Wellness Center Helps Vets With PTSD

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section 11/5/11

As we get older, and live through or alongside more and more wars over the years, we seem to develop a deeper respect for our veterans than we had when we were younger.

When I was young, I still remember my grandmother making me write letters to my uncle in Vietnam. She would enclose my little notes in the boxes she made for him, placing them next to the Swiss Miss Instant Cocoa packets and jars of Tang.

He came back, I was lucky to get my “Unky” Bill back. But like many vets I have met from that war, he didn’t talk about it. And I never understood why.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a terrifying event in which the person was physically harmed or felt threatened. Now there is a new healing center in New Mexico that addresses this issue in a way so successful it caught the eye of the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Aside from the clinical approaches used to help the veterans deal with PTSD, the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center in Angel Fire uses complementary alternative medicine such as yoga, guided imagery, Reiki, massage therapy, acupuncture, equine therapy, group sessions and Native American ceremonies at their retreats.

“Moving and life changing,” as some vets have described the exhausting 58 hours of structured therapy that lasts 7 full days at the Angel Fire retreats. And although the Albuquerque VA is top notch when it comes to caring for our vets, it is not their mission nor are they funded to take on the families.

Corrales residents Jim Tritten and his wife Jasmine attended the spring session with 16 other couples including one vet from WWII, one from the Korean War, nine from Vietnam, and about 5 from current conflicts.

Thinking that sharing your own stories with vets from other eras would be cathartic, I asked Jim if there was much interaction taking place.

“Yes, we all shared,” he said. “The newer ones were less open than the older guys who have been dealing with issues longer. Some of the new ones are still into denial or think that they have been ‘cured’.”

Since vets aren’t the only ones who are affected by PTSD, their spouses were recognized during the retreat as well, in a very heartfelt way.

“What probably affected each individual more than anything else was at a dinner during which the vets presented a purple heart (not the military medal) to their spouses and made a speech in front of everyone,” says Jim. “I am sure that this will be on the documentary.”

Lisa Ling, host of the show Our America on the Oprah Winfrey Network was filming a documentary at the retreat last April. Invisible Wounds of War will air tomorrow night on OWN at 10/9c and again on Veteran’s Day, 11/11, 5/4c.

“Lisa and her crew were there the entire time,” says Jim. “They had total access except at one meeting of only the vets during which they wanted to speak freely and explore some very sensitive issues.”

Jim says the filmmakers got raw unadulterated footage of some pretty heavy stuff shared by the vets and their spouses and that the issues Lisa and her crew heard affected them greatly. “There were times she was in tears - but then again we all were,” said Jim.

How proud we should be to have the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center here in New Mexico. But as any non-profit they depend on donations to stay afloat. Contact Karen Kelly at (575) 377-6555 for more information.

Quote of the Week: “My grandfather was a soldier. When he passed, there was no caisson, no flag draped casket, no salutes with rifles or by hand. No one passed the flag to his widow and thanked her for his service to his country . . . a silent witness to the passing of another forgotten soldier of a now forgotten war.” – Excerpt from Two Old Soldiers by Jim Tritten. 

Jennifer Huard’s column appears each Saturday. She welcomes your emails at jhuard@abqjournal.com. Visit her blog at www.jenniferhuard.blogspot.com.

A Didgeridoo of a Different Color

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section 10/29/11

If you have followed this column over the summer, then you are familiar with the story line of Jennifer and her Beanstalk. My agave grew a 20ft stalk this summer and I most recently wrote about its threatening demise onto my lamppost or worse yet, my roof when the season’s first major winds blow through.

A few weeks ago a loyal reader contacted me and said he could remove it for me. You are probably thinking a junk hauler, or landscape maintenance company, or tree trimmer, right? So was I. But it turns out it was something much more intriguing, someone much more interesting than I could have ever imagined. And he is a fellow Michigander to boot.

“Would you like to have me take that stalk off your hands?” wrote Charles Eaton, PhD., of Corrales.

“It is probably, even as I write, yearning to be transformed into something of beauty in its next life, rather than decaying in some landfill,” wrote Charles.

My interest was piqued and I learned Charles, 78 is the didgeridoo instructor at UNM Continuing Education, and that I have one of the finest growing right in my front yard. I couldn’t wait to learn more so I invited Charles over, but not before I Googled “didgeridoo.”

A didgeridoo is a wind instrument, sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or drone pipe developed by Indigenous Australians around 1,500 years ago.

When Charles came to the house to chop down my stalk, he brought along 3 of the 23 didgeridoos that he has made, and played them for me and imparted his wisdom of how they are made and how they should be played.

This inexhaustible world traveler showed me the didgeridoo he found in Australia but assured me that agave Neo-Mexicana or agave Americana are capable of exceeding the quality of Aboriginal didgeridoos any day.

The instruments can be made out of wood, eucalyptus or agave and are hollowed out with drills and blow torches. Charles sands them down and coats them with $180 a gallon marine epoxy. He then adds his signature in the form of a strategically placed piece of beautiful turquoise.

The sound these instruments make is somewhat similar to the sound whales make, a low pitched hum.  But once one can master what is known as circular breathing, breathing in through your nose while exhaling at the same time, you can also make animal sounds, barking and gargling noises.

“During the day, faster notes, but the evening and after breakfast meditation is when you are to blow a lower hum,” said Charles explaining in a Zen sort of way how to get the most out of this unique instrument’s soothing sounds.

This didgeridoo maker also plays the banjo and guitar, is a flintknapper, videographer and taught TV production at UNM for years.

Between Charles and his wife, Pauline Eaton, an accomplished watercolor artist, they have 3 master degrees and 2 doctorates.  “My philosophy is on continuing education. You can eat an elephant- one bite at a time,” says Charles.

So, in the spirit of Charles Eaton, I invite you to take another bite out of your own elephants and sign up for his UNM Continuing Education class, Playing the Didgeridoo. You may just see the famous Jennifer agave stalk in its final transformation. Classes start November 7^th.  For more information call 277-0077.

Quote of the Week: “My goal is to be wheeled into the nursing home at 85 and blow into that thing, and blow the top right off.” – Charles Eaton, 78.