Hi folks:
Here are the links I told you about in class. I've also emailed them to you and posted them on the portal. Sharing them here will give you the space to post a response, if you are so inclined. The links include Nicholas Kristof's article in Sunday's The New York Times, his blog, on which he shares additional background information about his research, and a short documentary film on Ryan Yurchison's service and death. It is a disturbing story, and the video especially can be difficult to watch, but it is a story worth paying attention to and very relevant to George Carlin's work on the language of Shell Shock/Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
Is this what is at stake when we discuss the language we use to refer to, and thereby to understand, PTSD?
Nicholas Kristof's NYTimes article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/kristof-a-veterans-death-the-nations-shame.html?_r=1
Kristof's blog, "On the Ground:"
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/14/failing-our-military-veterans/
"Good Night Ryan:"
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/good-night-ryan.html?_r=1&ref=sunday
it seems so, I think that the VA's apparent refusal to acknowledge the blatant desperation of Ryan and his mother to recieve treatment is an example of how the intricate and still experimental world of neurology with regard to PTS and the very real and "uncensored" world of a veteran going through PTS get lost in translation. Something I've considered is that, while much progress has been made in determining the exact cause of PTS and other neurological disorders, it is still an experimantal field, and as such, more focus is put on naming the disorders of the brain and less focus is bent on helping people suffering from those conditions. I went through similar yet not as dramatic problems when I was seeking help for Tourettes Syndrome. I would meet with doctors after 2 weeks of waiting only to be treated more as an experiment than a patient. I wasn't content to wait 2 weeks for a brain scan, I wanted my problems addressed. as with Ryan, who unfortunately didn't meet with doctors who did their research in conjunction with my treatment, giving flashy names and acronyms to a disorder takes away an important peronal aspect in the rehabilitation process that could just be the difference between life and death for our veterans.
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