March 14th, 2020, Sean Dustman's 3 week out predictions.
This will bring our medical system to the breaking point and some hospitals will break unless we increase our medical staff. A larger percentage of hospitals whose leadership thought that this would blow over will fail. Those leaders will be replaced. There will be an extreme shortage of medical staff and people will be trained off the street and military in general will be trained to provide medical care and volunteers and voluntolds will be at hospitals and we will be setting up military tents for hospitals.
There will be medical staff burnout and people saying screw this and walking away.
Our death percentages will be higher because we will test all of the dead but not all of the living. Our administration will blame someone else and say we are doing a tremendous job. At least 30 members of Congress will die and a bunch of famous or rich old people, good leadership will be hard to find. Our death rate will also be higher is because there will be a lot of really sick broke people who won't come in when they're at deaths door because they don't have money for food let alone medical care. It will be a bring out your dead situation and officials will tap dance around who will pay for it.
Fringe people on the left and right will do stupid stuff, nation states will make subtle attacks like what's happening against our domestic oil. Many small businesses will fail and stocks will go down and parts of our supply chain break. Everyone will have tried the emergency government cheese, rice and salmon and recipes with those will appear on Pinterest.
My personal connection to 9/11
I’ve done enough posts about 9/11 that had to do with me so I might as well tell you guys about someone I know. Back in the early 90, right out of Field Medical Service School (the place where Navy Corpsman learn to play with the Marines and about combat medicine), I was assigned to VMFA (AW)-242 at MCAS El Toro and also assigned to the unit right before we left was a wet behind the ears doctor, Lt David Tarantino. So we went on our wild far east tour and came back and he transferred to a hospital for his residency. 9/11 happens and I drop everything and go back into the military and a couple of months into 2002, I’m in the barracks room of one of my Marines glancing through a Playboy that was sitting there and suddenly there’s picture of Doc standing at a party at the mansion in his dress whites, he had picked up LtCdr since the last time I had see him. Hugh threw a party for the Firefighters and heroes involved in saving lives that day. Doc was at the Pentagon when the plane hit and rushed into a burning room to save a guy. You can find that story
here and
here and pictures
here (they do a great time of telling what happened and I would do a disservice to the tale telling it again). Definitely the stuff heroes are made out of but then again, part of our job is being a hero when the time comes. He was able to answer the call. I’m glad he made it out alright and I'm glad to call him friend. It’s a small world.
Labels: 9/11
Happy Thanksgiving
To anyone able to be with thier families, I envy you. To anyone whos overseas fighting for this country this holiday season, I pray that you will return home with honor and are able to have a late Thanksgiving or Christmas with your families at that time. To anyone here in the states serving, yet are not able to return to your families, I relate to you. But to everyone I wish a Happy Thanksgiving. Please be safe, Don't drink and Drive, but most of all, be thankful for everything that you have, because the guy next to you may not have much.
Mental problems following war
This is something that I posted at my regular blog because it gets a larger readership then this one but would probably fit here better.
This is an issue that show it’s ugly head after every war, people returning back who are suffering from some sort of mental disorder. A report released in July from The New England Journal of Medicine of Iraq combat veterans showed that at least one in eight - between 15 and 17 percent - seemed to suffer from major depression, generalized anxiety or PTSD. My unit wasn’t at the forefront and we didn’t see heavy combat for which I’m glad but there are small signs in us too. Being at Edwards AFB, there are usually a dozen or so sonic booms a day, for the first couple of weeks after we got back, every time one went off, everybody in the room would duck. Whether we admit it or not most of us suffer from some form of anxiety, mostly mild. It faded fairly quickly for most of us and we went on with life. Not too many people talk about it because of stigma attached to mental illness. Face it being called crazy once most people think you’re crazy for the rest of your life.
This
story was pointed out to me by a new addition to my Milblogs list (on Doc in the Box),
Eddie from To New Frontiers. 1st Lt Goodrum came back from Iraq suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and was turned away from his local medical care facility when he was having a nervous breakdown so he did the next best thing and checked himself into a civilian psychiatric hospital. The problem with mental disorders is that they are internal and mostly a judgment call by the medical staff. We can’t go into the head of the patient, to us they might appear normal and calm but internally they’re one straw from going stark bonkers.The problem with the situation above is that he didn’t put leave papers in, so he’s being charged with being AWOL. I don’t know the facts behind the story other then what is in the Washington Post article printed but it is bothersome that someone who is clearly sick is also being charged with a crime that was clearly caused by his illness. If the charges go through, he could be imprisoned and kicked out and the underlining reason for this all left untreated. Obviously I’m a big supporter of the military but I do think there is a clear need for better psychological counseling available for the returning troops that is easier to get to then the current system. An open door policy that is always available with a minimum of flak or paperwork. These are the people that need the real help when they get back, now while it’s still fresh so they can recover and get on with their lives. I for one don’t want to see them on some street corner in twenty years with a sign that says “Help a Disabled Iraqi Vet-Hungry-need food”.
Introducing myself
This is
Sean from Doc in the Box, might as well give a little intro about myself for those that haven't read my other blog. I originally joined the Navy in 91, missing the entire first gulf war while at school. Stationed at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station with VMFA (AW)-242 an F/A 18 squadron. Did two 6 month unit deployments with them. With them I went to Iwakuni Japan, Okinawa, Darwin Australia, Guam, Wake Island and Hawaii. Then a 4 year stint at the beautiful Naval Weapons Station China Lake (blah). One good thing about that place they had this thing called flex Fridays where you got every other Friday off. Can’t think of any others. Got out of the Navy in 99 to pursue a different career field, was out for 3 years in school and did something totally different from medicine. I'm one of those that came back in because of 9/11. Figured my skills could better used here. So I'm doing my little bit, saving lives when I can, making sure my guys stay healthy and keeping the families in touch with their loved ones. Blogging gives the rest of the world a snapshot of my mundane life (most days). I also run a
photo blog that I started just to share my pictures and adventures which became a nice lifeline for the families of my guys. I look forward to adding my voice to the medical folk we have already gathered here.
The life of a "Doc"
Hey everybody!! I'm Marc, the author of "Corpsman Up!"(link on the sidebar). Im a USN Corpsman, stationed stateside at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. "The Presidents Hospital." I'm not going to use this as a medium to promote my blog in any way shape or form, but go check out everyones blogs. Insights and opinions abound in this unbridled, no-holds barred section of the blogsphere and who knows, you might find a blog in particular that you find amuzing or fun to read.
I'd like to take the time now to thank Sean at "Doc in the Box" for the invite to the group blog. I got this e-mail on the other day and I found myself here. Funny how things work out like that.
Well I gotta get back to my killing and slaughtering my boys at Halo. Take care and nobody be a stranger!!!
New group blog for Corpsman
Send me an email at
dustmans@hotmail.com if you're interested in joining, I've been thinking about doing something of this sort for a while but Jason T. approached me for permission to post on my blog. Sorry I'm sort of stingy about that (I don't even let my girlfriend fill in for me!) So instead started up a group blog with an open invite to corpsman.
