Veterans Corner

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha all my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events. Could foam help stop troops from bleeding to death on the battlefield? A new product developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency could possibly treat wounds not easily staunched by conventional methods. A polymer foam would be injected into the patient as a liquid and expand to 30 times its volume, while gently cradling the injury site and vital organs. It was shown in tests to reduce blood loss six-fold and increase survival rate at three hours post-injury to 72 percent, compared with eight percent survival rate with the control group. According to DARPA, the agency plans to pursue the Wound Stasis program until a prototype receives Food and Drug Administration approval. If testing bears out the technology could affect up to 50 percent of potentially survivable battlefield wounds, DARPA program manager Brian Holloway said.

I hope that everyone did well with the last question, which was, “Liliuokalani, Hawaii’s last queen, wrote what popular song?” The answer is “Aloha Oe.” The new question is “The pua aloalo, Hawaii’s lovely state flower, is actually a common garden shrub known by what name?”

This date in history, Nov. 19, 1997, Bobbi McCaughey gave birth to seven children, the second known set of septuplets to be born alive, in Des Moines, Iowa. On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy is assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. In 1920, the first U.S. commercial radio station is established in Pittsburgh. In 1934, animator Walt Disney introduces a new character in the cartoon “Little Wise Hen.” The character is neither wise nor a hen, but an ill-tempered duck named Donald.

Reliving the death of a loved one may help people with prolonged grief disorder, a new study suggests. Exposure therapy, as this approach is called, appears to help survivors struggling with prolonged grief better than another type of therapy alone. Patients in the study had four individual sessions where they either relived the experience of their loved one’s death or had behavioral therapy and could talk about whatever they liked. After six months the researchers found that the exposure therapy participants showed greater improvement in prolonged grief disorder, depression and social functioning than those who had behavioral therapy alone.

To all our active duty military personnel, Molokai says mahalo for all you do for us. To our veterans, I hope that you feel that all of Molokai feels grateful to you for all you have done for us; all your sacrifices we are thankful for. Mahalo, veterans. If anyone has any questions, suggestions for news please give old Jesse a call at 553-3323. I continue to depend on all the information you give me. Have a wonderful week, and please remember that old Jesse loves you all dearly. Aloha.