Gunman Kept Shooting, Paramedic Kept Helping Others After Being Shot

Las Vegas shooting: San Bernardino paramedic helps save lives after being wounded

ABC Eyewitness News
Elex Michaelson
October 8, 2017 

While helping a gunshot victim, Jimmy himself was shot in the leg. He didn't tell Matt about the gunshot wound, at first. He simply told him to run.

LAS VEGAS (KABC) --

Jimmy Grovom is a trained paramedic. But he never thought he'd need to work during his Las Vegas vacation.

The Mission Viejo native came to the Route 91 Harvest festival with his girlfriend, Briana, his brother, Matt, and a group of their friends.

They were enjoying the music when shots rang out. Jimmy knew it was time to get to work.

"It's just how I'm wired, I guess," he said. "I like to help people when I see them in need."

Amid the gunfire, Matt Grovom watched as a woman standing next to him was hit.

"When I first heard the shots, the first person I yelled for is my brother," he said. "That just says something about him right there."

Jimmy began to administer aid to that woman and then moved on to help someone else. Then there was another round of gunfire.
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Some Reporters Doing More Harm Than Good

(My two cents is that this article is very true, but also applies to man on social media.)

Some media covering Las Vegas shooting accused of doing more harm

News 1130

Marcella Bernardo

Associated Press

October 8, 2017

"Miller, who treats sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, says the last thing you should say to someone who’s been through a trauma is "'You’re lucky to be alive.'"

Melissa Gerber, left, Nancy Hardy, center, and Sandra Serralde, all of Las Vegas, embrace as they look on crosses in honor of those killed in the mass shooting Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Las Vegas. A gunman opened fire on an outdoor music concert on Sunday killing dozens and injuring hundreds.(AP Photo/Gregory Bull) 

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A local psychologist is worried about the impact on survivors of the Las Vegas massacre, saying some TV reporters are deliberately inciting an emotional response with their interview questions.

Doctor Lawrence Miller says it’s not a good idea for reporters to act as amateur psychologists for survivors or first responders who might be traumatized.

“So that’s really risky. If you go up to someone in the crowd in Las Vegas and you say, ‘Oh, you know, you’re lucky to be alive,’ the person may be just kind of still trying to formulate, like, what all this means.  Well, what the person hears is, ‘I could have been killed’ and that is the kind of thought process that can begin the development of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

He adds certain questions are deliberately asked with the goal of prompting tears, but that’s dangerous when dealing with someone who’s mentally fragile.

“When someone’s been through trauma like that, the worst thing you can do is start saying how they should be feeling and ‘You must be the luckiest guy alive, you know, you’re lucky to be alive. 
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Lt. Derrick “Bo” Taylor, Corrections Officer Honored After Las Vegas Shooting

Veteran Corrections Officer Killed In Vegas Massacre Remembered As A Hero

CBS Los Angeles

October 7, 2017

BURBANK (CBSLA) — A veteran corrections officer killed in the Las Vegas massacre was welcomed home in true hero fashion Saturday.

Family and colleagues of Lt. Derrick “Bo” Taylor gathered at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport, where his body was flown Saturday morning.

On the tarmac, members of the color guard draped a flag over his casket; corrections officers then carefully loaded it into a van as part of a procession in his honor. 

Taylor and his girlfriend, Denise Cohen, of Carpinteria, were among the 59 people shot and killed at the country music festival in Las Vegas.

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Congress Turned VA Into PTSD Tar Pit

Is This The Best a Grateful Nation Can Do?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 8, 2017

This was what happened 16 years ago yesterday, leading to reality of another war young men and women would put their lives on the line for.

President Bush announces military action in Afghanistan
History.com
October 7, 2001

On this day in 2001, less than a month after al-Qaida terrorists flew commercial jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, President George W. Bush announces that American troops are on the offensive in Afghanistan. The goal of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the mission was dubbed, was to stamp out Afghanistan’s Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime, which had aided and abetted al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden, a Saudi national who lived in the Afghan hills and urged his followers to kill Americans.

In a televised address that evening, Bush informed the American public that “carefully targeted actions” were being carried out to crush the military capability of al-Qaida and the Taliban, with help from British, Canadian, Australian, German and French troops. An additional 40 nations around the world provided intelligence, as well as bases from which the operations were conducted.
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The problem was, and still is, Congress did not prepare the Department of Veterans Affairs to care for the veterans this war would create. Frankly, they had not taken care of the previous generations of those they sent before. While some settled for a war that would be over quickly, history had taught the rest of the people that it would be far from quick or easy. The Russians tried for 10 years to defeat the people fighting for their own country.

The invasion of Iraq followed and, yet again, historically known to be a lengthy commitment of lives, Congress failed to prepare the VA for even more wounded. 

"Had we taken all of Iraq, we would have been like the dinosaur in the tar pit - we would still be there, and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs for that occupation." General Norman Schwarzkopf

That is what they knew after the Gulf War. In other words, they knew what this would do, how long it would go on, yet told the American public it would be over soon.

It wasn't over but no one has apologized to the veterans of either war. 

In 2006, The Washington Post reported the Army did a study on what redeployments would do to those sent back into combat.

"U.S. soldiers serving repeated Iraq deployments are 50 percent more likely than those with one tour to suffer from acute combat stress, raising their risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Army's first survey exploring how today's multiple war-zone rotations affect soldiers' mental health.More than 650,000 soldiers have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001 -- including more than 170,000 now in the Army who have served multiple tours -- so the survey's finding of increased risk from repeated exposure to combat has potentially widespread implications for the all-volunteer force. Earlier Army studies have shown that up to 30 percent of troops deployed to Iraq suffer from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with the latter accounting for about 10 percent."

And yet again, they were failed by the Congress when the increased risk of PTSD was not addressed. Far too many were sent back over and over again.

And yet again, Congress seems committed to repeating the same Bills to reduce the rate of suicides after war. Does that mean they are satisfied with the results? If they are then nothing will ever change unless they change their minds or we change them!

Suicides tear at the soul of the veterans community because it means these men and women survived combat but could not survive being back home. What is worse is that no one seems concerned with the fact that as the number of servicemembers decreased, suicides did not decrease. Yes, even after all these years of Congress passing Bills and paying billions out without any accountability to those getting the checks.

Some want to guess at the number of veterans ending their lives instead of taking their lives back. The truth is, we will never know for sure. Too many states to not track them. Too many deaths are not counted when they are tied to "suicide by cop" or single vehicle accidents, drug overdoses and the list goes on.

The only thing we know for sure is that Congress has had jurisdiction over the way veterans are treated in this country since 1946, and have never once apologized for what they failed to do!

Is this the best a grateful nation can do for those who are willing to die to save lives, yet still cannot find what they need to save their own?

PTSD Female Veteran Helps Others With Open Studio and Heart

Serving her own
Albuquerque Journal
By Elaine D. Briseño / Journal Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, October 8th, 2017

"Not only did she endure all the horrors that come with combat, but lived in constant fear of being sexually assaulted again."

Sitting on the floor of her KD Neeley studio, Katie Neeley, 33, looks through a sketchbook she kept while she was serving in the military. Neeley uses the gallery space to host fundraisers for local nonprofit groups, especially those that support veterans. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Katie Neeley has always considered herself an artist but said when she reached adulthood she lost her voice and inspiration.

“I got to a point in my studies where I could draw or paint anything,” she said. “But I felt like I had nothing offer. I had no life experience.”

Neeley, 33, decided joining the military would give her that life experience while giving her some direction. That decision would send her on a dark path that ended with a suicide attempt and hospitalization. Now the former Marine is using her experience, and money, to help other veterans dealing with the emotional ramifications of their military service.

The Albuquerque native opened the KD Neeley studio in the heart of Downtown and uses the gallery to not only display the work of local artists but as a place to host fundraisers. The gallery is located on Fourth Street just north of Central.
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