Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Head Injuries and War
Back during the first Golf War, I had written this observation and now...
FINALLY RECOGNIZED AS ACCURATE YEARS LATER
Visible or invisible brain injuries affect different areas of the brain in each individual, yet there is no distinction made even years later when a new correct or incorrect diagnosis is made.
We have specific medical names for different types of digestive, psychological, ethical, political health problems, even cancer. The various names indicate the differences and degrees of each, including even for physically, visible brain injuries.
But, with invisible brain changes, although the titles are different, until recently, all represented the same problem. We have finally begun to recognize acknowledge there are differences between PTSS (POST TRAUMATIC Stress syndrome, and Post Concussion syndrome? Traumatic indicated something happened, but what?
Is there a distinction between TBI and PTSS? (Traumatic Brain Injury and post traumatic stress syndrome?)
Has anyone explained what they specifically refer to or have we accepted them as “psychological causes for invisible symptoms,” fueling the assumptive belief the patient is responsible for the symptom or symptoms, and leaving the patient with the same impression.
Soldiers returning from the First Gulf War were told for years it was their attitude was the cause responsible for their symptoms. This was finally negated by the same federal agency that perpetuated it for more than 20 years. This new approach which had been forced on the federal agency since the latest Iraq War was finally acknowledged by that same agency this interpretation was inaccurate.
The symptoms, almost identical in so many of the returning Iraq War veterans, has finally forced the federal agency to reevaluate that conclusion when it became obvious that it was not logical for more than 22,000 GI’s to have identical reactions to the same symptoms.
FINALLY RECOGNIZED AS ACCURATE YEARS LATER
Visible or invisible brain injuries affect different areas of the brain in each individual, yet there is no distinction made even years later when a new correct or incorrect diagnosis is made.
We have specific medical names for different types of digestive, psychological, ethical, political health problems, even cancer. The various names indicate the differences and degrees of each, including even for physically, visible brain injuries.
But, with invisible brain changes, although the titles are different, until recently, all represented the same problem. We have finally begun to recognize acknowledge there are differences between PTSS (POST TRAUMATIC Stress syndrome, and Post Concussion syndrome? Traumatic indicated something happened, but what?
Is there a distinction between TBI and PTSS? (Traumatic Brain Injury and post traumatic stress syndrome?)
Has anyone explained what they specifically refer to or have we accepted them as “psychological causes for invisible symptoms,” fueling the assumptive belief the patient is responsible for the symptom or symptoms, and leaving the patient with the same impression.
Soldiers returning from the First Gulf War were told for years it was their attitude was the cause responsible for their symptoms. This was finally negated by the same federal agency that perpetuated it for more than 20 years. This new approach which had been forced on the federal agency since the latest Iraq War was finally acknowledged by that same agency this interpretation was inaccurate.
The symptoms, almost identical in so many of the returning Iraq War veterans, has finally forced the federal agency to reevaluate that conclusion when it became obvious that it was not logical for more than 22,000 GI’s to have identical reactions to the same symptoms.
HAVE YOU SEEN STARS?
With cars, sports, wars, a blow to the head has become a major incident, overlooked physical injury for a million and a half people yearly. Society and routine medical care divisions categorize and treat it as temporary. If it is, the patient is lucky. If it is not, it becomes permanent and takes years before this injury may be acknowledged by routine medical care physicians, because there are not adequate test for such an injury to alert the medical staff that there is a problem. Medical staff needs to do it the old fashioned way – by observing.
IF YOU RECEIVE A BLOW TO THE HEAD
1. Do not assume symptoms are not important when the blow to the head was only slight.
2. Minor symptoms are potential clues to a possible serious physical problem.
3. Will probably continue to increase in spite of diagnosis that says “they will go away.”
4. Don’t wait too long to learn about head injuries, doing so often causes compounded problems which will delay the healing process or may cause the injury to become permanent.
5. It is the patient’s responsibility to question any diagnoses that doesn’t feel right – do not “live with it” if it isn’t getting better – head injuries can become permanent if ignored.
6. Head Injury victims are also doing their own research, along with other support groups, research clinic and brain injury activist groups who are searching for explanations and evaluating beliefs, concepts, and potential advances.
7. Answers are complicated, human bodies are all different, their healing processes are not identical, finding the proper approach and treatment for each body is vital and the reason why finding the right answer is so difficult.
Moral of the story - keep asking questions, keep seeking answers, never accept advice that doesn't have your best interest at heart.
IF YOU RECEIVE A BLOW TO THE HEAD
1. Do not assume symptoms are not important when the blow to the head was only slight.
2. Minor symptoms are potential clues to a possible serious physical problem.
3. Will probably continue to increase in spite of diagnosis that says “they will go away.”
4. Don’t wait too long to learn about head injuries, doing so often causes compounded problems which will delay the healing process or may cause the injury to become permanent.
5. It is the patient’s responsibility to question any diagnoses that doesn’t feel right – do not “live with it” if it isn’t getting better – head injuries can become permanent if ignored.
6. Head Injury victims are also doing their own research, along with other support groups, research clinic and brain injury activist groups who are searching for explanations and evaluating beliefs, concepts, and potential advances.
7. Answers are complicated, human bodies are all different, their healing processes are not identical, finding the proper approach and treatment for each body is vital and the reason why finding the right answer is so difficult.
Moral of the story - keep asking questions, keep seeking answers, never accept advice that doesn't have your best interest at heart.
Strange World - DECISIONS ON ERRORS OF FACTS
I have been in the “unknown” (strange world ) for nearly 30 years always believing it was “routine” after an auto accident and the symptoms were not unusual. But I may be one of the very few to search for answers during all those years hoping to be able to return to normal, which I saw as the original me.
Contrary to everyone’s opinion and belief, what I found was so unusual it left me no other possible choice but to accept my situation. All others thought I was making a wrong decision when I decided to try it…a situation that my body was actually telling me it could not be changed. When I did try, small, invisible change began to appear indicating something slightly different and subtle was happening to my body, I decided to stick with it. It was the wisest decision I ever made. My bodily memory lasted long enough to help me remember how long I had not been able to use my muscles, which resulted in their loss of the use of their active ability to function normally, and became stratified. I was not smart enough to know this was the reason why they couldn’t function nor was I aware enough of the importance of finding out why at this point)
Stimulating this and all the bodily functions, in the end took more than two years of stimulation – to help them try to function normally, again.
Or, so it seemed. But it was not so. It had by now been so depleted that whatever energy had not yet been completely exhausted, made it appear as though it was still functioning normally But one day, it exhausted itself It stopped functioning entirely, for more than a year. No one in the health care personnel field seemed to know the reason why. But, did they or had they just gone on assuring themselves their treatments were helping me, knowing full well they weren’t. When I finally called to find out why I was no longer being helped to my utter disgust, I was told by the person who had been giving those treatments for so many years, actually CONFESSED he, and others, had known all along that neither his or any other treatment was capable of curing or relieving it but was only capable of slowly continuing to delay any progress he had told me I was making.
It was just another ‘Health care treatment” that was known could only slow down the deterioration, but never telling me or the public or letting me know that was all it was capable of doing.
Would I, and other patients, be better off knowing the truth and learning to live with it rather than camouflaging the correct information to let us think we were actually being on the road to normalcy? Or was it money which seems to be more important these days than humanities health care?
Just another disillusionment of a health care professional we are told we are getting but are we?
It is almost frightening to think of what we are leaving our children to correct for themselves and their children and the future health care for all of us, including the world. What it will eventually do to our reputation is beyond the stretch or our imaginations.
Contrary to everyone’s opinion and belief, what I found was so unusual it left me no other possible choice but to accept my situation. All others thought I was making a wrong decision when I decided to try it…a situation that my body was actually telling me it could not be changed. When I did try, small, invisible change began to appear indicating something slightly different and subtle was happening to my body, I decided to stick with it. It was the wisest decision I ever made. My bodily memory lasted long enough to help me remember how long I had not been able to use my muscles, which resulted in their loss of the use of their active ability to function normally, and became stratified. I was not smart enough to know this was the reason why they couldn’t function nor was I aware enough of the importance of finding out why at this point)
Stimulating this and all the bodily functions, in the end took more than two years of stimulation – to help them try to function normally, again.
Or, so it seemed. But it was not so. It had by now been so depleted that whatever energy had not yet been completely exhausted, made it appear as though it was still functioning normally But one day, it exhausted itself It stopped functioning entirely, for more than a year. No one in the health care personnel field seemed to know the reason why. But, did they or had they just gone on assuring themselves their treatments were helping me, knowing full well they weren’t. When I finally called to find out why I was no longer being helped to my utter disgust, I was told by the person who had been giving those treatments for so many years, actually CONFESSED he, and others, had known all along that neither his or any other treatment was capable of curing or relieving it but was only capable of slowly continuing to delay any progress he had told me I was making.
It was just another ‘Health care treatment” that was known could only slow down the deterioration, but never telling me or the public or letting me know that was all it was capable of doing.
Would I, and other patients, be better off knowing the truth and learning to live with it rather than camouflaging the correct information to let us think we were actually being on the road to normalcy? Or was it money which seems to be more important these days than humanities health care?
Just another disillusionment of a health care professional we are told we are getting but are we?
It is almost frightening to think of what we are leaving our children to correct for themselves and their children and the future health care for all of us, including the world. What it will eventually do to our reputation is beyond the stretch or our imaginations.
What about Cancer?
There has been an assumption medically for many years that there was only one type of cancer. Information about the inaccuracy of this medically assumed information, and which with the new data, it is still in many medical care minds, accepted as fact. This prompts some questions: When will thinking begin that this probably applies to many illnesses?
Although we have been medically assuming that all bodies work the same way and therefore treat them that way, but do they? This approach explains why we have been using the same treatment for similar diseases, without letting ourselves put into practice what logic has begun to tell us…
Human bodies are all similar. How and why they function differently requires paying more importance to the reasons for those differences. Signs of this progress are being forced on the health care professionals by the American public because it is now difficult to HIDE this information from them.
The information age has begun to make major changes—positive and negative--that are becoming more and more difficult to camouflage them from the public. Where it will take us depends on ourselves and what we do with this pertinent information. Only time will tell.
Although we have been medically assuming that all bodies work the same way and therefore treat them that way, but do they? This approach explains why we have been using the same treatment for similar diseases, without letting ourselves put into practice what logic has begun to tell us…
Human bodies are all similar. How and why they function differently requires paying more importance to the reasons for those differences. Signs of this progress are being forced on the health care professionals by the American public because it is now difficult to HIDE this information from them.
The information age has begun to make major changes—positive and negative--that are becoming more and more difficult to camouflage them from the public. Where it will take us depends on ourselves and what we do with this pertinent information. Only time will tell.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
HOW TO INSTRUCTIONS IN LESS CONVOLUTED FORM
WE NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN DO THIS FOR US OLDER PEOPLE WHO ARE HAVING TROUBLE FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS FOR HOW TO USE THE COMPUTER which would be used by them if it wasn't so difficult to follow what they are being told. Unfortunately, many have already given up. More of us would use it if clarity on how to do so was readily available.
Simplicity would help instead of what we are getting.
Instructions in 1, 2, 3 listed order sentences would cut down the words needed and be easier to follow. Mistakes are not made in blank spaces.
Is this wishful thinking or will someone be convinced to do this?
My thanks in advance for anyone who does. I will be most appreciative because it would make my 90 year old life easier to live.
Ethel Dimont --
Simplicity would help instead of what we are getting.
Instructions in 1, 2, 3 listed order sentences would cut down the words needed and be easier to follow. Mistakes are not made in blank spaces.
Is this wishful thinking or will someone be convinced to do this?
My thanks in advance for anyone who does. I will be most appreciative because it would make my 90 year old life easier to live.
Ethel Dimont --
Sunday, January 10, 2010
DO BIRDS & PEOPLE CONVEY INFO TO EACH OTHER
There must be an answer to the question this poses --They must.
Anyone at the age of 90, living in a retirement home, has no doubt this is true. If they watch these animal’s actions every day at the same time and at the same place, day after day at 2:50 here in Clayton, MO they would agree they do. Being interested in this normally irrelevant data creates such questions that are normally ignored.
The actions of these living creatures are so identical each day, it is one thinking method I assume to keep my mind active, and conclude they are the same birds and stimulate me in to trying to find answers.
This is a thought that would have never occurred to me if it wasn't so obvious as I sat in the same place every day at the same time. This type of duplication must seem foolish to the average person, but living in a retirement home generates the need for stimulating the mind to retain duplicate actions since they are permanently lodged in my memory as rules to be followed.
This experience would have been lost in my memory if it wasn't so obvious, as I watched them doing the same things over and over, as I too was doing the same things over and over. It’s the way life happens.
Anyone at the age of 90, living in a retirement home, has no doubt this is true. If they watch these animal’s actions every day at the same time and at the same place, day after day at 2:50 here in Clayton, MO they would agree they do. Being interested in this normally irrelevant data creates such questions that are normally ignored.
The actions of these living creatures are so identical each day, it is one thinking method I assume to keep my mind active, and conclude they are the same birds and stimulate me in to trying to find answers.
This is a thought that would have never occurred to me if it wasn't so obvious as I sat in the same place every day at the same time. This type of duplication must seem foolish to the average person, but living in a retirement home generates the need for stimulating the mind to retain duplicate actions since they are permanently lodged in my memory as rules to be followed.
This experience would have been lost in my memory if it wasn't so obvious, as I watched them doing the same things over and over, as I too was doing the same things over and over. It’s the way life happens.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
SOY---PRO & CON -- WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON
AND WHAT DID YOU BASE YOUR CONCLUSION ---- OR ARE YOU STILL IN THE OPINION STAGE???
I can't make up my mind???
I recently read a 12-29-09 article and wonder if it did the same to other readers.
The headline was: Soy-heavy menue at prison spurs lawsuit. Here are some of the excerpts from the article:
1. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INMATES IN ILLINOIS PRISONS ARE BEING FED #UP TO 100 GRAMS OF SOY PROTEIN A DAY, ACCORDING TO THE WESTON A PRICE FOUNDATON, FUNDERS OF THE LAW SUIT. 25 GRAMS A DAY ARE RECOMMENDED B THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.
2. The plaintiffs are "suffering irreparable, actual harm by being forced to eat food that has too much soy in it."
Nancy Chapman,executive director of the Soyfoods Association said she doubts prisoners are concuming as much soy as the foundation alleges.
Who is correct...the Weston Price Foundation or the director of the Soyfoods Assn.?
How is the public to make the correct decision and with whom?
As a 90 year old, I can't help wondering how our children will handle this type of
confusing situation where good health will be the difference between the future generations of our country ... and probably the world, as information -- correct and incorrect -- is so easily obtainable and knowing whom to trust becomes more and more
difficult as less and less important information becomes more and more difficult to know where to get it.
I can't make up my mind???
I recently read a 12-29-09 article and wonder if it did the same to other readers.
The headline was: Soy-heavy menue at prison spurs lawsuit. Here are some of the excerpts from the article:
1. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INMATES IN ILLINOIS PRISONS ARE BEING FED #UP TO 100 GRAMS OF SOY PROTEIN A DAY, ACCORDING TO THE WESTON A PRICE FOUNDATON, FUNDERS OF THE LAW SUIT. 25 GRAMS A DAY ARE RECOMMENDED B THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.
2. The plaintiffs are "suffering irreparable, actual harm by being forced to eat food that has too much soy in it."
Nancy Chapman,executive director of the Soyfoods Association said she doubts prisoners are concuming as much soy as the foundation alleges.
Who is correct...the Weston Price Foundation or the director of the Soyfoods Assn.?
How is the public to make the correct decision and with whom?
As a 90 year old, I can't help wondering how our children will handle this type of
confusing situation where good health will be the difference between the future generations of our country ... and probably the world, as information -- correct and incorrect -- is so easily obtainable and knowing whom to trust becomes more and more
difficult as less and less important information becomes more and more difficult to know where to get it.
Friday, January 8, 2010
One type does not fit all
There has been an assumption medically for many years that there is only one type of cancer. Information about the inaccuracy of this medically assumed information, is still, in many medical care minds, still accepted as fact. This prompts some questions: When will we begin thinking that this probably applies to many illnesses?
Although we have been medically assuming that all bodies work the same way and therefore treating them that way -- but do they? This approach explains why we use the same treatment for similar diseases, without letting ourselves put into practice what logic has begun to tell us.
Human bodies are all similar, but how and why they function differently requires paying more importance to the reasons for those differences. Signs of this progress are being forced on the health care professionals by the American public because it is now difficult to hide this information from them.
The information age has begun to make major changes—positive and negative--that are becoming more and more difficult to camouflage from the public. Where it will take us depends on ourselves and what we do with this pertinent information, only time will tell.
Although we have been medically assuming that all bodies work the same way and therefore treating them that way -- but do they? This approach explains why we use the same treatment for similar diseases, without letting ourselves put into practice what logic has begun to tell us.
Human bodies are all similar, but how and why they function differently requires paying more importance to the reasons for those differences. Signs of this progress are being forced on the health care professionals by the American public because it is now difficult to hide this information from them.
The information age has begun to make major changes—positive and negative--that are becoming more and more difficult to camouflage from the public. Where it will take us depends on ourselves and what we do with this pertinent information, only time will tell.
What we need is More Rhetoric!
Not so long ago, we heard complaints about how the level of political discussions had dropped. Since that time we’ve watched the discussion of issues on television, and in issue-oriented books turn into shouting matches. As the presentation of evidence and arguments give way to rhetoric, bombast and plain old name-calling which seem to be the rage these days, common sense has been left for dead. Right-wing politics have dominated the airwaves with hate for anything they deem unworthy, and left-wing Liberals take issue with everything that would stand in the way of them getting their way. As both sides shout at each other, it becomes more difficult to find a serious discussion on important issues. These tactics making it easy to provoke emotional knee-jerk reactions, allowing it to take the place of sound judgment and careful thinking.
Statistics are fascinating
They tell us what we already know about what is happening but no understanding of the effect they have on the subject. So, for instance, every human being knows they are going to get old but being able to know how to plan to respond is difficult unless you are there.
Why?
Could it be because it is difficult to know what is require in a situation in which one has had no previous experience or believing this is a normal experience and we will respond “normally?”
Why?
Could it be because it is difficult to know what is require in a situation in which one has had no previous experience or believing this is a normal experience and we will respond “normally?”
What is a Brain Injury?
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) occurs when the brain has been injured by an external physical force. When a brain injury occurs, usually neurons, nerve tracts are effected. When these parts are damaged the messages the brain sends to rest of the body is drastically altered. There can be any combination of changes in personality, behavior, motor skills and cognitive thinking. These changes can be temporary or permanent and can effect the following: communication, judgement, perception, reading and writing skills, memory and decision making to name a few. Any of the five senses, motor coordination, balance, speech are the physical changes. Emotional mood swings, aggression, frustration are behavioral changes.
Trauma from a blow to the head or stroke can lead to irreversible damage and a greatly reduced quality of life. Sometimes the effects are delayed for months or years.
Did you know that an estimated two million Americans contract some form of brain injury each year? That every 15 seconds someone suffers a brain injury? More pervasive than AIDS, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis combined, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability to Americans under the age of 45. It effects more lives than most people realize. TBI has become an almost silent epidemic with a brain injury occurring every 15 seconds in America. Approximately, 100,000 people die each year from TBI and 500,000 more are disabled.
More than 2% of the US population is living with a disability caused by TBI. The cost for treating, rehabilitating and caring for TBI victims costs the US approximately $30 billion annually. And to date, no clinical treatment has proven effective in reversing the debilitating consequences of traumatic brain injury.
The only known cure for brain injury today is prevention. The Coalition for Brain Injury Research is working hard to change this situation. Based on recent advances in the neuro sciences, the potential for cure is rapidly gaining credibility in the research community. We are totally committed to working at the federal, state, and grass roots levels to achieve our goals. These efforts will renew hope to the victims and families who have suffered for so long. Every effort should be made to provide them with the opportunity to lead a meaningful, productive life.
To read more about brain injuries, visit:
http://www.brainjurycure.org/1_pages/whatbraininjuryis.htm
Trauma from a blow to the head or stroke can lead to irreversible damage and a greatly reduced quality of life. Sometimes the effects are delayed for months or years.
Did you know that an estimated two million Americans contract some form of brain injury each year? That every 15 seconds someone suffers a brain injury? More pervasive than AIDS, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis combined, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability to Americans under the age of 45. It effects more lives than most people realize. TBI has become an almost silent epidemic with a brain injury occurring every 15 seconds in America. Approximately, 100,000 people die each year from TBI and 500,000 more are disabled.
More than 2% of the US population is living with a disability caused by TBI. The cost for treating, rehabilitating and caring for TBI victims costs the US approximately $30 billion annually. And to date, no clinical treatment has proven effective in reversing the debilitating consequences of traumatic brain injury.
The only known cure for brain injury today is prevention. The Coalition for Brain Injury Research is working hard to change this situation. Based on recent advances in the neuro sciences, the potential for cure is rapidly gaining credibility in the research community. We are totally committed to working at the federal, state, and grass roots levels to achieve our goals. These efforts will renew hope to the victims and families who have suffered for so long. Every effort should be made to provide them with the opportunity to lead a meaningful, productive life.
To read more about brain injuries, visit:
http://www.brainjurycure.org/1_pages/whatbraininjuryis.htm
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
IT ONLY TOOK A MOMENT
War and fate seem to work in tandem, and for me it happened during World War II. I was a divorcee with a two-year old daughter, trying to keep body and soul together. Circumstances forced me to move back in with my parents and start looking for a job. It was at this time of my life that I got a invitation to go on a blind date with a a GI who was on a two day pass before shipping overseas to Nazi controlled Europe.
All the other guys had dates except Max, so another GI friend told him to call Ethel Kurzfeld to see if she would accept one. My response, a strong rejection of “I don’t go out on blind dates,” stimulated his insistence and succeeded in changing my mind, never realizing how this one decision would change both our lives. If at first you do not succeed, try –try – try again and he did. The next time he called I was not home so he left a message with my mother telling her he would be by at 5:30 to pick me up. I have no idea to this day what made me eventually say yes, instead of throwing him out but I did not and we had a lovely time.
As it turned out the ship he was to take him to Europe sank on its way back to the United States sank and his one-day pass turned into three days and our one day blind date turned into several. When a new ship came to take him to the war, I never expected to hear from him again but I was wrong. Before he even arrived in Europe, I received a letter from him:
He returned eleven months later, asked me that very question, and our wedding was the beginning of a 47-year successful, creative, productive marriage. Max and my daughter Gail responded to him just as I had and their relationship was another kind of love affair.
During our marriage, Max wrote five books, his first one, JEWS, GOD AND HISTORY, became a classic, selling over millions of copies. I helped edit and typed the manuscript at least 20 times which is why it was error proof when it was purchased. The popularity of this book led to invitations to meet heads of state in Europe and the newly formed Jewish country of Israel where we met personally David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, Martin Buber, the internationally recognized philosopher, and Menahim Begin, who is most noted for signing a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979. Max was invited to lecture at the Weizmann Institute, a high honor.
Along with the four or five trips to Israel, I travelled whenever he was invited to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Germany, and the United States. Travelling helped us get the feel for different areas where we found ourselves collecting local art. The walls of our home were not only lined with art work, but kept our memories alive about where we obtained them.
Max died in 1992 from a heart condition. Losing him made it difficult to read the notes he had been accumulating about his life over the years. Finally the day came when I felt strong enough to read his personal comments about himself. Imagine my surprise when I read:
We both needed each other. Had he known I would have said yes if he had asked me before he left for Europe, he would have. It is of no matter. There is no way to paraphrase the rich full life we had together. Forty seven years was not long enough to know the full Max, there was so much to learn about him.
Today, at the age of 92, I have been without Max for 17 years. I am thankful for the memories I have of them because they help soften being alone. Without them life would be less lighthearted.
Who would have known that by accepting a blind date fate would orchestrate such a fruitful and wonderful life.
All the other guys had dates except Max, so another GI friend told him to call Ethel Kurzfeld to see if she would accept one. My response, a strong rejection of “I don’t go out on blind dates,” stimulated his insistence and succeeded in changing my mind, never realizing how this one decision would change both our lives. If at first you do not succeed, try –try – try again and he did. The next time he called I was not home so he left a message with my mother telling her he would be by at 5:30 to pick me up. I have no idea to this day what made me eventually say yes, instead of throwing him out but I did not and we had a lovely time.
As it turned out the ship he was to take him to Europe sank on its way back to the United States sank and his one-day pass turned into three days and our one day blind date turned into several. When a new ship came to take him to the war, I never expected to hear from him again but I was wrong. Before he even arrived in Europe, I received a letter from him:
Dear Ethel: When I return if we still feel the same way I will ask you to marry me. Love, Max.
He returned eleven months later, asked me that very question, and our wedding was the beginning of a 47-year successful, creative, productive marriage. Max and my daughter Gail responded to him just as I had and their relationship was another kind of love affair.
During our marriage, Max wrote five books, his first one, JEWS, GOD AND HISTORY, became a classic, selling over millions of copies. I helped edit and typed the manuscript at least 20 times which is why it was error proof when it was purchased. The popularity of this book led to invitations to meet heads of state in Europe and the newly formed Jewish country of Israel where we met personally David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, Martin Buber, the internationally recognized philosopher, and Menahim Begin, who is most noted for signing a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979. Max was invited to lecture at the Weizmann Institute, a high honor.
Along with the four or five trips to Israel, I travelled whenever he was invited to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Germany, and the United States. Travelling helped us get the feel for different areas where we found ourselves collecting local art. The walls of our home were not only lined with art work, but kept our memories alive about where we obtained them.
Max died in 1992 from a heart condition. Losing him made it difficult to read the notes he had been accumulating about his life over the years. Finally the day came when I felt strong enough to read his personal comments about himself. Imagine my surprise when I read:
“It only took three dates with Ethel, a NJG (nice Jewish girl) to know she was the one. It must have been destiny because it was about this time I too was becoming subtly aware of my need for a basic change, but unable to know how or what to do to make it happen. One date told me I would marry her if she would have me, never allowing myself the luxury of hoping she too might feel the same way.”
We both needed each other. Had he known I would have said yes if he had asked me before he left for Europe, he would have. It is of no matter. There is no way to paraphrase the rich full life we had together. Forty seven years was not long enough to know the full Max, there was so much to learn about him.
Today, at the age of 92, I have been without Max for 17 years. I am thankful for the memories I have of them because they help soften being alone. Without them life would be less lighthearted.
Who would have known that by accepting a blind date fate would orchestrate such a fruitful and wonderful life.
A Penny for Your Thoughts
Thank God for old thoughts that won't die...but should they? Society may need them more now than it ever has. They often prevent us from repeating the same past errors - again, and again, and again. If we pay attention to the past - actions and thoughts we are bound to be smarter than before.
Did I Really Have a Brain Injury?
An undiagnosed brain injury
It never occurred to me that what seemed like a minor automobile accident would change my entire life. Nor did the seriousness of it leave a deep impression on my future caretakers. They insisted for almost three years, that….It was not serious. It’s just temporary. It’ll take patience and a lot of effort to get better.
Without the diagnosis of brain injury, I did not understand my symptoms
I had lots of patience and effort. Those qualities had always worked in the past when I was required to cope with serious challenges. It never occurred to me it would not work now.
But the realization of the error of my thinking came too late to avoid what could or might have been avoided had I received a diagnosis and early treatment for a brain injury. What was required was the correct medical care for my brain injury. I did not realize this hadn’t happened until all the symptoms had become chronic. My effort alone was not enough. The brain injury eventually took control of my life, thus making it more difficult to reverse the negative results.
Life plays tricks on us
With no plans to celebrate my birthday, it started like any other day- a day at the office, home to prepare dinner, attend a French study class for our first trip to Europe and Israel, where my husband was invited to lecture. Not in my wildest dreams could I, a NJG (nice Jewish Girl) from the Bronx, ever have entertained such an idea that on that day my brain would be damaged. But, life plays tricks on us, some good, some not so good.
Treatment of brain injury can be costly – not treating it is even more costly
Like most accidents, it could have been avoided. A speeding car hit us, damaging both cars and me. The insurance company paid for repairing both cars, but would not pay for my serious injury because of the high cost involved. Instead, they interpreted my description of the changes that occurred from the blow to my head and the brain injury as psychologically motivated. This fit me into their lower or non paying insurance category – their interpretation of my story cast me as a malingerer.
To avoid high costs, they instructed my friend, the driver of the car I was in, “not to discuss the subject with me” and he never did. Believing my driver was a friend was my error and I paid a high price for this error in thinking.
Optimism does not heal the brain
The last thing I remember was that we were going to be hit. The first thoughts I remember were, “Where was I, why was I here, flat on my back, cold, naked, wrapped in a white sheet. What could I be but a corpse?”
It took days before I learned the truth. I had been in an automobile accident. I was not aware of the major problems that were coming even after I was capable of asking the right questions. By not getting evaluated correctly, the answers to my questions did not help.
My always optimistic approach to problems, asserted itself as it always had done. Being overly optimistic was a major mistake. It made me assume I was getting correct, thought-out responses to my questions, until I learned otherwise. It was too late to avoid the damage and chronic symptoms that were left undiagnosed too long. After two years of optimistically seeking help from the medical world, and getting nowhere, I decided to seek help from other sources.
The invisible injury to the brain
I started doing research which took me from modern times back to the middle 1850s. I discovered that an invisible injury was considered psychological in nature, instead of physically induced and so it was treated as an emotional problem, thus the diagnosis of “malingerer.”
It’s sad to say, this type of diagnosis still happens today. Fortunately, there are many options and avenues in which to find answers today. If your story is similar to mine, keep seeking, the right answers are out there for you. Be careful not to accept just any answer because it came from a “doctor.” If you aren’t getting better, there may still be something wrong with you and time and effort will not heal. Keep seeking, the right answers are out there.
If you would like to know more about Ethel Dimont, go to http://www.etheldimont.com
It never occurred to me that what seemed like a minor automobile accident would change my entire life. Nor did the seriousness of it leave a deep impression on my future caretakers. They insisted for almost three years, that….It was not serious. It’s just temporary. It’ll take patience and a lot of effort to get better.
Without the diagnosis of brain injury, I did not understand my symptoms
I had lots of patience and effort. Those qualities had always worked in the past when I was required to cope with serious challenges. It never occurred to me it would not work now.
But the realization of the error of my thinking came too late to avoid what could or might have been avoided had I received a diagnosis and early treatment for a brain injury. What was required was the correct medical care for my brain injury. I did not realize this hadn’t happened until all the symptoms had become chronic. My effort alone was not enough. The brain injury eventually took control of my life, thus making it more difficult to reverse the negative results.
Life plays tricks on us
With no plans to celebrate my birthday, it started like any other day- a day at the office, home to prepare dinner, attend a French study class for our first trip to Europe and Israel, where my husband was invited to lecture. Not in my wildest dreams could I, a NJG (nice Jewish Girl) from the Bronx, ever have entertained such an idea that on that day my brain would be damaged. But, life plays tricks on us, some good, some not so good.
Treatment of brain injury can be costly – not treating it is even more costly
Like most accidents, it could have been avoided. A speeding car hit us, damaging both cars and me. The insurance company paid for repairing both cars, but would not pay for my serious injury because of the high cost involved. Instead, they interpreted my description of the changes that occurred from the blow to my head and the brain injury as psychologically motivated. This fit me into their lower or non paying insurance category – their interpretation of my story cast me as a malingerer.
To avoid high costs, they instructed my friend, the driver of the car I was in, “not to discuss the subject with me” and he never did. Believing my driver was a friend was my error and I paid a high price for this error in thinking.
Optimism does not heal the brain
The last thing I remember was that we were going to be hit. The first thoughts I remember were, “Where was I, why was I here, flat on my back, cold, naked, wrapped in a white sheet. What could I be but a corpse?”
It took days before I learned the truth. I had been in an automobile accident. I was not aware of the major problems that were coming even after I was capable of asking the right questions. By not getting evaluated correctly, the answers to my questions did not help.
My always optimistic approach to problems, asserted itself as it always had done. Being overly optimistic was a major mistake. It made me assume I was getting correct, thought-out responses to my questions, until I learned otherwise. It was too late to avoid the damage and chronic symptoms that were left undiagnosed too long. After two years of optimistically seeking help from the medical world, and getting nowhere, I decided to seek help from other sources.
The invisible injury to the brain
I started doing research which took me from modern times back to the middle 1850s. I discovered that an invisible injury was considered psychological in nature, instead of physically induced and so it was treated as an emotional problem, thus the diagnosis of “malingerer.”
It’s sad to say, this type of diagnosis still happens today. Fortunately, there are many options and avenues in which to find answers today. If your story is similar to mine, keep seeking, the right answers are out there for you. Be careful not to accept just any answer because it came from a “doctor.” If you aren’t getting better, there may still be something wrong with you and time and effort will not heal. Keep seeking, the right answers are out there.
If you would like to know more about Ethel Dimont, go to http://www.etheldimont.com
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