Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Tenth Commandment on PTSD

The Tenth Commandment on PTSD
by
Chaplain Kathie


"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."


How does this apply to PTSD? Because when your spirit has been invaded after trauma, part of the denial process is wondering why other people seem able to walk away untouched by what all of you went through. You may become jealous of them, think better of them than yourself, want to be like them, but the truth is, you were not created to be like them. You were created to be like you are because God's wisdom created all different types of people for all different types of purposes.


Professionals and many experts have yet to understand the basics about PTSD. While they will acknowledge the need to heal the total person, mind, body and soul, they refuse to look at the soul itself. It never penetrates their brains that researchers have found the part of the brain where emotions are kept and have seen the changes there in people with PTSD. That is where the soul must live within all of us. For all the years I've talked to veterans and others with PTSD, there are common links between them and the first one is that they were for the vast majority, compassionate people. It is your compassion, the gift of being able to feel deeply, that has set you aside from the others appearing able to just walk away.

Caring is not a flaw but a gift you have been given but you can no longer see the beauty within that gift. Being able to feel more deeply begins to seem more like a curse than a blessing only because you do not understand it. What allows you to feel the pain more also allows you to feel love more deeply, compassion more strongly and feel simple pleasures as if they were gold. Others can look at a sunrise and never feel the beauty right in front of their eyes. You can or could until PTSD got in the way. It's all there inside of you but trapped behind the wall your mind built to protect itself from more harm. You can find it within you if you look for it.

Papa Roy, one of the Chaplains in my group has taken it upon himself to send out daily reminders of support for all of us. You have read many of the things he's had to share on this blog. Today's message reminded me of something that I have not shared for a while and it's a good time to remind you of God's love.


Good morning, Friends! I appreciate you.

Set a watch over our eyes

And what is the main sense that we have that gets our mind stimulated? Our eyes. So those things that we view really do shape our thoughts, our desires. They give us ideas, examples, and set our imaginations aflame. And the world and the Prince of this world, Satan, knows this and is only too happy to use this medium of television to capture you, brainwash you, and shape your mind to long after things in opposition to the Lord. And that's why God gave us verses such as these to warn us to diligently guard our eyes:

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)

Diligently guard our eyes

We must keep our eye upon our Master, and be careful to approve ourselves to him; keep our eye upon our rule, and conform to that; keep our eye upon our mark, the prize of the high calling, and direct all towards that.

Papa Roy

In God we trust: I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. (Psalm 101;3)

Guard Your Eyes Against the World's Many Temptations


It is not so much your eye but how you see things. What you choose to focus on. If you focus on only what is bad, that is what you see and then everything begins to look bad. Your compassion is being attacked by it until you look at what was good among what was bad. The good was there inside of you at the moment of what you saw as evil.

When you saw your friend struck down, did you spirit scream out "God help him!" in an instant after it happened? Did you forget about your own safety and rush to his side? Did your heart feel as if it was breaking? This reaction was based on the goodness within you. Goodness was present at the moment of trauma and chaos.

The blessing of compassion enables God to hear your prayers for the sake of someone else because you have heard His voice within you and the commandment to love others as if they belonged to you, as if they were part of your own family.

"Guard Your Eyes Against the World's Many Temptations"
We are all tempted to look at the bad, ignoring the good because it seems everyone else is able to. They may appear to be stronger than we are if our emotions are under attack. Yet it is not strength that pushes them on but a weakness of their compassion allowing them to remain untouched in the depth of their soul. We do not see they are also unable to feel the goodness as deeply as we do in the process. We see what we want to see in them avoiding what we should be looking at within ourselves.

Misunderstanding gifts from God feels as if they are curses instead, we forget about the wonders we have felt before if we focus only on the pain we carry now.

Compassion requires the courage to be able to set your "own" aside for the sake of someone else. This was within you, calling you to join the military to act as defense for others. As the military trained you to fight, God trained you to feel. The others you serve with gain from that compassion within you and it prevents them from becoming unfeeling with you as an testament of love. The core of your spirit is stronger than any evil that can ever touch you and you will find that strength if you look for it. If you do not know it is there, you will not look for it, depend on it and embrace it instead of turning away. You will want to be like the others you see as "stronger" because you see yourself as weaker. Turn your eyes to what is within you and remember the blessing God provided for you and use it for the good others need in moments of need.

Heal your spirit by seeing what you have been blessed with and know that God's wisdom put you where you are or were in life for the sake of others, not as a punishment against you but as a blessing for them. He has provided you with all you need to heal and help others heal. You can find it if you look for it and understand what was there all along. "Seek and ye shall find" Christ said, but if we look for answers in the wrong places with the wrong focus, we will get the wrong answers. Change your own focus of what is within you and find the right way to heal.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Man who died saving girl was extremely ill young homeless man

Man who died saving girl was extremely ill

By BARBARA LaBOE, The Longview Daily News KELSO, Wash. (AP) - Allen Heck has been hailed a hero since running into the Cowlitz River last week to save a 9-year-old girl, losing his own life in the process. Unknown by most is that Heck was an extremely ill young homeless man with the simple goal of living to his 21st birthday.

The 20-year-old Longview man had drifted for about three years after diabetes barred him from the only job he ever wanted - serving in the Army. Directionless, he made some bad decisions, family and friends admit, and was living at the Community House shelter at the time of the drowning.

But despite frequent hospitalizations for diabetes and complications and the news he only had a few years to live, at best Heck kept trying to put his life back together, family and friends said. And his actions one week ago surprised no one who knew him.
read more here
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/51747952.html

Army arrests local civilian after bizarre mixup

Army arrests local civilian after bizarre mixup

By Ray Lane
SEATTLE - A local man returning from a trip to Central America was dumbfounded when military officials had him arrested for being a deserter - even though he was never in the military.

"To one day just be arrested, and like - here you go, you're detained, and not have any idea why ..." says Chris Parks of Seattle, his voice trailing off.

For Parks, 27, the incredible headache began a few weeks ago as he and some friends were coming back to the United States after a trip to Mexico and Central America.

As he went through customs at the Charlotte airport in North Carolina, his name caught the attention of Homeland Security personnel.

Parks' name was flagged as being a deserter from the military.

"I've been in the Army for 10 years, and didn't even know it," he says. "Just seems kind of odd."
read more here
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/51747592.html

Baby boy dies in 3-story porch fall

Baby boy dies in 3-story porch fall
July 27, 2009 11:13 AM UPDATED STORY
The kick hit the woman in the back as she descended the stairs from the apartment where she was picking up her son, according to police.

Her 1-month-old son lay unsecured in a car seat she was carrying, and as she lost her balance, the baby tumbled out of the carrier, over a guard rail and to the ground, three stories below.

Chicago Police are still investigating the incident this morning in the East Chatham neighborhood that left Jeremiah Range dead.
read more here
Baby boy dies in 3-story porch fall


One moment out of the lives of the people involved and outcomes that cannot be taken back. A baby died, a mother lost a child and a father lost a child along with an entire neighborhood that will never be the same.

Vets affected by VA hospital errors to file claims

Vets affected by VA hospital errors to file claims
Monday, July 27, 2009 2:34:30 PM

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.(AP)

An attorney is preparing to ask the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to pay disability benefits and damages for hospital mistakes that may have exposed veterans to infectious body fluids _ a complaint that he said could ultimately multiply into many more such demands.

The attorney, Mike Sheppard of Nashville, said he is preparing to file claims with the VA for about 60 veterans, including three women.

Among them are veterans who have tested positive for HIV and hepatitis and others who suffered emotional distress after the VA provided them with initial positive blood tests for infections that turned out to be wrong.

Sheppard also said other veterans among the roughly 10,000 affected former patients at VA hospitals in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Miami and Augusta, Ga., are likely to seek compensation beyond the VA's offer of free medical care.
read more here
Vets affected by VA hospital errors to file claims

DOD: Non-combat death in Iraq under investigation



DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.



Spc. Herberth A. Berrios-Campos, 21, of Bealeton, Va., died July 24 in Salman Pak, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.






The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.


http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx



UPDATE July 31, 2009

Soldier From Virginia Dies in Iraq
By Catherine Cheney
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 31, 2009; 12:24 PM

Spec. Herberth Berrios-Campos, 21, of Bealeton, Va., died last week in Salman Pak, Iraq, of "injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident," the details of which are under investigation, according to the Defense Department.

Campos, a graduate of Liberty High School in Bealeton, was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C., and assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

"Specialist Berrios-Campos was a fine paratrooper and a valued member to his platoon," said Lt. Col. Dave Bair, commander of the 1st Battalion. "We are grateful for his service to our unit and are proud of his service to the nation. His loss will be felt by many."

Capt. Joel Graves, Berrios-Campos's company commander, added that the soldier's "energetic youthfulness and humorous personality will be greatly missed by all that knew him."

read more here
Soldier From Virginia Dies in Iraq

KBR at fault in electrocutions of soldiers according to IG report

UPDATE to KBR

Claims against contractor dismissed in soldier's death
Story Highlights
Sgt. Christopher Everett died using a power washer at U.S. base in western Iraq

Judges in Texas, Florida drop military contractor KBR from family's lawsuits

KBR's electrical work in Iraq, Afghanistan has come under criticism from Congress

Pentagon report criticizes Houston-based contractor in death of another soldier

From Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein
CNN Special Investigations Unit
(CNN) -- Judges in Texas and Florida have dropped military contractor KBR from lawsuits brought by the family of a soldier who was electrocuted in Iraq, the company announced Tuesday.


Sgt. Christopher Everett was electrocuted in 2005 at an American base outside Ramadi, in western Iraq.

Sgt. Christopher Everett died while using a power washer at an American base outside Ramadi, in western Iraq. His was one of nine electrocution deaths in Iraq blamed on "improper grounding or faulty equipment," according to a Pentagon inspector-general's report released Monday.

KBR was one of the contractors Everett's family has sued in connection with his death. But federal courts in Louisiana and Texas have thrown out the family's claims against the Houston, Texas-based company, KBR announced Tuesday.

"The dismissal orders affirm that despite repeated criticism and statements made by several public officials on Capitol Hill and related media reports, KBR had no involvement in the factors that led to the tragic death of Sergeant Everett," Andrew D. Farley, the company's senior vice president and general counsel, said in a written statement.

KBR's work in Iraq and Afghanistan has come under extensive criticism from members of Congress. The company has defended its performance and argued that it was not to blame for any fatalities.
read more of this here
Claims against contractor dismissed in soldiers death



IG: Military, KBR at fault in electrocution

By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 27, 2009 13:28:10 EDT

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s Inspector General has determined that military leaders and a military contractor failed to protect a Green Beret who was electrocuted while showering in his barracks in Iraq.

The 2008 death of 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth has triggered investigations into the other electrocution deaths of U.S. troops and the review by the Defense Department’s IG.

The inspector general says that “multiple systems and organizations” failed and exposed Maseth to “unacceptable risk.” That’s according to a summary of the IG’s findings obtained by The Associated Press.

It specifically spells out that KBR Inc. installed improperly grounded equipment that faulted and led to Maseth’s death.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/07/ap_electrocutions_iraq_072709w/

Real Ex-POW's Veterans History Project Wants to Know Your Story

Ex-POWs battle against time to tell stories

By James Hannah - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 27, 2009 7:34:38 EDT

DAYTON, Ohio — Museums are seeing an increase in donations and oral histories from the swell of former U.S. prisoners of war eager to leave their legacies. But museum officials still worry that too many POWs approaching their late 80s and 90s will go to their graves without publicly telling their stories.

The National Prisoner of War Museum, in Andersonville, Ga., said it expects to have a 40 percent increase in artifacts, journals and other donations from former POWs this year compared to last year. Primarily, those contributions are coming from those who fought in World War II.

The number of U.S. POWs in World War II, about 130,000, dwarfs those from other wars. There were about 7,000 POWs in the Korean War, and about 725 in the Vietnam War. World War II ended more than 60 years ago, and the number of U.S. POWs is shrinking fast.
read more here
Ex-POWs battle against time to tell stories

For Vietnam vets, another chance to serve and to heal

For Vietnam vets, another chance to serve and to heal
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tomas Dinges
STAR-LEDGER STAFF
For the small group of dedicated Vietnam veterans who arrived at Fort Dix early every morning for 16 days in a row last month, it was an opportunity to give what they never received, a warm welcome home, a hug and a handshake.

The Vietnam veterans were there to welcome home the newest waves of veterans from Iraq and at the same time come to grips with the emotional fallout they are still experiencing from a war that ended almost 35 years ago.


"For years I haven't been emotional, there was a wall," said Michael Walters, 61, of Middlesex, "but I think it's breaking down the wall a little bit, so every time I said something, or expressed myself to the veterans, I felt better."

Walters, a Vietnam Army veteran diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome and a host of physical problems, helped usher some of the 2,800 men and women of the New Jersey Army National Guard into a transition from their military service to their civilian lives.

The days spent in the hangar of the National Guard's Joint Training Center were part of these Vietnam veterans' first attempts at addressing mental and emotional wounds that were ignored, locked away or went unrecognized since they returned home from an unpopular war in a time of social and political upheaval in the 1960s and 1970s.
read more hereFor Vietnam vets, another chance to serve and to heal

16 Shot In Baltimore, Including 12 At Cookout

16 Shot In Baltimore, Including 12 At Cookout
Police Say 2 Killed In East Baltimore
POSTED: 7:30 am EDT July 27, 2009


BALTIMORE -- Sixteen people were shot, two of them fatally, in three separate incidents in a two-mile radius in east Baltimore Sunday night, police said.

Detectives were searching Monday morning for a gunman who opened fire at a backyard cookout, wounding 12 people, police department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

None of the dozen victims suffered life-threatening injuries. The victims were hit in the legs, arms, shoulders and backs, and the wounded included a 2-year-old girl and a pregnant 23-year-old woman, police said.
read more here
16 Shot In Baltimore, Including 12 At Cookout
linked from CNN