Afghans Plan to Stop Recruiting Children as Police – NYTimes.com

Just read the first few paragraphs in this article to get a sense of what we are up against in Afghanistan. Wow. And we thought Chris Hansen of NBC was the only one exposing pedophiles….

Afghans Plan to Stop Recruiting Children as Police – NYTimes.com.

Giffords, War, Skiing and Trauma

 

 

This may be a stretch, but sometimes there are connections that can be made across what seem to be pretty disparate situations. While the Left embarrasses itself by immediately pointing fingers at Sarah Palin (they should wait until later), and the Right yet again proves itself unworthy to lead by holding to the belief that conceal/carry laws make us all safer, a woman lies in an Arizona hospital fighting for her life. The fact that she is alive is amazing enough, but the reported story that she was responsive to questions shortly after her surgery is doubly amazing. Or is it? Granted, the injury to Rep. Giffords (D-AZ) was not as devastating as originally thought (early reports had her dead), but her position as a semi-conscious patient speaks to the heroism of many and the hard work of even many more. It also speaks to what our medical community has learned when it comes to such injuries to the head and brain.

That is what needs to be the focus. Medical recovery and rehabilitation. Then, let the politics come back – as indeed they must because there are truly some issues to address in this country’s political debates.  In the meantime, Rep. Giffords’s condition and her road ahead should be an ongoing story so that everyone can better understand what is means to sustain a brain injury, what the medical community can do to address the trauma, and what it will take her to recover. We have a good start here.

That road will not be easy. Recently, a family member of mine was involved in a skiing accident, and he ended up in the trauma center. Upon short order he was then sent to a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) rehabilitation center. I recently visited this family member at the rehab center, and for those who have seen others in similar circumstances, you will understand that my initial experience was rather disconcerting. Trauma units and rehabilitation hospitals have a way of putting us all in check about what can happen to people when misfortune strikes – whether by accident or human evil. Clearly, even though his injuries were not life threatening, my brother has a long road ahead on the way to some form of recovery. As our family understands more about what will heal our brother, and what challenges he may face, we have learned more and more about the impact of TBI and, to a lesser degree, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

While those terms are a bit scary to hear (it was just a skiing accident, right?), the reality is that these terms are being used more and more in our society to identify the varying afflictions that may arise from traumatic events. We have and will continue to hear about these afflictions related to the shootings in Tucson this past weekend. More often than not, of course, we are hearing this terminology because of the increasing reports about wounded veterans coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan who are having trouble re-integrating with society. That re-integration is made difficult due to either physical or mental wounds, or a combination of both. Typically, our soldiers’ challenges relate to either TBI or PTSD, or both.

To be clear, my brother is pretty lucky. His injuries, while significant, are “minor” compared to what hospitals encounter on a regular basis. While his road will be challenging, he should recover largely to his earlier state. How will Rep. Giffords do? Only time will tell…and it will require her perseverance, strong will, medical care and therapists.

Why all of this? My own experience, and the reports coming out of Tucson, provide an excellent and eye-opening opportunity to reflect on those veterans returning from war. It is not the first time our military has encountered such issues, as the term “shell-shocked” traces its lineage to at least the First World War. However, as the military becomes better at saving wounded soldiers in the field, they are more and more confronted with having to better understand the effects of TBI and PTSD and how to combat them. We have a long way to go before we know how to fully address these issues, but the military has taken great strides to understand the issues and to look for successful remedies and methods to prevent. This effort will help the broader medical community’s to respond to and care for injured patients in these circumstances.

As you hear the stories of medical advances and human resiliency from Tucson and other places, keep in mind what our military families are having to confront on a regular basis. We need to better understand, and we should – if circumstances permit – take an opportunity to reach out and help.

The following program, ABC News’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour, was aired on December 26^th. It provides some good insight into what these soldiers have encountered, and it outlines some of the steps being taken by the military.

While the full program covers many bases, take a few moments to review these two segments (which begin after the annoying ad at the beginning):

• Report by Bob Woodruff on homeless veterans (Woodruff was himself seriously wounded by a road-side bomb in Iraq): segment in video 2:36 – 13:48
• Interview of Army Vice Chief of Staff, Peter Chiarelli: segment 13:49 – 25:00

http://abcnews.go.com/watch/this-week/SH559082/VD55103596/this-week-1226-homeless-veterans

For more information on TBI and its impact, see:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/tbi.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/

[Video below posted on July 27, 2011]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#41302668

Only James Bond Could Love a Story Like This

I would hate to be the military officer trying to explain this one to his command….

Taliban Leader in Peace Talks Was an Impostor – NYTimes.com.