7November2007
Posted by darkblue under: LRMC in the news.
Landstuhl patients’ resolve to get back in fight in Iraq
LANDSTUHL, Germany - After the bomb hit, after the confusion, despite the pain, when he realized he was going to live, Spc. Sean Staggs laughed.
I was laughing, and then I was cursing at the Iraqis,” Staggs said from his hospital bed at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. “We all realized we were all right.”
Staggs was one of four soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment wounded when a roadside bomb hit their Stryker on Oct. 21 in Baghdad. Five others in the Stryker escaped unscathed.  …….more
6November2007
Posted by darkblue under: LRMC in the news.
Do you know a soldier who just isn’t acting like himself these days?If so, he could be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury as a result of serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Recognizing the symptoms associated with PTSD and TBI should now be easier for soldiers and civilian employees thanks to a new mandatory awareness program the Army launched this summer. The one- to two-hour “chain-teaching” program should have been delivered to all units by their command in mid-October.
“I think the biggest thing with the chain teaching is that it kind of identifies symptoms that aren’t very apparent otherwise,” said Jeri Chappelle, spokeswoman for Europe Regional Medical Command. “Soldiers may be experiencing these symptoms and don’t know why they have them.”
Coupled with other efforts - such as Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s new proposal to establish a TBI center - the awareness program shows military officials are devoting more resources to the two conditions, which affect up to 30 percent of downrange troops.   ……more
4November2007
Posted by darkblue under: worth noting.
The rock group 3 Doors Down have written a new song called Citizen Soldiers which is a dedication to our Citizen Soldiers of the National Guard.
The song is available for free download and the video made for the song are both available at http://www.1800goguard.com/movie/index2.php
hat tip to Troy over at his Military and Afghanistan Blog
4November2007
Posted by darkblue under: holidays.
our chili cook out fund raiser went very well, thanks to the generous help and nice reception of the 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron - it couldn’t have been done without the support of the command and all participating airmen…Â Thank You !
2November2007
Posted by darkblue under: LRMC in the news.
LANDSTUHL, Germany (American Forces Press Service, Nov. 1, 2007) - Patients at a new medical transient detachment barracks that opened here several weeks ago, point to the facility as proof that the military is living up to its promises to ensure troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan get the best care possible.
When word broke in February of substandard conditions at Washington’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center, outpatients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center were getting shuttled to their appointments from a barracks almost 20 miles away.
Their 10-person, open-bay rooms at Kaiserslautern’s Kleber Kaserne were noisy and offered little privacy. But the biggest headache was the 30-minute bus ride back and forth to meet with doctors, case managers and liaisons.  ……more
28October2007
Posted by darkblue under: holidays.
October 27th marked our Halloween event at Landstuhl, it was our first indoor event after this summer, since temperatures are dropping somewhat fast in Germany. As usual we decorated the Heaton Auditorium, but this time I also took time out to take a couple of photos of existing pictures already hanging on the walls and worth sharing:
Flag display - Valerie picked the US flag since her French flag was understandably missing…
here is a view of our little spread - the all you can eat Halloween counter..
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this young wounded warrior obviously enjoyed himself and demonstrated some sense of humor
                                                               Â
in addition we also planned to catch some of todays spirit by putting up a little poster wall and collected messages for a VA hospital in the US. The thought was put into work and a lot of those attending took time out to leave a little note…
                                                     notably it also has a prominent inscription, since one of our guests happened to be Lieutenant Colonel Dorin Petrut - read Press release here - who also just has been awarded a NATO Medal. He was kind enough to leave the following note:
Its always very interesting to meet any members of the coalition, turns out that he has been working with Czech officers as well, who are part of the training mission his English was amazingly good… all in all Lieutenant Colonel Dorin Petrut really made with his charming, witty, humble and dignified appearance a lasting impression on everyone….
Special thanks today go to Karolina, Valerie, Janine and her fiancée for donating their time and the efforts they put in to turn this into a great day…
24October2007
Posted by darkblue under: LRMC in the news.
LANDSTUHL, Germany - Spc. Shawn English saw his parents for the first time in nearly 10 months Monday night - all from the comfort of his room in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s new Medical Transient Detachment barracks.English, whose right arm is in a sling after suffering an adverse reaction to an injection in northern Iraq, conducted a video chat over wireless Internet from his room’s computer.
“They saw me,” said the 22-year-old from Austin, Texas. “I saw them. I just nearly cried. It was awesome.”
English is one of several outpatients from Iraq and Afghanistan who, until Saturday, were housed in barracks nearly 20 miles away in Kaiserslautern. With the move, they are now just steps from their doctors, liaisons and case managers.   …….more
14October2007
Posted by darkblue under: regular visits.
we held  just one of our regular support visits today - left some food, hygiene packs and get well cards at the DWMMC (waiting room for the transitioning wounded), sorted and cleaned up a bit while we were waiting on Chaplain Dynek to return from his mission. Valerie made some coffee… aaaaaaahm for folks used to drinking European coffee it didn’t deserve being called “coffee” - a Mountain Dew has probably more caffeine than her brew - poor Val, she meant well and had to put up with all of my jokes… Once Chaplain Dynek arrived we were able to leave some blankets, bibles, magazines and sermon Cd’s for the Chaplains office - he was kind enough to open the Chaplains closet for the drop off. Valerie brought some clothing for the wounded and Jan did all the lugging today… it was great to have him along again (not just because he carried everything from point A to point B that day), but Jan (German Reserves) has a very busy schedule attending marches and shooting competitions all over Europe and his job will be taking him back to NY again later this month…
 
7October2007
Posted by darkblue under: regular visits.
….after some vacation time and a couple of flu struck weekends in September it was time to get on to road again and off to Landstuhl. I stopped at the store to pack up on foods for the DWMMC (waiting room for the transitioning wounded) - a wide variety for every taste - sausages + cheese, all kind of snacks, cheesecake bars and 2 large fruitcakes with marzipan. In addition to all that I also had some some sweets and snacks donated by the Union Congregational Church in Braintree, Mass.
Another big part of todays delivery where a book full of DVDs and one with musical Cd’s donated by AMVETS - a Veterans Service Organization (http://www.amvets.org/) - a big thank you goes out to all involved in this generous project - these DVDs are very appreciated and in high demand since they offer some distraction and a good way to pass some time. There are flyer’s hanging out informing wounded warriors about the option of signing out movies to their disposal and it had some good feedback so far. This is an ongoing cooperation between SSFOA and AMVETS and will amount to countless hours of entertainment for the wounded - another honorable mentioning goes to the memory of Dr. Bryan Chaffee (http://bryanchaffee.tributeforyou.com/), providing the postage to deliver the DVDs. Special thanks also goes out to the Silver Star Families of America organization and their Executive State Coordinator Georgeine Marbeiter for all their hard work and getting this project quickly off the ground.
Karolina joined me to help setting everything up and while we were busy unpacking and putting out food we had a nice chat with a couple of soldiers (a wounded and his escort) who were waiting on their ride to their medical quarters. They were just in from the Horn of Africa and dressed pretty warm, even though the weather out was pretty warm considering our location. They asked a lot of question about the surroundings and were somewhat disappointed not being able to see more of it.
Karolina, in her spontaneous way, invited both for dinner, which her and her husband do on a regular basis as part of their tremendous support work.
We helped to fill out a SSFOA banner request and shortly thereafter their ride arrived. Karolina and her husband would pick them up later for dinner.
It was time to pack up, being a holiday weekend we postponed visiting the Chaplains closet and the Chaplains office - thats set for next weekend when we will be joined by more of our members, which will mean some extra help.
Now we had to coordinate dinner - I offered to cook a Czech dish (SegedÃnský guláš  s knedlikem or Szegediner goulash & dumplings) - we stopped at a store and I bought the needed ingridiens…. once at Karolina and Davids place we started to get to work, while they left to pick up their dinner guests I finished cooking the meal and managed to be just about done in time they returned. We had a good time and everyone enjoyed their meal, while our guests were fascinated by the different type foods and insisted on taking photos… that was quite funny. Karolina and David passed out some German chocolates, which were also highly appreciated and liked - but our time was limited, since the pass away from medical observation is understandably only given on a regulated basis. It was time for all of us to head back again…
3September2007
Posted by darkblue under: Silver Star news.
As a youth, Vergil Long recalled playing baseball against Mickey Mantle.Decades later, the World War II veteran was once again at a baseball field, but this time to be honored in the stands along with dozens of other wounded soldiers.
Silver Star Families of America, a Clever-based organization dedicated to honoring injured soldiers, provided 125 free tickets for wounded veterans to attend Sunday’s Springfield Cardinals game.
Long, who uses a wheelchair, was one of several veterans bused from Missouri Veterans Home in Mount Vernon. He appreciated the opportunity to relax at the game.  ….more
