Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Transcripts, Verdicts and Veterans' Suicides Scandal

Brown County Coroner Varnau's trial verdict has been delayed while the BC court recorder was working on the Judge's request for a transcript, which took much longer than expected. That document was filed last week so it's public record, for those who were doubtful about the surprises that emerged in the trial. The media coverage was so clearly lacking in any attempt to connect the dots as to make one wonder why anyone would read the 'coverage' and not simply resign to the idea that they missed it. Now begins the wait for Judge Kessler to write his decision, suitably annotated with direct quotes, in about another week. His original estimate of having it done the week after the trial would likely mean the new estimate will be more lengthy, since the request for a transcript suggests more elaborate agendas. Agreed? Not what we expected. Suspenseful waiting, with some assurance from others who claim to be familiar with this judge's work. Unlike the usual 'work record' in Brown County's courts, where the performance is a disgrace to justice for citizens. More on that record soon.

Meanwhile, let's not allow more veterans to be lost forever in the suicides that opened the door for the Sheriff and Prosecutor to conspire with hearse-chasing lawyers to 'solve' their political problems with an indy coroner who goes to every death scene (unlike the previous coroner who only went when invited), at the expense of aggrieved families. Let's find ways to get proper help for our local veterans now risking suicides. Like the help in Oklahoma here a legislator made it his business to move the mountains of FDA resistance to get HBOT, the help he had seen, for himself, did actually work.. HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen) was improving every veteran's life abilities who tried it, some fully, others to 80% of their own ability within a few sessions, recognizing that they had suffered brain injuries in the battlefield's constant exposure to concussive forces of the ubiquitous explosive incidents. Acknowledging the reality of physical damage suffered, measuring brain scans improving, and life skills returning, to end the misery of suicides that is occurring around the country, not just in Brown County but across the country. Then veterans can return home, really whole. Not face more death here.

Nationally, the scandal over veterans' medical care, has direct ties to the recent unwholesome rash of veterans' suicides here as well. The statistics over all, show a terrifying number of suicides by our veterans. TWENTY TWO A DAY.

That's right. TWENTY TWO VETERANS COMMIT SUICIDE EACH DAY, EVERY DAY.

Let's realize that if some military adventure in the war zone had a death rate of that size, there would be news media and headlines and TVs doing major features. Where are they when this death rate is EVERY DAY. Not just an isolated tragedy.

And worse, every day once we think we have them safely home. Twenty two die here back among us.

Here in BC, we see many families losing loved ones that they thought were safely getting medical care from the VA. The reality -- as you would hear it if you were to talk to those at the Open Arms Always group here -- is that there is an opioid scandal in the way that the medical resources are doled to our veterans. On top of the nationwide scandal of delays.

The VA is drugging our veterans into silence when they finally get attention from the VA. Drugging, or trying to escape it.

Meanwhile their real injury goes untreated. One recent suicide here was of a young man whom the VA had allowed marijuana, at least something that had no harm, but that was merely covering up his real injury.

How many others are there in the quagmire or waiting. Brain injuries from the repetitive exposure to explosive incidents are rampant, as was shown in a Nebraska returning combat group, where more than half showed such injuries, though most, were not some visible wound at all, nor even medically noted.

In brain injuries, like PTSD, the behavior of the victim is not very predictable and sudden turn arounds to frightening behavior is not unexpected. So sedating these young people, further depriving them of their life potential is criminal. WHEN THERE IS A TREATMENT THAT HAS SHOWN GOOD PROMISE OF 80% RETURNS TO FULL PRODUCTIVITY WITH A FEW TREATMENTS.

That's what has been the experience of those who have tried the medical specialty of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, which is more well known along the US coastlines where it's usually called 'divers medicine' where it saves lives in diving accidents.

The treatment itself is decently do-no-harm and relaxing for an hour every other day in a pleasant chamber. An amazing, almost space-age scene, where the chamber is pressurized to a couple atmospheres. The treatment for PTSD now being used in New Orleans, actually only goes to 1.5ATA (aka atmospheres absolute). And even 1.3ATA of the soft-sided chambers have shown matching promise in TBI (traumatic brain injury). The soft-sided chambers are used by many top athletes with their own sports medicine MDs. Unfortunately many other athletes are simply handled by the team doctors who satisfy the greed of the NFL owners by doping up injured players so totally they continue to damage themselves by playing while injured with no sense of protecting themselves. So even those softsided chambers, only a few thousand dollars or even leased chambers, have shown good promise in controlled testing for brain injuries, why not try them for veterans, and reach tens of thousands now, not after many are dead.

Google Dr Paul Harch, PTSD, and hyperbaric oxygen, etc. then visualize what opportunities there would be for VETERANS' FAMILIES to own (maybe lease-to-own) such a chamber and then bring their own veteran's friends in for club meeting, around treatments, sharing the costs, instead of waiting for governmental bureaucrats by the tangled thousands, with misallegiances, incompetence, and mountains of insane paper and rules, to do the decent thing while stalwart veterans suffer.

Nor would such a venture be necessarily short term. If you didn't want it to be.

Our families, friends and relatives, making such an investment, would solve ADHD, stroke damage, birth injuries, post-surgery healing, pre-surgery body strengthening, and anti-aging problems. Can't you see how wonderful such an investment would be, for those making it as well as for those around them.

Why not pool resources, use savings before the government takes them all, and investigate your own HBO2 chamber possibilities. Like the folks at EMRClubhouse setting up their own operation for 'Emergency Medical Refugee' friends, they say, and aren't our veterans, our families all looking like medical refugees to you. They do, in my opinion.

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