Friday, October 24, 2008

Veterans Break Ground On New Orlando Hospital






I was at this ceremony this morning. It was very impressive with all the politicians there. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Gov. Crist, Congressmen Feeney, Mica, Keller, Weldon along with Congresswoman Brown. Senator Mel Martinez was there but Nelson wasn't. We even had Secretary of Veteran's Affairs James Peake there. All in all, they made short speeches talking about what the veterans deserved from this nation and they came together across party lines, which was great. What was missing was any kind of explanation why they had the ground breaking today when the hospital will not be finished until 4 years from now. The rumor was that they wanted to make sure it was done before the election.

We can talk all we want about what we owe the veterans but when you get right down to it, that is all talk considering that veterans have only really been issues when some politician wants their votes. It's amazing how fast things happen when there is a vote coming up. This time though, it was different. They have been at this for a very long time. Building a VA hospital in Central Florida is long overdue. Up until now all we've had is the clinic and veterans had to drive to Tampa or someplace else for the medical care they need. The really wonderful thing is that it also showed what people can do when they work together instead of only sticking with the party they belong to. In the short speeches these people gave, they all gave credit to the veterans who fought for it and kept the pressure on to get this done.

Veterans are not Republican or Democrat, or Independent. They are Americans. They owe their loyalty and their heart to the nation as a whole, served the nation as a whole and ended up being veterans for the rest of their lives. The lessons they have to teach all of us is that we are all stronger when we work together.

I had a conversation with the woman sitting in front of me before the speeches began. Her husband is a Vietnam vet as well. We began to talk about Iraq and I told her that one of the greatest lessons to come from Vietnam is that no one takes their feelings out on the troops. Both sides come together for their sake. It will be a wonderful day when we can carry that bond into every part of this nation and see each other as part of the greater "us" instead of separating them from us.

All that has been accomplished in PTSD research and treatment began with the Vietnam veterans even though this wound of war has been documented throughout history. The Vietnam veterans came together for the sake of the greater good and it didn't matter to any of them what party anyone belonged to because they were all part of the "brotherhood of the warrior" and that was all that mattered. It's all that still matters when actions are needed to take care of their brothers and sisters.

I told the woman that I don't care what party a person belongs to if they do not take care of the veterans, they don't deserve my vote. I just wish that all the people who do really care about the troops and the veterans would take the same attitude. No party has deserved the support of the veterans. Politicians are terrible on both sides when they are allowed to be afforded the support they do not return. Politicians are the ones who also feed the division in this nation while it's the veterans who fought for this nation. They showed us that this nation is worth fighting for and works better when we all work together. Too bad that this cannot be remembered all the time and really bad that our veterans cannot be really shown the appreciation ceremonies like today offered.

What are you doing for Veteran's Day this year? Think about it. I'm sure you can come up with something you can do for them.

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

This is the way I sign all my emails. Congresswoman Brown quoted Washington's words and Peake mentioned his words as well. Amazing.


Veterans Break Ground On New Orlando Hospital
Central Florida News 13 - Orlando,FL,USA
ORLANDO -- Thousands of Central Florida veterans are one step closer to getting a veterans' hospital in Orlando. On Friday, veterans, politicians and others will break ground on the new VA Medical Center located at Lake Nona.

Presently, area veterans rely on the Daytona Beach and Jacksonville Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics and the VA hospital in Gainesville for treatment.

Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. kicks off the $656 million project, which will include a hospital, community living center and outpatient clinic in the Lake Nona area.

The VA Medical Center will eventually join the University of Central Florida’s new medical school and the Burnham Institute.

2 comments:

  1. With out a doubt, people are scarred from the effects of war. Can these scars become worse or permanent – Only by giving into the prevalent psychiatric mentality of “Mental Disorders” exist everywhere! According to Psychiatry (APA), 90% of the human race has mental disorders, where there doesn’t exist a single shred of physical evidence or proof to substantiate this claim (zero blood or urine tests can demonstrate mental disorders). Each of the disorders listed in their Bible (DSM IV) are ALL voted on by the American Psychiatric Association and ALL 100% subjective.

    The purpose of such ambiguous and “Learned” articles containing stuff like “Everyone with PTSD experiences the condition differently, and quite often they don't even recognize they have it right away…” is to introvert people into thinking “ohhh my gosh. I might have something...”. This subsequently leads to drugging and massive profiteering! (e.g. more than 27 million children on high powered psychiatric drugs).

    Make no mistake. Articles like this sells drugs – and I’m not talking about Asthma or insulin medication. We’re talking about mind or mood altering, high powered schedule II drugs compared in similar effectiveness by the FDA to Cocaine, PCP or Angle-Dust. Visit www.cchr.org for more info.

    This has got to stop!

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  2. I couldn't disagree with you more. I've been involved in this for 26 years and have lived with it.

    PTSD is not one size fits all and comes with different levels. It's very complicated. Some do well with talk therapy, some with one to one, others with groups. Some do well with a combination of medications and talk therapy. Some do well with some of the more recent treatments like yoga, martial arts, virtual reality, eye movements, along with some of the other things they are trying.

    The rate of PTSD is one out of three, no matter what the cause. What has been found is that the sooner it is addressed the better the recovery. When you have people who are seeking help the key is that they have to be totally honest with their doctors to be treated appropriately. There is such a vast wealth of treatments, if something does not work, there are other options. No one should have to settle for a one size fits all solution which would only add to the distress.

    Medications and therapy have helped my husband but his medications are no the same ones some of his "brothers" are on. The best thing is when the mind-body and spirit are all addressed since all parts of what makes us human have been wounded.

    Don't write off medications or psychiatry or any of the other things they are trying. We've come a very long way since the veterans came back from Vietnam and fought to get us as far as we've come. Above all, don't write off these veterans either. In case you didn't pay attention to any of the findings across the nation and from other nations, there is clear evidence that this is real. Try the Science Channel, Discovery Channel, History Channel or try to pay attention to the veterans living with this and you'll know how real this is.

    By the way, you mention the word "Bible" but I bet you didn't notice PTSD is in the Bible, not under that title but the symptoms are there along with reports from the ancient Greek and Roman historians. It's not as new as you think it is. It was recorded long before the practice of psychiatry began.

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