Collateral Damage

Much like everybody else, I have been horrified by the bombings in Boston. To think that an individual (or a group of individuals) can create such malicious havoc is impossible to comprehend. Going through the motions on Monday night, in an attempt to shield Robby from the news, my heart was breaking. I felt compelled to do nothing but watch the news in horror, yet I knew that I had to keep busy in order to feign a sense of normalcy.

As the evening wore on, it became clear that the blasts resulted in numerous amputations on the scene. After putting Robby to bed I sat on the couch and silently cried. Thinking of the overwhelming fear and loss that was being felt by the newest members of the amputee community in Boston, I grieved their loss.

Losing a limb is never "fair," but experiencing limb loss through a terrorist event must create an incomprehensible sense of anguish for the victims. At times like this I am reminded that I have been fortunate. I am an amputee but I never experienced a traumatic amputation. I was spared the nightmare of seeing my limb ripped from my body because of an instantaneous event. I have been spared the flashbacks that so many of my friends experience.

Today I am thinking about not only the victims and their loved ones in Boston, but also about many of my friends. The details and photos that are being released through the media are causing several people whom I care and respect to struggle with horrific flashbacks of their own traumatic events. This issue is particularly worrisome for many of my Wounded Warrior friends who are now forced to relive their own IED attacks through CNN and the nightly news. At some point, our insatiable quest for details after a tragedy becomes detrimental.

I don't need to see a photo of a man with shards of bone hanging where a foot had been in order to grasp the scope of this tragedy. I am sure that this man as well as his family and friends do not want such a personal photo shared and used for fodder and conversation on Facebook and other social outlets. I implore everybody, please be respectful and stop sharing these graphic images. They aren't helping anybody, and they are causing more collateral damage and pain.