For some Wounded Warriors, coming back home from Afghanistan and Iraq can be a lifetime of trying to come back home to some semblance of a previous life. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an oft times diagnosed condition of extremely stressful situations individuals experience. It takes control over the lives of those affected and creates unknown challenges of varying degrees.
I met an incredible man today. Dr. Benjamin J. Sadock Professor of Psychiatry New York University School of Medicine who stopped by The Kindness Bus to talk about the curative benefits of kindness. We also talked about those with PTSD returning to society and the difficulties of transitioning back to a mentally, healthy life. Those coming back with physical injuries, some needing lifelong care to those with just a scratch, are all Purple Heart candidates. Those with PTSD are not. I thought to myself of a wound being something you can see. I then asked Dr. Sadock why isn’t someone with a “wounded brain” eligible? He said he had never heard of that term previously, but found it very interesting. To me, any wound, physical or cerebral, are both wounds. Properly treated, all physical wounds heal, the wounds you don’t see are another matter.
Thank you to a wonderful woman named Susan, who is from the Upper East Side, for her work with the Firefighters after 9/11 and for the big support for The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes. Thank you to the sales associates at L’occitane for the product donation. Thank you to all of the Upper East Side residents who welcomed me with the inspiring words.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 at 8:03 am and is filed under Kindness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.