Mental Health in Our Community

Recently Erin Grace did a series of powerful articles in the Omaha World Herald on the status of mental health services in our community. While the intention was to highlight where gaps exist, and she did this successfully, I think she also did a nice job of telling one brilliant story of recovery, as well as the real struggles families have faced in their journeys with mental illness. I would like to begin with a huge thank you to the Duckert, Shumaker, and Pinkelman families for telling their stories, sharing their grief and tragedies, and providing messages of hope and concerns, all to shed light on the successes and failures of our mental health system.

Long-Term Risks of Traumatic Brain Injury

Packed full of baseball games, pool parties, and bike rides; summer is a time where the weather is warm and physical activities are at a peak. Unfortunately, so is the risk for injury.

WOWT reported a story about a local softball player who suffered a brain injury after diving head first for a ball. The 15-year old caught the ball, tossed it to her teammates, and seemed to be fine. However, as the game progressed her vision became blurry. She started to have trouble hearing and soon began to cry uncontrollably. This outpouring of emotion was something out of the norm for the notoriously tough ball player.