Like everyone else, I am extremely saddened by the news of Robin William’s death. He was with out a doubt one of my all time favorite actors. Not surprisingly the media is channeling all their news to remembering the life of Robin Williams, which is fine with me, but it brings a thought to my mind. As many of you know, I work with veterans suffering with PTSD, TBI, and MST (Military Sexual Trauma). In the same day that the world found out that Robin Williams committed suicide, there were at least 22 veterans that also committed suicide that same day. The statistics on daily suicide rates for veterans is not only sickening, but it is also not publicized the way it needs to be. The only reason the VA is working to change their horrible health care system is because someone spoke up and it became a media sensation. I cannot express how happy I am that the VA was finally called out on their BS! If we could take even one veteran that commits suicide each day and celebrate their life and talk about all their accomplishments and put that on all the news stations each day, I bet there would be more action to help decrease the current suicide rate. It won’t be a statistic that is swept under the rug by the VA and Military Institutions who do not feel the pressure to do everything they can to help their veterans. It is sad that in order for the right changes to be made, we have to use the media. It’s not about doing the right things in the first place, it is about how to spend and do as little as possible. Makes me sick. Everyday I watch the warriors I work with fight to get help so they can survive. That just doesn’t make sense. So I vote to have all media stations take time each day to reflect on the life of a veteran who left this world too soon, who fought for our freedom and died because he came home alive, who is more than just a statistic, but a real person with a real family!