Essays

The Value of Peers

From time to time in life we all hear unusual or bizarre arguments that are vehemently presented, yet they seem to disregard logic and reason.  We hear them from sales personnel, politicians, telemarketers, and sometimes from people who are normally credible sources of information such as physicians.  For example, one of my very close friends was recently told by her physician that she needed to be on cholesterol medication.  My friend, however, had evidence that almost all of the healthy adults in her family had lifelong high cholesterol levels, but no cardiac disease.  Despite the fact she had none of the usual risk factors for coronary diseases and is quite a young person, her physician argued persistently that she needed cholesterol medication.  I suggested she get a second opinion from a cardiologist.  The cardiac specialist told her that it would be a bad idea to be on cholesterol medications at such a young age and then recommended alternatives like dietary changes and an enhanced exercise program.  Those changes were very helpful.  My friend switched to a new internal medicine physician.

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10th World Congress

Just two weeks ago, the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation wrapped up its 10^th World Congress on Stress, Trauma, and Coping. Twenty four countries were represented at the Baltimore program. Over 700 people attended the world's most practical conference on managing traumatic stress in large disasters, as well as smaller tragedies. Since the World Congress is held only once every other year, the 10^th World Congress represents a full twenty years of traditions and services provided by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. The congress was a mix of celebration and valuable education.

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21st Century CISM - The 10th World Congress

A bridge collapses in Assam, killing two people. A freshman at an upstate New York university dies when he returns to a burning apartment building to rescue other residents. Nine people die in an airliner crash in Amsterdam. More than a dozen middle school students are injured in a truck/bus collision in rural New York state. These are the stories from just seven days of news; in each case there will be people in need of emotional first aid: survivors, family members, emergency responders.

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21st Century CISM

The incident occurred on a cool spring night in the early 1980’s at a colonial two-story house in a relatively new suburban development – four bedrooms, a master suite, living room, dining room, large kitchen, family room at the rear with a sliding glass door overlooking a nice yard with a playground set. By the time I received the call from the county dispatch center to respond as part of the investigation team, the fire was over and five people were dead: two girls and a boy, along with their mother and father. Neighbors reported hearing the parents yelling for help from their front bedroom window in the master suite as heavy smoke and flames roared through the room behind them.

My responsibilities included documenting the scene with photos, helping the fire marshal with cause and origin, and looking for ways to prevent a similar incident with public education. That’s why I was the one who found the smoke detector under a pile of debris in the upper hallway, nestled in the drawer from a child’s desk among crayons, paper clips, and small toys. Kneeling on the front walk, I found that the battery that came with the detector when it was installed about a year before the incident was gone. The distraught contractor who built the house was standing nearby, repeating over and over that he had installed a smoke detector. He had, with a new battery.

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