Boston Marathon Bombings - The One Fund and other financial support

 

Boston Marathon Bombings

The One Fund

to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston

because this could have been my sister, husband, parent, aunt, colleague, neighbor or child.

 

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Boston Marathon Bomb Attacks - compassion vs. cowardly acts of violence against innocent victims

Our hearts are simply...broken. Yet light can break the darkness and there we find faith, hope and love. The following is a testament to the human spirit that from great tragedy - when chaos can prevail  - we find acts of love, kindness and care because this could have been my sister, husband, aunt, parents, co-worker, and child.

Newton Police Officer:

I have been a Police Officer for 11 years. I am often asked, What is the craziest or worst thing you have ever seen. I hate this question. I have to think about what this person wants me to tell them. Is it the many calls for alarms or neighbor complaints? The house breaks, the robberies, or all the little things. I know they don't want to hear about all the suicides, or gruesome car accidents I have seen. Or all the elderly people who passed away by falling down the steps and not found for several days until their mail man calls us to say they haven't taken in their mail because their kids are not around to care for them. I could probably tell you about every suicide I have been to. Having to tell the parents who just found their teenager hanging, or over dosed that it will be OK. Or telling the children that mommy or daddy is not coming home. It's a difficult question.

Yesterday I woke up, happy to go to work on one of my favorite days of the year. I got my assignment on the motorcycle, MC3. Patrol Comm ave to the Boston line. The historic Heart Break Hill. A hill I conquered in 2010 when I completed a life long goal to run the historic 26.2 miles. I was standing along the route when I ran into an old friend that I haven't seen in about 15 years. I met his 3 children as they waited for their mother to pass by. I saw fellow co workers and wives run by as everyone cheered them on. I watched Dick Hoyt push his son Rick in his wheelchair up Heart Break hill for the 31st time. I was standing with my Sergeant and another officer as their wives and kids came to visit them at work. They gave them kisses and bid them fair well.

It was then that a National Guardsman came over to us and asked if we heard anything about an explosion. And then it came over our radio. "Newton control to all officers, there were two explosions at the finish line, be on alert." I jumped on the bike and headed for the Boston Line at BC. After some confusion we were given the order to stop the race. Stop the Boston Marathon? Never in a million years would I believe I would have to stop the Boston Marathon. Myself and other officer made a human barricade and stopped the runners. They were beginning to hear about what happened and asking us questions we did not know the answers to. What do we do next. This is when it all came to light and to say I am proud to serve with the people I do. Immediately a joint effort was made between Newton, Boston, State, and Boston College Police. We opened up St. Ignatius church and set up a shelter. About 200-300 runners entered as we tried to make arraignments for family to pick them up. BC brought food and drinks for them. Students brought phone chargers for people who had dead batteries. We announced the names of people over the loud speaker as family members showed up and people cheered. People were translating for runners that were from other countries. Everyone came together. After a few hours I was given the assignment to escort the remaining runners who needed to back to Boston.

We loaded up 6 buses with about 300 people and along with State Police and Middlesex sheriffs, we began the convoy. 15 motorcycles and 3 cruiser. We brought them all the way into the Castle where runners were taken after the explosion. Seeing all aspects of law enforcement driving around an empty city was crazy. Bomb trucks with guys riding on the back, Dogs, trucks, FBI, ATF, Boston, Transit, Brookline, everyone. You name it they were there. The few people we saw walking were video taping us as we passed with the buses.

Rich and I drove back slow. We rode down Comm Ave into Kenmore and kept looking down Boylston St toward the finish line, all lit up with temporary lights. Media everywhere. It was like a movie set.

I received Facebook messages from people I haven't seen since high school. Texts from family members telling me to stay safe. I felt like I wasn't doing enough to help. I wanted to do more. I headed home to my wife and kids. I can not imagine what the victims' and their family are going through. The little boy who lost his life. The hundreds of injured. I gave my wife and two sons a kiss and thanked God for my blessings.

I woke up today only to realize it was not a dream, it really happened. So for now on when I am asked the question, what is the craziest thing you have seen as a Newton Police Officer, I know how to respond. April 15, 2013

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The Conversation

Teaching doctors to cook: recipe for a healthier community?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.

By Alessandro R Demaio, University of Copenhagen

The traditional adage in the world of medical education, is to “see one, do one, teach one”… Medicine, at its fundamental core, is a profession best learnt through experience.. Best mastered through engaging with patients and observing senior colleagues. This is why we have teaching hospitals. Why we spend more than half of most medical courses in hospitals and not in universities.. And why we see so many trainee-doctors every time we go for that checkup.

Flickr / ReneS

But a recent paper in the prestigious journal JAMA suggests a new adage for doctors in the 21st century.. An updated ideology for health-care professionals entering a world in which diabetes, heart disease and obesity are major killers and where over-nutrition is often more common than under-nutrition.

A delicious new recipe for education and health, excuse the pun, of ‘See One. Taste One. Cook One. Teach One.’  You see, doctors are trained to prescribe medications to bring down their patients' cholesterol. They’re even lectured on the benefits of exercise for a healthy heart. But at no stage in most medical curricula are medical students taught how to cook. How to approach food in a healthy way, to maintain a balanced diet or to prepare a “heart-friendly” snack. Yet the largest health threats facing most communities globally, are those caused and remedied by the quality and quantity of the food we consume.

We look to doctors as leaders, as role-models and as trusted providers of health – so why not stock their pantries with recipes for healthier living, which in turn they can provide to their patients.

Flickr / campdarby

Of course, it is more complicated, and I am not suggesting that chef-doctors are the answer to our obesogenic societies, but it would be a very intelligent step. Almost free to the taxpayer – in sharp contrast to treating the outcome of the obesity epidemic – giving health promoters the skills to cook a balanced meal seems logical.

I also admit that the typical medical course is already dense, as with any course at university, but the role of tertiary education is to instill in us the skills to overcome common professional challenges. How can we expect medical professionals, not just doctors, to guide their patients to health (and healthy food is part of this), if they don’t have the skills themselves? If we’re not teaching the teachers some basic recipes for a nutritious and healthy lifestyle – how can we expect them to do the same for their community?

There are good examples from the USA, and the benefits of knowing how to make healthy, affordable food is nothing new to many – see the Kitchen Garden Project and Food Revolution. But as a community investing in the education of doctors, maybe we have the recipe slightly wrong… In addition to anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, could a dash of cookery be the missing ingredient for a healthier society?
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For more on global health, explore Translational Global Health, from Alessandro and PLOS
Alessandro R Demaio does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.


This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.

Wishful Thinking...

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