All profits from the sale of items in the MM-B store benefit
of serving
combat wounded Veterans
and their families..
Home
Marinemoms-Bethesda.org and Jane's Blog are not endorsed by or connected in any way with the USMC, the DoD or anyone
else official.
The opinions here are the opinions of the author's only.
Copyright © 2007-2010 MarineMoms-Bethesda and Jane's Blog.
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2007-2010 MarineMoms-Bethesda and Jane's Blog.
All Rights Reserved.
Until next time, continued prayers for our military, their families,
and our country.
Tributes
Welcome to Jane's Blog
Since becoming a Marine mom in 2003, I have learned how important it is for military parents to connect with other military parents,
not to believe everything in print or on television, and that every one of us has a strength deep down inside to draw upon when we
need it most.
My hope here is to honor the troops and to share online resources, letting you know that you are not alone.
March 2010
National Brain Injury Month
If you would like to email a note of support and encouragement to the combat wounded, injured and ill patients on the hospital
ward at Bethesda Naval Hospital, you can send them to
Please keep the notes upbeat
and encouraging.
We will need the notes by the evening of Wednesday, March 24th to give us time to format them and
print them out for the Bethesda 5 East luncheon.on Sunday, March 28th..
Marine Moms-Bethesda has been doing this every luncheon they've
held for the past three years. The hospital ward serves all branches of the military and we ask that the notes be "generic" since
we are unable to guarantee that branch specific notes go to specific patients from specific service branches.
All of the notes
are formatted into a word document and packaged into a large envelope and distributed to the patients or their family members so everyone
receives all of the same notes.
This is a nice way to let the troops at Bethesda know they are appreciated, supported, and
not forgotten.
Free to you! The cost for the printer ink and paper is out of the pocket of the crew member who prints the notes out.
It is something we think is important to do... letting the troops know that America supports them.
Past Posts
Marja Operations
USO - Send a Valentine card to the Troops
So the phone rang...
Notes 4 Bethesda
Snowpacolypse
1 & 2
Holiday Cheer at Bethesda
Never
Forget!
Quilt Raffle Update
Arlington visit
Independence Day
May 2009
April
2009
Marine Corps Museum Trip
March 2009
March is National Brain Injury Month
November 2008
March 5, 2010 - March is National Brain Injury month. I posted some links and a little bit of information last year about Traumatic
Brain Injury.
It really does help to learn at least a little bit about TBI if you have a loved one who was in a war zone anywhere
near an IED explosion. Those dizzy spells, "duh" moments when speaking, CRS - might have something to do with TBI.
Then with
the brain injuries, the torn nerves and air pockets in the brain messes with the "electrical stuff" in the brain and could be
partially responsible for PTSD.
Below is an article from the Military Health System site.
Know Your TBI
http://www.health.mil/blog/10-03-03/Know_Your_TBI.aspx
osted by: Health.mil Staff
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Every
service member, veteran, and family member should have a general knowledge of the symptoms and signs of brain injury, which can often
go undetected.
Mild TBI (concussions) are injuries to the brain that are caused by a blow
to the head or body.
- Usually followed by a state of disorientation or memory loss that should subside within one day
- Loss of consciousness
can last for up to a half hour
- CT or MRI scans usually produce “normal” results
- Headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred
vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or
mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking
Moderate TBI has some of the same symptoms as a
concussion, but they usually last for longer periods of time.
- Disorientation and memory loss usually last for longer than one day but
less than one week
- Loss of consciousness lasts for longer than 30 minutes but less than one day \
- Can also suffer any of the following:
headaches that do not go away, repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions or seizures, an inability to awaken from sleep, dilation of
one or both pupils of the eyes, slurred speech, weakness or numbness in the extremities, loss of coordination, and increased confusion,
restlessness, or agitation
- CT and MRI scans can produce “normal” or “abnormal” results
Severe TBI often happens when an
object or explosion violently hits the head, or when an object or projectile pierces the skull.
- Disorientation and loss of consciousness
last for longer than one day
- Memory loss lasts longer than one week.
- CT and MRI scans can produce “normal” or “abnormal” results
- Severe
TBI can and often does include many of the symptoms presented by both mild and moderate TBI
If you are a service member or veteran
and believe you may have sustained a concussion/mild TBI, the
It’s
Brain Injury Awareness Month, and the Military Health System’s partner organizations offer an abundance of resources regarding brain
injury prevention, protection, and diagnosis. Visit our brain injury page at health.mil/braininjury to find more information from
the following centers dedicated to TBI prevention and research:
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic
Brain Injury
Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center
March 7, 2010 - A really cool thing happened last week when my friend was at Bethesda with her son. We were on the phone chatting
and someone walked in their room .
She said, "It's someone with a shirt that says 'Veterans of Valor'."
"Is
it Klay South?"
Yep, it turned out Klay was there at the hospital with backpacks full of stuff for Matt and the other patients.
I first met Klay and his mother, Janet, the day we did our first Mercy Hall luncheon, and then sometime later they
invited me to "A Night Out" where they take the wounded Warriors and their families out for dinner and an evening of fun.
"Veterans
of Valor" is the organization Klay founded after his stay at the National Naval Medical Center.
From their site:
Veterans of Valor was launched from the heart and experiences of Sgt. Klay South after he was critically wounded November 11, 2004.
While clearing houses in Fallujah, Iraq, Marine Cpl. Klay South pushed through a door and was met with a fury of gunfire. An AK-47
round ripped through the right side of his mouth and face, while another round went through his foot. Minutes later, Klay's airway
closed, and after an emergency tracheotomy, he was airlifted to Germany, then to the Naval Medical Center in Washington D.C. Now,
more than four years and 40 surgeries later, most of his facial reconstruction is complete. He's been outfitted with a titanium jaw
and 20 titanium teeth.
I've seen the "Veterans of Valor" team in action. They do good stuff. I know the guys at Mercy Hall enjoy their evenings out with
them and I know Matt was really impressed with the iPod that Klay gave him as well as the clothes and other items in the backpack.
I
hope, if you aren't familiar with the organization, that you will take a few minutes to surf their site.
"Our country always gives our very best young people to help others all over the world.
We (the world) never learn that War hurts,
but we have to defend!"
March 6, 2010 I received a letter the today from someone who sent me a packet of letters and cards to hand deliver to the patients
at the hospital.
When she was younger, during WW II, she wrote to the troops. Now, Bless Her Heart, she is writing again...
One
of the things she said in her letter to me stands out:
So true, Granny, so true. We meet the best when we are at Bethesda and it is an honor to serve them.
If you would like to send
a message to the patients at the hospital, information for doing so is below.
