Firefighters Helping Others Help Themselves Heal PTSD

Firefighters who’ve developed PTSD helping others learn to help themselves
Washington Post
Lynh Bui
December 28, 2017

“We’re showing up at everybody’s worst day, in a lot of cases. It’s not just part of our job — we want to do it. But how can we get to retirement and have a life after the fire service that’s not traumatized by what we did?”
Patrick Morrison

“You don’t come out perfect,” Eric Fessenden said, but you learn how to cope. A former Montgomery County firefighter, Fessenden attended the nation’s only in-patient facility designed to treat firefighters with PTSD. (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

After a 24-year career in the fire service, Eric Fessenden has a memory bank of the grisly calls he answered. He’s pulled bloated bodies out of rivers, treated victims of the D.C.-area Beltway Sniper attacks, and extracted the dead and the mangled from car wrecks.

Staying busy at work allowed the Montgomery County firefighter to put aside the emotional burdens of his job, but after an injury forced him to retire, he often found himself inexplicably anxious and angry. He woke up shaking in the middle of the night soaked in sweat. And the hikes he looked forward to each week with family members would end miserably when he inevitably snapped at them during the outings.

Fessenden, 48, thought that he suffered from post-traumatic stress. It wasn’t until recently he learned it was that — and more.

First responders witness trauma not only from everyday events such as car crashes and house fires, said Patrick Morrison, assistant general president for health, safety and medicine of the International Association of Fire ­Fighters. They’re also answering extraordinarily difficult mass-casualty calls, such as the Mandalay Bay shooting that killed 58 in Las Vegas, the Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 in Oakland, Calif., and devastating natural disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
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Oklahoma City Vietnam Veterans Memorial Founded Passed Away

Founder of Oklahoma’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial dies two days before Christmas
KOCO 5 News
Paul Folger
December 29, 2017

“He realized there was no place for Vietnam veterans to feel welcome,” Mullings’ son, Jamey McCLaine Mullings, said.

OKLAHOMA CITY — It was a sad day for Vietnam veterans in Oklahoma. The founder and creator of the Vietnam Veteran's Wall has died.

Family and friends said goodbye Thursday to James Michael Mullings, remembering him for the honor he gave to our heroes who served.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial sits just beyond our state capitol. It was created by Mullings, who served in Vietnam himself. The 71-year-old died just two days before Christmas, which was also his birthday. But the legacy of this wall is one everyone can visit.

“He felt very, very called to provide a memorial here because most Oklahomans might not have the opportunity to go to Washington D.C.” Teese Mullings, James Mullings’ wife, said.

Mullings worked with leaders from Washington and our state and came up with the memorial because he knew Vietnam veterans needed the place.
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Air Force Medic Saved Life on Commercial Plane?

Air Force Medical Technician Saves Airborne Heart Attack Victim
Department of Defense
By Air Force Staff Sgt. Franklin R. Ramos, 51st Fighter Wing
Dec. 29, 2017

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea
After visiting family in Santa Ana, California, Air Force Staff Sgt. Cassidy McCurdy, an independent duty medical technician with the 51st Medical Group here, was heading back to his base on a connecting flight from San Francisco to Seattle, when things took an unexpected turn.

Independent Medical Duty Technician Air Force Staff Sgt. Cassidy McCurdy, an independent medical duty technician with the 51st Medical Group, poses for a photo at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Dec. 21, 2017. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Franklin R. Ramos

“I was taking a nap and there was some commotion going on in the back [of the aircraft],” McCurdy recalled. “Then the [flight attendants] asked if there was a doctor or emergency medical technician onboard.”

McCurdy sprung to action to assess the situation.

“I got up and there was a woman in cardiac arrest,” McCurdy said. “There were no other medics around [at the moment] and she didn’t have a pulse, so I started to do chest compressions. I just completely reacted and did everything I’ve been trained to do through the emergency medicine protocols that we do. It was the first time I had to 100-percent rely on myself to know what to do [in a cardiac arrest situation].”

It took around two minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation for the victim to gain consciousness.
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Iraq Veteran Chaplain Betrayed by Catholic Church Because of PTSD?

Iraq Veteran Betrayed by Church Over PTSD?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 29, 2017

Most of my life has been dedicated to veterans and PTSD. For over 3 decades, every true expert on PTSD has said that spiritual healing is vital, especially when the person afflicted by it, came with their job.

It takes a very special person with a strong emotional core to not just do their jobs, but even think they should do them in the first place.

They are pulled to do them. Knowing all the hardships, as well as the risks, did not stop them from putting their lives on the line for someone else.

That is how much life mattered to them. Rev. Robert Repenning knows what that is like. He also served as an Army Chaplain in Iraq. He spoke about God's love and he showed the compassion of Christ as well as what courage is like on behalf of the Church. Too bad the Catholic Church did not notice faith was spread by people just like him when Jesus sent out the 12 others.

"As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." Matthew 10:7-8

At least that is the way I thought it was supposed to be. How can the church, or any house of worship claim they care when they refuse to send someone who not only understands what our veterans are going through, but lives with it, walks the walk and still has the same connection to God?

Why is it they were so ready to turn their backs on this veteran when so many others should be welcomed into the healing power of God's love?

I am with Point Man International Ministries because they believe as I do. They go out and minister to those in need of healing, just as Christ said it should be done.

To think that this message has been sent out to all those who put their lives on the line for the sake of others, proving the greatest level of love their is, a betrayal of the mission they took an oath to fulfill.

The topper in all of this is, he is fighting to stay in the church and continue to minister to Catholics instead of walking away to go to another denomination that will not just welcome him, but value the help and hope he can offer so many veterans. 

Unassigned priest with PTSD finds 'peace amidst the storms'
Poughkeepsie Journal
Nina Schultzman
December 29, 2017

"The faith talks about mercy. The faith talks about compassion. The faith talks abut the sanctity of every human person. What is the Archdiocese saying by treating someone with a disability this way? They are not living up to the gospels." Rev. Robert Repenning

Meanwhile, "if I defend myself, they say I'm attacking the archdiocese," Repenning added.

For the past 18 months, the Rev. Robert Repenning has had no church to call home, no parish to serve.

"In a spiritual sense, it's devastating not to have an assignment," said Repenning, a longtime local Roman Catholic priest and former Army chaplain, who served in the Iraq War. "I want to be in a parish."

Repenning, 45, says the archdiocese has discriminated against him as a disabled veteran because of the alleged severity of his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

His contract at Holy Trinity in Poughkeepsie, which he led for a six-year term that ended on July 1, 2016, was not renewed.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan has told Repenning that he has a "grave lack of any self-awareness... that you may have deep problems," according to correspondence Repenning shared with the Journal.

It's a “moral obligation, and a fraternal desire” of Dolan's to ensure Repenning is healthy, and “to do this, we need a professional assessment best done in a residential setting," the cardinal wrote in a 2016 letter to Repenning.

Repenning has said he did not agree to seek treatment at an archdiocese-approved facility and that he's already been receiving medical care at the Castle Point branch of the Veterans Affairs Hudson Valley Health Care System.

Since his leave began, Repenning said he's had psychological and physical tests completed, and his doctors have no concerns.
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"...some deal alone with pain of military suicide"

Some survivors are offered help, some deal alone with pain of military suicide
Tampa Bay Times
Howard Altman
Times staff writer
December 28, 2017

A retired deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, she spent 15 years on the crisis negotiation team, talking people out of taking their own lives. But there was nothing she could do for her son. 

Compounding the tragedy, she said, is that she was left to deal with it on her own. There was no help from the Marines. No casualty assistance officer. No honor guard. Nothing.

Nearly 500 troops killed themselves last year and the numbers are on pace to far exceed that in 2017. Thousands of former service members, about 20 a day in 2014, also take their own lives.

Suicide has hit home this year for some two dozen military families across Tampa Bay, including those left behind by a soldier from Tampa and by a Marine veteran — still carrying the scars of battle — from Indian Rocks.

The two men had their service in common, but the military stepped in to help ease the grief for only one of the families, pushing the other to join a cause: that no survivors of a military suicide should walk alone.

A Facebook post from Army Pfc. Matthew Forstrom left his parents horrified and helpless.

"... this isn’t anyone’s fault but my own," Forstrom wrote in a 341-word suicide note that appeared at 5:05 p.m. Dec. 4. "I only wish I had done it sooner."

Relatives of Army Pfc. Matthew Forstrom console each other near his flag draped coffin as it arrives at Tampa International Airport on Dec. 5. An Army Honor Guard received Forstrom's body during a plane-side service. [LUIS SANTANA | Times]

The words set in motion ripples of action, from the 24-year-old soldier’s base in Fort Bliss, Texas, to his home town of Tampa. The Army and local law enforcement launched a massive search effort. His mother, Pamela Andrews, who was alerted to the post by a relative, sent her son an urgent text message.

You better call me back right now.

He did, Andrews said, and the two spoke briefly.

"He just wanted to ask for my forgiveness. He was going to take one more thing from me."

For 12 agonizing hours, Andrews and Forstrom’s father, Ronald Forstrom, who was on a business trip to Indiana, waited for news.

But the Army and first responders couldn’t find their son in time.

And so on a Friday night earlier this month, relatives and friends of Forstrom’s gathered in the cellphone lot at Tampa International Airport to wait for an escort onto the tarmac so they could watch a flag-drapped coffin come off American Airlines Flight 2623.
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Man died at bus stop...he was homeless

​Homeless advocates worry about cold after man's death at bus stop
WLWT 5 News
Richard Chiles
December 27, 2017

CINCINNATI
As police confirmed the death of a homeless man at the Government Square transit center, advocates for the area's homeless population mobilized in anger and determination.

Maslow's Army, a nonprofit who worked closely with the man, identified him at Ken Martin. Although the cause of death hasn't been officially confirmed, the cold seems to have likely been a factor.

"It is heartbreaking. That's one of the reasons we are here is to prevent that from happening. 

So it is always heartbreaking when someone doesn't take advantage of the space that we have to offer here and chooses to be out on the street and in the cold."

Homeless Marine veteran Tim Stockton looks at the Government Square death as a harsh reality of the bitter cold.

"This could have been me," Stockton said. "You don't leave nobody out on the streets."

read more here 

News Crew Took On VA for Homeless Veteran and Won

Veteran gets home through VA program after WBTV investigation
WBTV 3 News
Nick Ochsner
December 28, 2017

ASHEVILLE, NC (WBTV) -

A once-homeless veteran has a home of his own, months after a WBTV investigation questioned why the US Department of Veterans Affairs refused to offer the veteran further assistance.

In September, WBTV first talked with Greg Armento. 

At the time, Armento was being made to leave a long-term living facility for homeless veterans operated by an Asheville charity. The facility was paid to provide Armento food and shelter through a VA-funded program known as grant Per Diem, which pays a facility daily to shelter homeless veterans.

Armento filed a federal lawsuit against the organization that runs the Asheville shelter earlier in 2017, claiming supervisors at the facility violated federal labor laws by forcing Armento to perform unpaid labor.

The facility has denied those claims.

In September, when Armento was being forced from the long-term shelter, social workers at the Asheville VA Medical Center had told Armento they would not be able to help him find additional housing and, instead, suggested he plan to say at an emergency shelter overnight.

But that changed after WBTV’s investigation.

Instead of being forced onto the streets, the VA paid for Armento to stay in a hotel while he searched for a new place to live.

Now, Armento is living in a one bedroom apartment paid for through a program known as HUD-VASH. The program is a partnership between the VA and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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First Responders and Veterans with PTSD Share Healing Horse Power

Veterans, first responders with PTSD encouraged to find peace in Middleburg horse pasture

Florida Times Union Jacksonville

Joe Daraskevich

December 26 2017

“I want people to know that this is a place that nobody is going to be judging them.This is a peaceful place away from all distractions.” Rebecca Davenport

Rebecca Davenport envisions veterans and first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder enjoying yoga classes, group meetings, counseling or alone time in a peaceful spot where horses graze and city sounds are miles away.

For years she’s offered help to veterans suffering from physical and emotional issues through interaction with horses at Hope Therapy in Middleburg. Now she feels she has more to offer for anyone with PTSD who needs a place to get away.

“The back of our property is under some really pretty oaks,” Davenport said. “I decided there needed to be something out there.”

With construction assistance from sailors stationed at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Davenport added a gazebo, a fire pit, benches and a pergola to create an atmosphere where veterans can escape the stresses of life.

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Army Veteran Gets Dog Back!

Army Veteran Reunited With Stolen Dog In Time For Christmas
CBS New York
December 26, 2017

(CBS Local) — An Army veteran in Oklahoma was reunited with his missing dog just in time for Christmas. The dog, found on Christmas Eve, was missing for nearly a week after her owner’s house was burglarized on Dec. 20.

“It appeared that they were going to steal my valuables, however they ended up only taking my beautiful dog,” veteran Geoff Hoffman wrote on his Facebook page after the crime. A frantic search for Bridget, the three-year-old pit bull, began as local animal rescue groups and social media users spread the story of the apparent dog-napping. read more here

Time to Join the Fight for Survivors to Take Lives Back

With all the time we've been talking about healing PTSD the stigma is still too strong. It is time to change the conversation and Combat PTSD Wounded Times needs your help to do that.

We gave them the facts. We fought against rumors. Above all else, we showed them how to heal. 

The only thing they have to be ashamed of is the rest of us not fighting to make sure they knew they could take their lives back before it was too late for too many.

There is no cure for PTSD but it can be defeated!

Combat PTSD Wounded Times

And if you have PTSD, show that you have nothing to be ashamed of.

Help PTSD Survivors take back life! 

You never know who you may encourage to talk to you about it.