Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Police Arrest Suspect in US Soldier Shooting (Led to Paralysis)

SAN BERNARDINO, California (AP) — Police on Monday arrested a suspect in a shooting that critically wounded a soldier at his Southern California homecoming party after he survived a suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan.

Police said Ruben Ray Jurado turned himself in to authorities in Chino Hills, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. The 19-year-old had been sought in the attempted murder of 22-year-old Christopher Sullivan.

Authorities allege Jurado shot Sullivan at the party Friday night after getting into an argument with the soldier's brother over football teams.

Jurado, who had played football with Sullivan in high school, punched Sullivan's brother and Sullivan intervened. Jurado then pulled a gun and fired multiple shots, hitting Sullivan in the neck, San Bernardino police Sgt. Gary Robertson said.

Sullivan's relatives said the recipient of the Purple Heart medal — awarded to those wounded in combat — was hit twice by gunfire, which shattered his spine and left him paralyzed.

His mother, Suzanne Sullivan, told the Los Angeles Times that doctors believe her son will be paralyzed from the neck down.

"I don't have any emotions. My emotions are none," she said. "He didn't deserve it. He's an excellent son and an excellent man."

Jurado has been transferred to the custody of the San Bernardino Police Department where he will be booked, officials said Monday.

Police said Jurado had an attorney but officials couldn't immediately provide the lawyer's name. It wasn't immediately possible to locate a number for Jurado.

Sullivan was wounded in a suicide bombing attack last year in Kandahar province while serving with the 101st Infantry Division. He suffered a cracked collarbone and brain damage in the attack and had been recovering in Kentucky, where he is stationed.

He was home on leave when the shooting occurred.

The Times reported that Sullivan joined the military in 2009.

Fabian Salazar, a soldier who served with Sullivan in Afghanistan, said Sullivan rushed back to try to rescue other soldiers after the bomb blast propelled him several feet, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

"I know he would take a bullet for his brother," Salazar told the newspaper. "And if you asked him again after all this... if he would take a bullet for him again, he would say yes. That's the type of person he is."

"Police Arrest Suspect in US Soldier Shooting." Yahoo! News. 26 Dcember 2011. Web. 28 December 2011. http://news.yahoo.com/police-arrest-suspect-us-soldier-shooting-022822105.html.

Teen's Final YouTube Message Inspiring Millions

By the age of 18, Ben Breedlove had survived three heart attacks. The teenager from Austin, Texas had a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but he didn’t let that stop him from living the life he wanted. He even started a YouTube channel offering advice to fellow teens.

But it was the last video he made that has touched so many people.

Ben passed away on Christmas Day. HLN affiliate KXAN reports he and his family had just finished opening presents. Ben's final two-part video was posted a week before he died.

"One of the things I noticed about that video is he was very confident in what he was sharing that day," Shawn Breedlove, Ben’s dad, told KXAN. "And he wasn't sad when he made that video."

In the video, Ben described one of his near-death experiences. He says in it, he saw rapper Kid Cudi standing along side him. When Kid Cudi heard about Ben's death, he said he "broke down."

Gonzalez, Anna. "Teen's Final YouTube Message Inspiring Millions." HLN. 28 December 2011. Web. 28 December 2011. http://www.hlntv.com/article/2011/12/27/christmas-inspiration-last-words.

Visit article to watch video: http://www.hlntv.com/article/2011/12/27/christmas-inspiration-last-words.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Finished With Fall 2011 Semester

I am officially finished with my fall semester and college study at Collin College with an end GPA of 3.915. I plan to obtain the remainder of my undergraduate degree in Social Work at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. I have signed up for two classes: Human Diversity for the Helping Professions and Policies, Issues and Programs in Social Welfare. I am sad to leave Collin College because I have been taking classes with them since 2004. I know the buildings, the classrooms, the professors and faculty, and the atmosphere. It feels that a part of me will always remain there.

Maggots Quickly Clean Up Wounds, Study Shows

TUESDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The surgeons' scalpel may have new (and wriggling) competition in cleaning troublesome wounds: maggots.

To the uninitiated the treatment may seem strange. But new French research suggests that bagging up live, sterile fly larvae in tightly meshed dressing packs and applying them to open sores can be a quick, safe and effective way to clear away dead tissue.

Actually, "maggot debridement therapy" (MDT) has a long history in medicine. And the new investigation suggests that this approach -- traditionally reserved for more severe wounds -- can be a quick, first-line therapy for less severe lesions.

"Twenty years ago, maggot therapy was performed mostly as a 'last resort' prior to amputation," for the treatment of non-healing wounds, explained Dr. Ronald A. Sherman, a "biotherapeutics" researcher at the University of California, Irvine, and the Los Angeles and Orange County health departments. He was not involved in the new study.

Sherman noted that past studies found that when used as a last resort (after antibiotics and surgery failed), maggot therapy eliminated the need for amputations in an estimated 40 to 60 percent of cases.

The treatment has gained ever-broader acceptance in recent years, with studies touting its safety record and effectiveness in less severe, non-emergency situations.

Mozes, Alan. "Maggots Quickly Clean Up Wounds, Study Shows." Yahoo! News. 20 December 2011. Web. 21 December 2011. http://news.yahoo.com/maggots-quickly-clean-wounds-study-shows-190409435.html.

Visit article to read about study with maggots.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Upcoming Speech in December

December 21, 2011 - I will be speaking at the MADD's McKinney Adult Victim Impact Panel located at 1800 N Graves St, McKinney 75069 at 6:00 pm.

Princeton Police Detail Violent Road Rage Incident

My best friend's cousin was a victim of a near fatal road rage incident yesterday in McKinney, Texas. He was shot in the head. He is recovering at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Please keep him in your prayers. Thank you.

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PRINCETON (CBSDFW.COM) – Police say Justin Brazile, 24, was sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle on his way home from work when he became the unsuspecting victim of violent road rage Friday night.

According to Princeton Police Chief James Waters, the incident began just a mile outside his town, in McKinney. Waters says 47-year old Bobby Schule, cut-off a vehicle Brazile was riding in. That started a sequence of confrontations that ended in a violent spray of gunfire at about 8:30 p.m.

Waters says the driver of the vehicle and Schule exchanged words, and both parties threw cans at eachother’s vehicles. The confrontaion continued down US Highway 380 East, into Princeton. That’s when, police say, Schule pulled out a handgun and opened fire. Schule admitted to police he shot the victims. Investigators believe no less than seven bullets hit that car.

One struck Brazile in the head.

The young father of four was critically wonded and taken to Parkland Hospital where he is recovering. Brazile is a fullback and linebacker for the newly formed league, The North Texas Lightning . . .

The tough, exuberant player is fighting through his recovery – with his close friends, family and teammates by his side.

“Everyone is just praying for him – that’s all you can do is pray,” Ballew said. “Justin will pull through, he’s a fighter and the doctors say he’s fighting and we know he’s going to pull thru.”

Schule remains jailed in Collin County, charged with aggrevated assault with a deadly weapon.

Hernandez, Selena. "Princeton Police Detail Violent Road Rage Incident." CBS 11 News. 18 December 2011. Web. 19 December 2011. http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/12/18/princeton-police-detail-violent-road-rage-incident.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

God Wired Us to Be on Mission by Rick Warren

"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” (Mark 8:35 TLB)

Why don’t we feel more fulfilled? Far too many people are asking themselves that question. We’re not happy, we’re not satisfied — in fact, we’re miserable.

Why? In his book Rich, Free, and Miserable, sociologist John Brueggemann shared a great story that illustrated why. Climbing Mount Everest is one of the challenges that inspire people to do something big. Lots of people try, even though nearly 10 percent of the people who do, die in the process. Many of the corpses still line the path up the mountain. Yet people still want to climb the mountain — though it has no real redeeming social value.

A few years back one climber, David Sharp, was clearly in trouble on the mountain. There were 40 climbers who noticed his obvious need but passed him that day. He died on Mount Everest because none of the other climbers were willing to put their personal goal on hold to help him.

That’s us. Our own personal drive to have more, be more, and do more causes us to lose sight of what really matters. But that isn’t how God wired us. Life isn’t about what you make, who you know, or what you do. Life is all about love — loving God and loving others.

Jesus tells us in Mark 8:35, "Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (TLB). God wired you in a way that you’ll never be happy unless you’re giving your life away in his work. You were made for something greater than yourself. The Bible calls this your mission in life. Significance doesn’t come from status, salary, or sex. It comes from service. Only by giving your life away can you feel that your life has significance.

Warren, Rick. "God Wired Us to Be on Mission." Daily Hope. 13 December 2011. Web. 13 December 13. http://purposedriven.com/blogs/dailyhope/index.html?contentid=9604.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

James 3 (CEV)

James 3: The Tongue

My friends, we should not all try to become teachers. In fact, teachers will be judged more strictly than others. All of us do many wrong things. But if you can control your tongue, you are mature and able to control your whole body.

By putting a bit into the mouth of a horse, we can turn the horse in different directions. It takes strong winds to move a large sailing ship, but the captain uses only a small rudder to make it go in any direction. Our tongues are small too, and yet they brag about big things.

It takes only a spark to start a forest fire! The tongue is like a spark. It is an evil power that dirties the rest of the body and sets a person's entire life on fire with flames that come from hell itself. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be tamed and have been tamed. But our tongues get out of control. They are restless and evil, and always spreading deadly poison.

My dear friends, with our tongues we speak both praises and curses. We praise our Lord and Father, and we curse people who were created to be like God, and this isn't right. Can clean water and dirty water both flow from the same spring? 12Can a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? Does fresh water come from a well full of salt water?

"James 3 (Contemporary English Version)." BibleGateway.com. 1995. Web. 11 December 2011. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+3&version=CEV.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Paralympian, Un-Paralyzed By Crash, Now Eyes Olympics

UTRECHT, The Netherlands - Paralympic silver medalist Monique van der Vorst has miraculously become an able-bodied Olympic hopeful after a crash reversed her paralysis.

Paralyzed from the hip down since she was 13, the 27-year-old handcyclist, who has just signed with the Rabobank women's professional cycling team to compete as a top-class able-bodied athlete, was hit by a bicycle last year while training in her wheelchair for the 2012 London Paralympics.

While recovering from the trauma, van der Vorst's feet started to tingle and miraculously she began to move them again. From that point on she spent months in the hospital and in the rehabilitation centre trying to regain the use of her legs.

When she was 13, van der Vorst — good at tennis and hockey — suffered nerve damage during a routine ankle operation and was paralyzed from the hip down, according to the U.K. Telegraph.

She also sustained a spinal cord injury in 2008, when she was struck by a car while hand cycling through Amsterdam, the Telegraph added.

She told Reuters that when she took her first steps again in July 2010, she felt just like a child learning to walk.

"I wanted to jump in the air for joy," van der Vorst said this week, and recalled how great and surprising it was to look at herself standing in front of a mirror.

Doctors have no explanation for her amazing recovery. Some believe the trauma of her last accident may have jolted her body back into activity.

But the realities of her new-found joy also put an immediate end to a successful athletic career.

"Although walking is the best thing you could do in life, I immediately missed the sport, the people and the challenges," van der Vorst said.

Rehabilitation and physiotherapy with an athletic focus strengthened her and as soon as she sat on a bike she again wanted to give it a try.

"The spirit is in my body," she said.

Despite a near-crash the first time she cautiously climbed aboard a racing bicycle for able-bodied athletes, van der Vorst got back on her bike and carried on to complete a painful and slow 30 km training route and has not looked back since.

Although she is not on the same cycling level as the other women on the Rabobank cycling team, her willpower is enormous and the team is confident van der Vorst will quickly catch up.

When you consider van der Vorst won two silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, was elected Dutch disabled athlete of the year in 2009, was the first handcycle athlete to win the 2009 Ironman world championship in Hawaii, her goal of riding in the 2016 Rio Olympics does not appear unrealistic.

"Paralympian, Un-Paralyzed By Crash, Now Eyes Olympics." NBC Sports. 8 December 2011. Web. 9 December 2011. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45597247/ns/sports-other_sports/.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Top-ranked North Carolina Wrestler Paralyzed During Match

Luke Hampton knew he was taking a risk every time he stepped on the wrestling mat. However, the Alleghany (N.C.) High senior, who was the top-ranked Class 1A wrestler in the state, never thought the sport he loved would leave him paralyzed.

As the Winston-Salem Journal and other news outlets throughout the state of North Carolina reported, Hampton's match on Saturday took a horrible turn when he tried to charge his opponent and take him to the mat. In the midst of going for the pin, Hampton lost his grip and went head-first into a padded wall.

"When I saw it, I thought maybe a concussion or he just hit his head," Alleghany High wrestling coach Derrick Calloway told the Winston-Salem Journal. "Right when I got to him, I knew immediately it wasn't good."

The sheer force of the collision broke Calloway's C5 and C6 vertebrae. After being rushed rushed to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, it was confirmed that Calloway's injuries had left him paralyzed from the neck down.

The entire Alleghany community has rallied around Hampton following his injuries, holding prayer vigils and setting up a fund to help the family pay for medical costs. As the Associated Press reported, the goal is for the Alleghany High senior to increase his strength before heading to Shepherd Center, a hospital located in Atlanta, Ga., that specializes in spinal cord injuries.

The hope is that the hospital in Atlanta will give Hampton the best possible chance to regain full movement. Despite the awful situation, Calloway said Hampton's strong work ethic makes him believe he will walk again.

"You don't tell that to anybody in Alleghany or around here because we all know he's going to walk again," Calloway told the Winston-Salem Journal. "Just because they told him he can't do it, he'll do it."

Hopefully he's right. Despite the advancements in injury prevention on the field, wrestling remains one of the few sports that hasn't changed much in the last 20-plus years. While injuries can occur, what happened to Hampton is a rarity in the sport.

You just hope and pray that, like Calloway said, Luke Hampton works hard and finds a way to walk in the future. Based on what coaches and members of the community said about him in recent articles, it sounds like he has a great chance to defy the odds.

Wall, Johnathan. "Top-ranked North Carolina Wrestler Paralyzed During Match
." Yahoo! 8 December 2011. Web. 8 December 2011. http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Top-ranked-North-Carolina-wrestler-paralyzed-dur?urn=highschool-wp9664.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Rick Warren's Daily Devotional

“Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn't find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, he said, ‘Friend, I forgive your sins.’” (Luke 5:18-20 MSG)

You must believe God can work through you to reach people for Jesus.

No one is hopeless. When the four friends looked at the paralytic’s condition, they could have responded in doubt: What could Jesus do? Instead, they believed God could heal him — they had faith. The Bible said the paralytic’s sins were forgiven when Jesus saw the faith of the four friends.

There are people all around us who are paralyzed this Christmas season — not necessarily physically paralyzed, but a paralyzed faith. Whether they’re paralyzed by doubts, loneliness, fear, or anything else, the result is the same: They need the faith of the others.

Warren, Rick. "Your Faith Will Bring Them to Jesus." Daily Hope. 6 December 2011. Web. 6 December 2011. http://purposedriven.com/blogs/dailyhope/index.html?contentid=9549.