Page 865 - Total War on PTSD

“Fall in love with a dog, and in many ways you enter a new orbit, a universe that features not just new colors but new rituals, new rules, a new way of experiencing attachment.” -
Caroline Knapp
Courtenay: Much like myself, Joe doesn't view his PTSD as a weakness. We both have learned to deal with things as they come. For me it's like PTSD is an acquaintance who you learn how to put up with...to deal with. From the political side of things however, I am not always so understanding.
One situation that I always have issues with is when publicity outweighs humanity just for the sake of the news ratings or individual prestige. There was a time, when I was working for a not- for-profit that assisted homeless veterans (HVAF of Indiana - www.hvaf.org), that it was arranged for me to go with one of the Outreach Coordinators to visit one of the homeless Veteran camps. The coordinator took a lot of supplies including blankets, food with pull off lids, socks, soap and gloves. Once we get to where we were going, and the Veteran wasn't there at the time, the coordinator put the supplies in the vet's tent, and I looked around the area. To this day I wish I could have done something to fix things...but as I discussed with my co-worker, some of the Veterans flat-out refused to come in out of the cold. I had previously done a number of volunteer events to collect blankets and the like for these Vets...and during one such collection I was able to get a huge collection of U.S. Navy wool blankets.
As I looked at that ragged tent, the layers of blankets and comforters stood out like a patchwork of layers on the tent roof. And layered over the rest was one of my large and very scratchy wool
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