Boston wheelchair winner to help the wounded

Boston wheelchair winner to help the wounded
By ROB HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
April 19, 2013

LONDON (AP) — Tatyana McFadden's thrill at winning her first Boston Marathon wheelchair title didn't last long.

Shortly after leaving the Boston streets to prepare for a night of celebrations, McFadden's family informed her of the bombings near the finish line that killed three people and injured more than 180.

"They had this glazed look on their faces and it was like, 'What happened, what is going on?'" she said Friday. "And they said two explosions had gone off. ... We were watching the replay over and over and over and over and over. That was just the toughest part to see, the mad chaos, people running, people were injured."

Along with five teammates, McFadden scrambled out of Boston onto a flight to her Baltimore home.
Read more

Older VA claims getting priority

VA says disability claims pending more than year will get priority
By Associated Press
Updated: Friday, April 19, 4:16 PM

WASHINGTON — Veterans waiting more than a year for a decision on their disability claims are moving to the front of the line, under a new program announced Friday.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is responding to criticism about the soaring number of claims that have been pending for longer than 125 days. The VA said that of the nearly 900,000 claims pending in the system, some 250,000 are from veterans who have been waiting at least a year for a decision.

Veterans receive disability compensation for injuries and illness incurred or aggravated during their active military service. The amount of the compensation is based on a rating assigned by the VA.

Allison Hickey, the VA undersecretary who oversees the Veterans Benefits Administration, says provisional decisions will be made on the oldest cases based on the evidence currently in the veteran’s file. In some cases, medical exams will be required, and those will be expedited.

Veterans whose claims are granted would get compensation immediately. Veterans whose claims are denied will have a year to submit more information before the VA makes a final decision.
read more here

If you are "freaking out" after Boston bombing, help is available

It has already started to hit OEF and OIF veterans hard. My phone has been busy and so has my email. If you are a veteran "freaking out" because of the bomb blasts in Boston, seek help. It is part of PTSD and where you were.

If it is worse for you, don't just try to get over it. Contact your Vets Center and get in to talk to someone.

Here is the link to Vets Centers in every state.

It happened to other veterans right after 9-11. It happened again after the shootings at Fort Hood. It is happening again now because of the bombings. Help is there for you. Call them!

Get your advance copy of THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR

UPDATE: Sorry you missed your chance. THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR, is available on Kindle now.

Want to know how the military ended up with the highest suicide and attempted suicides? Do you want to know how it happened after billions of dollars have been spent trying to prevent them? Do you want to know what the media should have made known to all? Do you want to know what they forgot to tell you?

This has detailed accounts of what happened to make it as bad as it is for the men and women serving this country. Beyond that, it also helps you to understand what can be done to help them heal. None of this is hopeless. Veterans have been healing. It is not widely known but it is far from a secret. It does not cost millions a year, or at least it shouldn't.

For a donation of $20.00 (or more please) you can get a PDF of this book before it is available on Amazon and Kindle. Just make sure to include your email and THE WARRIOR SAW in the subject line. You can start making a difference early!

Pointman of Winter Park is a 501c3

After trauma, you can win

It is very important to point out that resilience is part of you or it is not. You cannot train or learn to become resilient.

"But how resilient people are can help determine how quickly they bounce back.

What's resilience? It's when people aren't afraid to share their emotions so they don't become overwhelmed — and when they try to look for a silver lining, like focusing on how many bystanders helped the wounded, rather than dwelling on gruesome memories."

There is a huge difference between having that ability and not having it. I am an example of having it only because of my life and getting help to heal after each time I faced death. I am not a veteran, as I point out all the time. I have just had my life on the line many times from early childhood. The difference, the only one I can see, is that my family was always there and talked everything to death.

I come from a large "Greek" family. Much like the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" the whole extended family was involved in everything and there were no secrets. Sometimes they gave the wrong advice, but they were always there to listen until I was done talking. Every dangerous experience was subdued surrounded by loving family members. Being resilient is not being perfect. There are times when I actually got to the breaking point and once I prayed very hard to die. I get depressed. I have to fight off thinking negatively. I have to remind myself of all the times something happened and I am still standing. In other words, when "it" didn't win.

It does not have to win now for you either.

Talk about what you went through, how you felt and what you were thinking at the time. When you start to be able to talk about it without feeling your insides change when you do, then you are healing from it. Every part of you experienced the event. Your muscles. Your heart rate. It all goes with it so it is important to do this and get it all out in the open in a safe place.

These videos are a few years old but while time has changed the nature of PTSD has not.

Psychological aftershocks are invisible wounds of disaster but most people recover with time
Published April 18, 2013
Associated Press

BOSTON – Anger. Crying jags. Nightmares. They're all normal reactions for survivors of the bombings at the Boston Marathon, and witnesses to the mayhem.

Kaitlyn Greeley burst into tears when a car backfired the other day. She's afraid to take her usual train to work at a Boston hospital.

"I know this is how people live every day in other countries. But I'm not used to it here," said Greeley, 27, a technician at Tufts Medical Center who was on duty Monday when part of the hospital was briefly evacuated even as victims of the blast were being treated.

Those psychological aftershocks are the often invisible wounds of disaster. Most affected are the injured and those closest to the blasts. But even people with no physical injuries and those like Greeley who weren't nearby can feel the emotional impact for weeks as they struggle to regain a sense of security. What's not clear is who will go on to suffer lingering anxiety or depression, even post-traumatic stress disorder.

Seek help if those reactions are bad enough to impair function, or if they're not getting better in about a month, said Priscilla Dass-Brailsford, a psychologist at Georgetown University Medical Center, who served on disaster mental health teams that counseled survivors of 9/11 in New York and Hurricane Katrina. read more here

Hero After War is about combat and PTSD but there are many things that can help others.

This can help you understand too.



Get help before your mind changes. The best time to begin to heal is now. If you have been suffering for a long time, there are things that you can do that can make your life better and what cannot be healed, you can find peace to live with.