Suicidal lesbian Marine Corps vet seeks help, gets Jesus instead

[Ian David]

Esther Garatie is a hero to our nation, serving in the Marine Corps in war-time. She also happens to be a lesbian.

But that shouldn’t matter. Not when she checks into a Dallas-area VA hospital for treatment for severe depression – including suicidal thoughts. She wanted help, and was brave enough to actually ask for it.

She had been battling PTSD-like symptoms before she even received her Honorable Discharge. Rather than help, an evangelical Christian nurse took it upon herself to preach about Esther’s life of sin. Esther left the VA Hospital absolutely determined to kill herself because of this.

<snip>

She continually pointed at her office door, the one all I wanted to do was run out of, and she said, “When you walk out this door, you need to pray and ask God for whatever his purpose is for your life, for him to show you, and bring you to his light.” Ironically, this is something close to what I have prayed for every single day, since I left the military service, and had just prayed for that morning. I had been praying for whatever God’s will was for my life, for him to show me the way and use my life to best service Him and His message. This is the moment when she told me that “…maybe God’s plan for your life is to choose to return to the light, and then you could ‘help’ your friends, who are still in darkness and going to Hell, back to the light. When I started practicing medicine there was actually a diagnosis for homosexuality, but they’ve gotten rid of that now, since Obama.”

Aside from being extremely offensive, the nurse’s statement doesn’t even make sense. Unless she is both very old and very young at the same time. Homosexuality has not been ‘treated’ by psychologists in several decades. The repeal of DADT is months old… What a bizarre thing to lie about in order to take a pot-shot at the Commander In Chief.



More:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/rockbeyondbelief/2011/11/06/suicidal-lesbian-marine-corps-vet-seeks-help-gets-jesus-instead/

She needs to be FIRED. Sign the petition that Esther’s friend started. Every signature sends an email to this Nurse’s bosses (and their bosses) calling for the Firing of Nurse Pandithurai.
http://www.change.org/petitions/dallas-va-medical-center-fire-homophobic-nurse-for-harassing-lesbian-marine-veteran/

[NMMNG]

1. What a bigoted, lying witch

But people like her make up reality as they go along, and have no qualms about using it to abuse the hell out of other people.

[polmaven]

2. She is in a VA HOSPITAL...not a Church!

She had absolutely no right whatsoever to say any of that to this woman who had come for a PTSD consultation. Yes, she should absolutely be fired! She is a danger to every vet who walks in the door!!!

[HereSince1628]

3. The event as told is very troubling it violates basic first aid for mental health

I would expect any intake nurse/triage nurse would know these basics.

The mnemonic for mental health first aid is ALGEE, what it is to help carers do is--

Assess for risk of suicide or harm
Listen nonjudgmentally
Give reassurance and information
Encourage appropriate professional help
Encourage self-help and other support strategies

As related by Garatie, she experienced a huge failure of these basic concerns of persons making initial contact with a person needing mental health care.

[Ilsa]

4. That nurse needs to be turned in to the state board of nursing.

She's either ignorant or lying, for starters. Homosexuality is not a Nursing Diagnosis, and her intervention was extremely inappropriate, even harmful.

I can't imagine someone thinking they can blame Obama for the ANA, APA, AMA (and other associations') decision from several decades ago to not classify homosexuality, etc as a form of mental illness.

What happened to this vet infuriates me.

Petition signed!

[progressoid]

5. Signed, kicked and recced.

[saras]

6. Firing isn't good enough, but it's all that's legal...

Hell is reserved exclusively for those who believe in it.

The lowest circle of hell is reserved for those who try to control others with the fear of hell.

[Zorra]

7. Any nurse that stupid is a threat to the well being of any patient

that she treats or otherwise works with.

Who knows what critical mistakes she may make because of her stupidity?

Or what kind of malevolent wacko thing she may do to an unsuspecting LGBT in the name of her god?

If she were my nurse I'd be seriously worried that she'd poison me.

[Dragonbreathp9d]

8. WTF?! Just tried to share this on Facebook- said it contained abusive material

?????

[Ian David]

11. That's because chrisTians are "persecuted." You have to share it manually. n/t

[RetiredTrotskyite]

9. Wow, What's With the Dinosaur...

There used to be a diagnosis for homosexuality, but they got rid of it since Obama?! That disgnosis has been off the books since the 1970s. What a bitch!:puke:

[Initech]

10. Ugh... this crap is abusive. I'm sick of fundies thinking their religion is the answer to everything

:argh:

[MNBrewer]

12. Whenever I see "Jesus is the answer" on a church sign, I think

"Why does shit stink?"

Jesus is the answer.