELES reported a veteran refused to get help for PTSD until recently, but couldn't get an appointment. He shot a police officer.

"He kept saying 'I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead.' He kept saying that, but I'm sure he probably is experiencing some kind of PTSD," said Lewis. "He said he was in one of the bloodiest battles in Afghanistan, but he also said he had two platoon members this week to commit suicide."

Khosroabadi's family said they've been trying to get him help for years but he refused. He sought help from the VA recently but couldn't get an appointment until January.

"It hurt us a lot to see that because we do have family in law enforcement, so if we ever got that call, we would be really sad as well and we're so sorry," Shayesteh said.

You can find more information here from The National Center for PTSD. 6% of the population of adult Americans with PTSD. That means the vast majority of members of the PTSD club have PTSD while veterans, a minority in the country, have PTSD, but are the bulk of the news reports on PTSD. Doesn't make sense as it is but what is worse, is the fact

Did you know about this?

Child protection services in the U.S. get around three million reports each year. This involves 5.5 million children. Of the reported cases, there is proof of abuse in about 30%. From these cases, we have an idea how often different types of abuse occur:
65% neglect

18% physical abuse

10% sexual abuse

7% psychological (mental) abuse

Why didn't he call the VA Crisis Line? On their site, there is this,

If he couldn't get an appointment but knew he needed help, why did he still have a gun instead of making sure he couldn't use it? Why didn't he call the crisis line and get the help he was looking for?

His family says they tried to get him to go for help for years, but he wouldn't go. This is a common problem. Ask the family of any Vietnam Veteran and they'll tell you horror stories about trying to get their veteran to go for help. (Including me) The question use, why didn't he want to? It isn't like it was back in the 80's or 90's. Reporters have been covering veterans with PTSD for over 20 years because of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans using social media to share with others. Why aren't they sharing solutions as much as they share scams and stupid ideas like "raising awareness" veterans are committing suicide, when they already know that?

Top that off with the news report had the "22 a day" number which was debunked ten years ago. Do they mention how many Americans commit suicide every year is over 46,000 according to the CDC?

For Heaven's Sake! This is PTSD Awareness month but first we need to make reporters aware of what they are supposed to be reporting on or nothing will ever change for any of us!

PTSD and the power you have within your mind

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 23, 2022

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but too many are unaware of how much power they do have over their own mental health. There's a reason why no one ever asks, "Have you lost your brain?" It is your mind that holds your thoughts and emotions. Just like when you fall in love, people say "they have my heart" while leaving the mind totally out of the conversation. 

There are many different mental illnesses, and most have been researched enough so that there are always ways to make the lives of people better, if not perfect, at least better. It is the same with people fighting PTSD. No one can make your life perfect but between experts and the power you have within your mind, it can become a hell of a lot better than it is now. Even if you are on the road toward healing, even you can achieve more healing than you hoped for.

While service members and veterans battle PTSD, so do civilians in far greater numbers. Considering PTSD only happens after surviving a mind-shaking event, they suffer the same way as military people. What keeps getting left out of the conversation is that military people are also just people too, and can have the same traumatic events as everyone else. The unique thing is that military people have to also recover from what happens while serving their country.

While civilians can understand your pain and struggles, they cannot understand all the events that caused yours. You cannot understand all of their events unless you survived the same thing. It is time that everyone understands what they do have in common with other survivors. This is why I wrote The Lost Son Alive Again.

After 40 years of working with veterans and families struggling with PTSD, it was time for me to turn my attention to everyone fighting this same enemy. It includes several veterans and survivors of other events so that more people can see themselves in these characters.

The Army is trying to do something for soldiers.

 Mental Health Awareness Month highlights resources available for those in need on Army Times addresses the needs of active duty and veterans, but as you can see, none of this is new and efforts to support them to seek mental health help have fallen way too short.

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. — May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it comes at a time when active-duty and veteran suicides are at alarming levels. The U.S. Army, and the U.S. Army Sustainment Command in particular, are making enormous efforts to help Soldiers, Civilians and their families be aware of mental health problems and offer support and services to those who need them. This year, at least to this point, offers a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy picture. According to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, testifying before Congress on May 11, Soldier deaths so far this year are “significantly lower” than during the same period last year. And rates of suicide in the Army are lower at this point than during the most recent five-year and 10-year average for the combined forces. That’s good news, but a Department of Defense report published in September 2021, said, “In CY (calendar year) 2020, there were 580 service members who tragically died by suicide.”

 That is good and bad in all of this. Aren't you tired of the attitude of anything is better than nothing? After all, that is why we are seeing these results 4 decades after I got into all of this. The premise of this book, as well as the upcoming Stranger Angels Among Us, is to open eyes, hearts, and minds to the power all of you, civilians as well as military folks, have within your own mind.

The main character was a reporter coving the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. An RPG blew up near him and almost killed him. It set off powerful PTSD and then other events added to the damage already done.

He was done waiting for miracles. After all, God washed His hands of Chris a long time ago. When the shock of surviving wore off, regret took its place. He was sure the man he was died on the operating table, precisely seven years from that day. Friday, September 13, 2019, Christopher Papadopoulos had seen a lot in his life and he didn’t want to see anymore.

Bill Gibson, his best friend, and ex-brother-in-law was struck by PTSD from serving in the Army.

Chris dreaded talking to him about the marriage falling apart and wasn’t sure what Bill had heard about it from his ex-wife. He could only imagine all the horrible things she told him, blaming it all on him. “So Bill, what are you doing back in Salem? The last time I saw you, you said you were going to stay in the Army for the rest of your life. And then I got blown up.”
“I was but I got out over five years ago. We’re here for a reunion. One of our buddies died five years ago.”
“Oh sorry. Was he killed in action?”
“No, but he’s dead because of it.”
Chris felt the tension building inside of his body. His mind was consumed with building anger. He didn’t care who died or how. All he could think about was what had happened to him since the last time he saw the man across from him. Seeing Bill reminded him of what life was like when he wasn’t hurting.

David was also struck by PTSD while serving with Bill. 

David Mac Donald strolled into the bar, tall, muscular, fiery red flowing hair with a scraggly beard. He looked more like an ancient Scottish warrior than he did when he was in the Army with cropped hair. David’s family moved from Scotland when he was going into high school and he joined the Army as soon as he graduated. When he walked over to the group, they all got up out of their chairs and hugged and then he saw Chris. “Oh my God! Nanos!” He walked over to him. As soon as he got a closer look at his eyes, he could see an all too familiar pain the fake smile couldn’t cover-up. He gave him a bear hug and whispered in his Scottish accent, “Your demon is in control for now. Time to take back your life like we did.”

“Hell of a way to end a marriage.”
“I thought it was the end but it wasn’t. The bitch stalked me after that. I wanted to get a restraining order but couldn’t find the balls to say my wife beat me. Anyway, she called me over and over again, showed up when I least expected it, and made my life hell.”
“Is that why you fell apart?”
“Yep. I was doomed because somehow she always found out where I was and who I was with. I couldn’t go anywhere.”
“What did all that do to you?”
“You know, with the wars I covered and getting blown up didn’t do as much damage to me as she did. I had nightmares and flashbacks, mood swings off the charts and so filled with anger, I had to go to the gym just to beat up a bag.”

These men joined forces with other survivors from different events to help Chris change the conversation about PTSD so that people will learn how to find the power within their minds to heal to the point of living a miracle! 

The Lost Son Alive Again Paperback is available now for Mental Health Month. And the ebook of The Lost Son Alive Again is coming out June 1st for PTSD Awareness Month.

Young Ukrainians Share Struggles Amid War

Don’t Keep Quiet: Young Ukrainians Share Struggles Amid War

WebMD
By Kelly Wairimu Davis, MS
Feb. 25, 2021

“Be on the phone, FaceTiming, talking, writing,” Botwin says.

“I think it’s so important right now to be reaching out and talking to people, especially the younger folks over there [in Ukraine] being able to use things like social media,” she says.

Hypervigilance, sadness, rage, anger.

Many young Ukrainians have taken to Instagram to express their emotions as Russian forces continue their push deeper into the country.

Political unrest between Ukraine and Russia has a long history, but this is the first major conflict in the region since 2014.

Recalling childhood stories from past crises with Russia, one common sentiment among millennials and Gen-Z Ukrainians on social media is, “I’ve always been afraid of war,” as well as, “How could this happen in the 21st century?”

Expressing these thoughts and feelings online is a great way for young people to help manage fear, anxiety, and other troubling emotions they may be having, says Shari Botwin, a licensed clinical social worker and author of Thriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and Healing.

Focusing on creating physical and emotional safety is also critical.

“Be on the phone, FaceTiming, talking, writing,” Botwin says.

“I think it’s so important right now to be reaching out and talking to people, especially the younger folks over there [in Ukraine] being able to use things like social media,” she says.

“This is one of those situations where we don’t have control over what’s happening, but I think being able to speak and say and connect with other people on these feelings can actually make the situation a bit more manageable.” read more here

This is a really important time for people to become aware of the simple fact, they need to use the power they do have to begin healing now, especially if you are young.

When I survived the worst events in my life, I was just 22. For 40 years, I've been working on PTSD and have heard all kinds of advice over the years. The best advice was to open up and talk about what is going on with you. Share your fears. Cry. Scream. Do what you need to and honor the feelings you have so you can get rid of them and begin to heal. If you hold them in, they are like an infection to your soul. PTSD starts to take over.

The other thing to remember is, you have no idea how many other people you know going through the same thing, but are afraid to speak out. If you have PTSD, YOU ARE A SURVIVOR and there is nothing to be ashamed of as a survivor. It means you were not defeated so don't give up!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Veterans with PTSD on trial

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

January 12, 2022

My head is exploding right now. Can any reporter explain to me why they manage to always report on a veteran with PTSD committing crimes, use it in the headline, yet do not notice they do not report on everyone else committing crimes when they have PTSD too?

Apparently veterans with PTSD are on trial but reporters fail to see we all are!

This is the headline the headline that caused a massive headache!

"Veteran with PTSD pleads guilty to killing 2 men in SC in 2017, lawyers say" and is on Stars and Stripes.

Family members for King and McNair spoke on Friday before Melton's sentencing "about the tragedy and loss of their sons," Campbell said.
Mental illness and drugs

Melton served in the military and was stationed in Iraq in 2004, developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of that experience, said his defense lawyer, Justin Kata of the Giese Law Firm in Columbia.

Kata said Melton was later diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

At the time of the killings, "he had PTSD symptoms and he was self-medicating," Kata said.

According to the National Center for PTSD, there are 15 million Americans joining the PTSD club every year but reporters will only cover veterans committing sucide and crimes.

Facts about How Common PTSD Is

The following statistics are based on the U.S. population: About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives. About 15 million adults have PTSD during a given year. This is only a small portion of those who have gone through a trauma. About 8 of every 100 women (or 8%) develop PTSD sometime in their lives compared with about 4 of every 100 men (or 4%). Learn more about women, trauma and PTSD

Let's look at the results of this. 

Veterans have a hard time finding jobs because employers remember reading about a veteran like this one. Because reporters do not cover all the other survivors with PTSD, they have no idea that PTSD does not make people dangerous or even get them to contemplate the simple fact that they have probably already hired a lot of good employees with PTSD unknowingly.

Veterans getting all the attention is a billion dollar industry because people care about veterans. While that is a good thing, we should consider why there are no massive fundraisers for everyone else with PTSD not getting the help we all need.

People in law enforcement, fire departments, emergency responders, medical, you name the occupation, are ignored. No one seems to care.

I was guilty of this too. I spent decades focused on veterans when few others were. I thought that since there were so many other people, they'd have enough help but I did not know no one in the media was putting it all together. It never even dawned on me that after surviving over 10 events, I had a rare form of it. It also didn't dawn on two therapists I saw over the years.

Do we take care of veterans properly? NO!

Do we take care of anyone in need to mental health care properly? NO!

Until we get reporters to cover all of us so that we know how many of us there are after surviving, we will not be able to focus on what is helpful to others, that can help us too. We will not be able to inspire hope to others suffering from something only we can understand. While we may not be able to fully understand the causes if we did not experience it, we can understand what it is doing to them, and they can understand what it has done to us.

Kathie Costos on Amazon

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Valor Clinic Gave Me Back Hope

Wounded Times

Kathie Costos

September 16, 2021

Yesterday I had a lengthy conversation with Mark Baylis of Valor Clinic. It didn't end the way I expected it to and I ended up very hopeful.

If you are familiar with the way I feel about all the new groups popping up all over the country, the you know what frame of mind I was in when I called him. Truthfully, after reading his email, I could already feel my blood pressure go up as soon as I saw the words, "suicide awareness."

I asked him a few questions and he answered them. It was not that he knew what he was talking about that impressed me. It was his total sincerity about wanting to make a difference.

Founder and CEO
SGM Mark D. Baylis
VALOR Clinic Foundation

Sergeant Major Baylis was born in Morristown, NJ on 13 April 1961 and served over 26 years on active duty. SGM Baylis entered the service on 22 February 1981 as an 11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman). After Basic Training and AIT, he served with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC and the 2d Bn 75th RGR as a mortar Squad Leader prior to coming to Special Forces.

check out Valor Clinic for more.

He knew exactly what I was talking about and by the time we got off the phone, I knew he was one of the good guys. He is actually trying to make a difference and, that my friend, is very rare in this day and age when people are only after making a difference in their own lives and what they can gain from others in pain. Mark wants to make a difference in the lives of veterans and help them find the healing they need.

I hope to have many more conversations with Mark in the future and catch up on all the work he is doing. 

If you have not been in PTSD Patrol for a while, there is something I wrote the other day that may help you understand something else you need to know about healing.

From Grieving To Healing

PTSD Patrol
Mental Health / By Kathie Costos
September 13, 2021

When you have PTSD, you can feel as if God saved you. That’s a good way to look at it because it gives you a chance to see what was done for you, instead of what was done to you. The other way, is when you think it happened because God caused it. No matter how much faith you have, it is something most survivors of trauma struggle with.

Right now, veterans of Afghanistan are struggling because of the way their war ended. They are turning to the only other veterans who understand. Vietnam veterans have struggled for over 50 years and they know what that level of pain is like, but they also know what it is like to heal. To make peace with the service by looking at “their service” instead of the cause of them having to be there.

They served the nation and the nation sent them. They were risked their lives for one another and were willing to die for those they served with. As for the people of the nations they were sent to protect, they gave them a chance for a better life. That was all that was within their power. How it started, why it lasted as long as it did and how it ended was not in their power to decide.
read more here

You had the courage to serve...you have the courage to heal from your service too! You didn't fight alone then so why try to fight alone now?

Is Congress finally getting it right on suicide prevention?

Among the many things I had to get certification on, was Military Cultural Compentence. Working with veterans for all these years was a little easier for me, because I grew up with veterans. I was actually an Army brat! My Dad was a Korean War veteran and my uncles were WWII veterans. I understood the difference between veterans and civilans early on.

I also married a Vietnam veteran, spending most of my time surrounded by more of them.

All these years, veterans have been saying that sending them to a civilian therapist for help with PTSD was not working, Congress failed to listen. It looks like they are finally ready to, not just hear them, but act on it.

“Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act” which “will require that veterans receive culturally competent, evidence-based mental health treatment from private providers, as is already required of VA mental health providers.” 

Veterans belong with veterans. Police Officers belong with Police Officers and Firefighters belong with Firefighters. Why? Because there is a cultural difference. They already feel out of place when they have PTSD, so putting them in with civilians only adds to their level of feeling like an outcast. 

There is one more huge reason for this. The civilian world has a track record of not even being able to serve civilians! The rate of suicides in each group has grown despite all the years of "efforts" to reduce suicide and change the conversation from suffering to healing.

"Suicide rates increased 33% between 1999 and 2019, with a small decline in 2019. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.3 It was responsible for more than 47,500 deaths in 2019, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2019, 12 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.4 million attempted suicide." CDC

The numbers of members of the military committing suicide have gone up as well over the years. 

The first Bill Congress passed to "reduce" suicides was back in 2007 and ever since then, they have been repeating the same things that failed. I just got hopeful reading about this effort this time and thinking IT'S ABOUT TIME~

Gus Bilirakis: Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act Will Help Reduce Veteran Suicides

Florida Daily
Kevin Derby
July 27, 2021

Last week, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., a member of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, championed a proposal to “ensure veterans receive the highest quality care possible from private providers.”

Bilirakis is the main co-sponsor of U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s, D-Del., “Veterans’ Culturally Competent Care Act” which “will require that veterans receive culturally competent, evidence-based mental health treatment from private providers, as is already required of VA mental health providers.”

Backers of the proposal, which also include U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., insist the bill will help reduce the number of veterans committing suicide.

“As the suicide rate of our nation’s veterans continues to worsen, more must be done to provide them with quality mental health care. The need for quality care is most acute with private providers in two key areas: cultural competency and evidence-based treatment,” Bilirakis’ office noted.
read more here

Firefighters don’t just fight fire

Firefighter helps veteran suffering from PTSD episode on airplane
FOX News
Michael Hollan

The firefighter is part of a specially trained support team that helps other firefighters deal with tragedy and PTSD. Capt. Davidson used his training to keep the other veteran calm and the plane was able to land without diverting its course.

Captain Bobby Davidson, who was flying home with his family from vacation, rendered assistance to the passenger and was able to prevent an emergency landing. (Burton Fire District)

Firefighters don’t just fight fire.

The captain of a South Carolina fire department helped calm a fellow airplane passenger down who was in distress. According to reports, the other passenger was a veteran who was suffering from a PTSD crisis.

Captain Bobby Davidson, who was flying home on an American Airlines flight from a family vacation on June 15th, rendered assistance to the passenger and was able to prevent an emergency landing, according to a Facebook post from the Burton Fire District. The firefighter was also able to keep other passengers calm during the ordeal.

The Burton Fire Department confirmed to Fox News that the other passenger is a military veteran and was experiencing a PTSD crisis. While the flight crew was concerned that the plane may need to make an emergency landing, Capt. Davidson stepped in to help.
read more here

Find new posts for PTSD Patrol here

Military PTSD-suicide in the news

Military PTSD-suicide in the news would not be happening if the other bills done over all these years actually worked......

Parents of Norfolk sailor who died by suicide hope Brandon Act passes this time; Event in VB will provide mental health resources for military

WASHINGTON (WAVY) — Legislation to provide better access to mental health services for military members will be re-introduced next week on Capitol Hill, and the parents of the sailor for whom the bill was named are hoping it will become law.

Brandon Caserta was 21 when he died by suicide on Naval Station Norfolk. He had washed out of SEAL training in San Diego, but so do the vast majority of those who even qualify for the training. The course is known as BUDS, or Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL training, and Caserta was mocked with the label “BUDS dud.”

Caserta ended his life by jumping into the rotor of a helicopter. A military investigation found that his lead petty officer’s abusive actions were a likely contributing factor, and that officer was removed from the position. read it here

Canadian Armed Forces reports 16 military suicides in 2020

OTTAWA — The Canadian Armed Forces says 16 service members took their own lives last year.

That represents a slight decline from the 20 military suicides reported in 2019, which was the largest number in five years.

The new figures nonetheless bring the total number of Canadian military personnel who have died by suicide over the last decade to 191. That is more than the 158 service members who were killed while serving in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. read it here

"And you know you can survive"

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
April 14, 2021

"And you know you can survive" are some powerful words to hear when you don't think you can. When everyone you know will not, or cannot, offer you any hope or support, those words empower you to do more than just survive. They let you know you have the power to do that!

Today the featured video is Mariah Carey, Hero. If you ended up with PTSD because of your job, risking your life for others, or sacrificing for the sake of others, you already know what a hero is, but you are the last one to claim that title for yourself. If you have PTSD because of your "job" then it was much more than a just a job. It was your vocation. Average people do not take those jobs. You are above average.

I used this song in a video from a long time ago, PTSD Hero After War for members of the military, with I'll Stand By You from The Pretenders. In this war against PTSD, you can also be a hero to someone else fighting their own war to reclaim their life. Once you heal, you can stand by them and show them the way. You can encourage them when they have no courage left. You can empower them when they cannot find enough power to get up out of bed.

If your job caused it, understand that humans are not built to withstand the constant onslaught of traumatic events. Most of the people you risked your life for, ended up with PTSD from the event you responded to...one event for them but it was one of many for you.

The thing is, as human as you are, if God put it into your soul to do that kind of job, He also equipped you with everything you need to heal from it. It is built into your emotional core and that core is stronger than others, or you wouldn't have been able to do that job for more than a little while. Most of the people I worked with over the years, had done the "job" for many years and faced so many events they were not even sure which one hit them the hardest.

Now think about what kind of hero you can be to others just by telling your story and sharing your own struggles with them. You are not done serving others even if you had to give up the job that caused PTSD. There are over 8 million Americans with PTSD, that is known about. There are many more who have it by have no idea what it is going on with them and they have not sought out help. You can reach them to and encourage them to seek help to take back their lives from PTSD too.

read more on PTSD Patrol

'TALLADEGA NIGHTS' HOUSTON TUMLIN gone too soon

'TALLADEGA NIGHTS' HOUSTON TUMLIN Depression and PTSD Led to Suicide
TMZ
March 28, 2021

Houston Tumlin -- the kid who played Ricky Bobby's son in 'Talladega Nights' -- grew up to proudly serve his country, but sadly suffered from PTSD and depression as a result, which led to his suicide ... his mother tells TMZ.

Michelle Tumlin tells us ... her son honorably served in the U.S. Army for nearly 6 years, earning many accolades as an E-4 specialist in the 101st Airborne Division

Houston's awards include the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, but Michelle says he was most proud of earning his Air Assault wings.

Michelle says, "Houston received a different set of wings" this week, and while the family is hurting from the loss, she says they want to stress to anyone who is suffering to reach out and get help.

She says ... "Houston Lee Tumlin was so much more than a child actor from 'Talladega Nights.' My beautiful boy brought joy to everyone he encountered and made them feel special. Houston fought his battle for years, and we will continue to fight for him."

We're told Houston will have a full military funeral, and his family marched in an event over the weekend in Helena, Alabama to raise awareness for veteran suicide and PTSD support.
read more here

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

The road you can choose is waiting

Change the road you are on 

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
February 3, 2019

Whatever happened to you that started PTSD was out of your control. That is the only way to get PTSD. It hits you! It is not something that started inside of you. It just ended up there.

The fact you have PTSD means you survived something that could have killed you. Isn't it time you started to live like a survivor?

You have the ability to determine your own destiny from this moment on. It is up to you to suffer in silence, more afraid to ask for help, than you were of what set off PTSD in the first place, or, take control of the rest of your life.

Just like learning how to drive your vehicle and control it, you can learn how to drive your life and heal it. Just spend as much time discovering a new way of living instead of spending so much time suffering.

It isn't easy and will take a lot of hard work. Then again, it has not been easy feeling as if all hope has vanished. I can assure you it has not. You just stopped looking for it.
read more here

Personal note: I am in a lot of pain right now with my back and did not want to show it on video. I just wanted to let you know that no matter how much you are hurting, there is always something positive to find if you look for it.

It's running silent and angry and deep

When service turns into suffering

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 26, 2019

Why do people decide that they are willing to take jobs that could cost them their lives? Did they just wake up one morning and think, "I'd die for that chance?"

Whenever it happened, whenever they went to begin training for the jobs dedicated to saving lives, or defending a nation, that is exactly what they decided was worth it.

Now, all of us can understand when what they try to save us from, changes everything for us. So why can't we understand what all the times they do it, does to them?

How oblivious are we? How self-centered are we when we ignore what those jobs are doing to them? We get PTSD from one traumatic event. They get PTSD from far too many of them. Then they have this twisted thought that they were supposed to be better, stronger, and beyond reach of the residual demon of destruction.

More to the point is, how oblivious are the leaders of the men and women suffering, that they do not see their jobs cause more deaths than doing the job itself?

More in the military die as a result of suicide than die doing their jobs.

More die in the National Guard and Reserves to suicide than die doing their jobs.

More Police Officers dies to suicide than dies doing their jobs.

More Firefighters die to suicide than die doing their jobs.

According to the CDC, suicides in America have continued to increase. While some want to suggest that since it has happened to everyone else, then, it is just the way things are. As pathetic as that thought is, what they do not acknowledge is fueling the loss of lives.

These men and women decided that saving lives was worth dying for...but their own life was not worth fighting for anymore.

Why? Who gave them that impression? Who allowed the thought to penetrate their brains that they were supposed to just suffer silently instead of turning to all the others they served with to help save their own lives?

Would they do whatever they could to save one of their own?

The pain is running silent, angry and deep. It is time to look in their eyes and tell them that it is time to #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife because this time, the life needing saving is yours!

Barry Manilow - Read 'em And Weep

Lyrics

I've been tryin for hour just to think of what exactly to say

I thought I leave you with a letter or a fiery speech

Like when an actor makes an exit at the end of a play

And I've been dying for hours trying to fill up all the holes with some sense

I like to know why you gave up and threw it away

I like to give you all the reasons and what everything meant

Well, I can tell you goodbye or maybe see you around

With just a touch of sarcastic thanks

We started out with a bang

And at the top of the world

Now the guns are exhausted

And the bullets are blanks

And everything's blank

If I could only find the words

Then I would write it all down

If I could only find the voice

I would speak

Oh its there in my eyes

Oh can't you see me tonight

Come on and look at me

And read 'em and weep

If I could only find the words

Then I would write it all down

If I could only find the voice

I would speak

Oh its there in my eyes

Oh can't you see me tonight

Come on and look at me

And read 'em and weep

I've been whispering softly

Trying to build a cry up to a scream

We let the past slip away

And put the future on hold

Now the present is nothing but a hollowed out dream

And I've been dreaming forever

Hoping something would eventually come

I saw your eyes in the dark

I felt your kiss on my lips

I traced your body in the air

'Til the bodies were numb

Well, I could tell you goodbye

Or maybe see you around

With just a touch of a sarcastic thanks

But now the rooms are all empty

The candles are dark

The guns are exhausted

And the bullets are blank

And everything is blank

Oh it's there in my eyes

And coming straight from my heart

It's running silent and angry and deep

Oh it's there in my eyes

And it's all I can say

Come on and look at me

And read 'em and weep

Songwriters: Jim Steinman

Read 'Em and Weep lyrics © Carlin America Inc

Wounded Times Broke 4 Million Because of You

On this day in 1983, I arrived at the library, selected a stack of clinical books and a dictionary because of the words "shell shock."

Today, my site reached a stunning 4 million page views and it is all due to word of mouth. In other words, because of all of you in all these countries!

You have read about how a Wounded Combat Medic's love story ended too soon 94,580 times

You have read For Those I Love I Will Sacrifice 36,535 times.

Within the 29,902 posts on this site over the last 11 years, you have shared their stories, supported causes, contacted politicians and said a great deal of prayers!

You have proven over and over again, that the troops and our veterans do matter and you are interested in what happens to them. 

You share their successes as much as you grieve for them when they suffer.

I cannot find the words to express what all of this means to me today because without you!

It is not OK for the VA to behave this way!

Veteran caregiver program cut by 80 percent this year in Tennessee

Nashville Tennessean
Yihyun Jeong
Dec. 21, 2018

The cuts are happening at VA medical centers across the country at a time when the program is supposed to be growing. Congress approved a major expansion with the Mission Act in May. But the VA missed its deadline in October to implement new technology.

The VA cut Master Sergeant Timothy Goad and his wife, Sarah Goad, from its caregiver program this year, citing that she was doing her "spousal duty." (Photo: Goad Family)

Master Sgt. Timothy Goad was on patrol in Iraq in an armored vehicle when it was struck by an IED blast in 2005.

The incident left him with a traumatic brain injury, 60 percent hearing loss and a vision disorder that makes his eyes unable to align properly.

Then just two months later, while on another patrol — 27 hours in — the Humvee in front of him was blown up by another improvised explosive device.

When Goad ran up to help, he found one soldier with a hand nearly taken off and another with a gaping wound to the abdomen.

There was a giant hole where the door had been and nothing else.

Goad went back to base where he had to tell the soldier’s twin brother he had died.

"He has survivor's guilt," his wife Sarah Goad said in an interview with USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee. "This is something major that he's had to deal with, wondering why he's still here."
read more here

And yet, on the same day this was reported by Military.com

VA Suspends All Discharges from Caregiver Program

Military.com
By Patricia Kime
21 Dec 2018

A VA Office of Inspector General investigation into the program uncovered poor management oversight that resulted in the Veterans Health Administration paying $4.8 million to caregivers of veterans who weren't eligible for the program.

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday announced it would temporarily stop discharging veterans from a program that provides compensation and benefits to family members who take care of them.

In a release announcing the suspension of discharges from the Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers program, the VA said it was halting dismissals because of "continued concerns expressed by veterans, caregivers and advocates about inconsistent application of eligibility requirements by VA medical centers" of the program.
read more here

Veterans kept their promise when they served their time with their lives on the line. Why would the VA think it was OK to behave this way because the veteran ended up disabled in the process of serving their end of the deal?

Other-Than-Honorable-Discharge Vets needing help can go to the VA

VA Struggles To Reach Other-Than-Honorable-Discharge Vets In Need Of Help

WBUR News

Steve Walsh

October 18, 2018

Onan is taking advantage of the program. After years of being rejected by the VA, Onan now is getting his PTSD treatment paid for by the agency, and he hopes it helps him get back to being the person he was before the injury.

Former Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Onan was in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006 when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb.

"I remember laying down in the truck," Onan said. "Waking up, there's dust, there's debris all over me, and there's an Iraqi colonel who's sitting in the truck with us, and he's just screaming, screaming. I don't understand what he's saying."

Onan suffered a head injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. During the next year, he was in and out of trouble with military officials, mainly for small infractions, which he chalks up to the medications he was taking.

Then, while on leave, he was caught with a small amount of cocaine and kicked out of the Marines.

Onan is one of the thousands of veterans who have other-than-honorable (OTH) discharges. They don't typically qualify for VA benefits, even though many have service-related trauma. And as a group they have a high suicide rate.
read more here