From the Sept. 20 edition of the Register-News
By:
Walk to raise funds
for needed research
To the editor:
On Sept. 29 my family will be walking to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at Mercer County Park.
This walk will be in honor of my sister, Ellen, who died of Leukemia at age 5 and my sister, Lynne, who died of Lymphoma at age 40.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can make checks out to the "Leukemia & Lymphoma Society" and send to David Skorny, 5 Joyce Court, Columbus, N.J. 08022 or call me at 298-5963.
David Skorny
Columbus
This resident wants
peace over bombs
To the editor:
In this time of sadness and crisis, when it’s so easy to think violence and retaliation, it would be prudent to focus on the words of Buddhist Monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh:
"Take the situation or a country suffering war or any other situation of injustice. Try to see that every person involved in the conflict is a victim … See that the situation is possible because of the clinging to ideologies and to an unjust world economic system that is upheld by every person through ignorance or lack of resolve to change it.
"See that two sides on a conflict are not really opposing, but two aspects of the same reality. See that the most essential thing in life is life and that killing or oppressing one another will not solve anything."
As a practitioner of mindfulness meditation and the central New Jersey contact for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, I once again am reminded of the message of Buddha: in the time of war raise yourself in the mind of compassion. Help living beings abandon the will to fight. Wherever there is furious battle, use all your might to keep both sides’ strength equal, and then step into the conflict to reconcile."
I urge the remembrance that peace is a viable alternative to bombs, if our leaders look deeply into themselves to ascertain a nonviolent path.
As a sacred text opines, "The generation that will bring peace to the world is not the generation that hates war, but the generation that loves peace."
Dodie Murphy
Bordentown
Thanks to those
who cared
To the editor:
My husband was in an accident on Sunday fighting a burning brush fire, which led into the woods, in Mansfield Township.
I offer great support and love to all volunteers and their families for sacrificing your time and labor and risking serious injury for the benefit of others.
Through the entire incident, I was deeply disheartened by the quality of care and concern.
A tree, which was on fire, split, hitting my husband in the lower back, knocking him to the ground. He was rushed to Memorial Hospital.
I had the misconception that a firefighter would receive immediate care if injured during duty. However, we were in the ER for over seven hours, waiting for X-rays and physician care.
He could not roll or sit up and his shoulder, back and abdomen were in immense pain.
The physician discharged him, in this condition, that night, with broken ribs, an injured shoulder and back spasms.
My husband and I requested observation overnight, but the physician felt he was stable.
It did not matter that he could not move his trunk and could not sit up. He was brought home in an ambulance on a stretcher.
I had no idea at this point what was ahead.
I am an occupational therapist, and thus was able to provide a commode and bed on our lower level. I was trained in transferring and bed positioning, and by day three he was walking with a quad cane.
I was just fortunate enough to have the experience and proper equipment.
If you are a volunteer and become injured, you are mandated to use the township medical coverage. It was considered a workman’s comp injury.
We were at the mercy of a township policy which had limited options. We have nothing to gain from this injury, except my husband’s full recovery.
Virtua at Work was provided and he was denied by the nurse practitioner to visit an orthopedist, stating that protocol is three weeks of therapy. Three weeks of his own lost work time, sick time, pain, and the uncertainty of whether his shoulder is torn. This was not acceptable or justifiable.
A volunteer firefighter is injured during a fire and cannot move his right arm and has back spasms because the blow of a tree landed on his spine, yet he is unable to see a medical physician for after-care.
With exhausting pursuit of the insurance, care will be provided.
Further and deeply, I was disturbed by the neighboring farmer who started the dry burn on a windy day, in which a firefighter was carried off his property in a stretcher.
Neither the farmer nor his wife ever called my husband with concern or apology. If someone was injured on my property, due to my error, acknowledgment at best, would be nice!
We have nothing to gain from volunteer efforts, except the satisfaction of helping others. And this is the gratitude he received.
My sincere thanks to the chief and assistant chief who stayed with my husband at the hospital and offered daily support, in addition to all the men of the Franklin Fire Company who visited or called to show care and concern; we deeply appreciated your support.
He escaped serious injury thanks to all the firefighters who assisted him and will be fine.
In lieu of all the tragedy in our country, I was truly blessed to have my husband.
When one you love is injured, you are at the mercy of the decisions of others. When you are injured as a volunteer firefighter, your options are limited and the only gratification you receive are from those who show they care.
For any volunteer response, squad and fire, the only payment is your appreciation. Thank you to all of you that cared.
Lisa Ghaul
Mansfield Township

