Boston Marathon Survivors

Vigil
“Dedication… grit… human spirit…
Run with endurance the race that is run before us…” -President Obama.

As our thoughts and prayers go out to the people who lost their lives or suffered injury in Boston, certain life-changing consequences are settling in for some of the survivors. For instance, the self-employed carpenter who lost the use of both hands.

Boston survivors are part of a larger less publicized group. More than a billion people around the world suffer injury related disability, according to World Health Organization estimates. And in some countries, as many as 25 percent of the cases are from injury or violence by someone the victim did not know.

Consequences on a personal level and ripple economic effect on communities are enormous…figures are in the billions of dollars, according to World Health Organization. And how do people place a value on cherished family members lost through senseless crime?

A fund of more than $7 million has been started in Boston.
However, when you consider that a state of the art prosthetic could cost $60,000, and more than a dozen people have lost limbs, and you factor in living expenses, lost wages, extensive long-term rehabilitation, and other related medical care for almost two hundred people one begins to understand how $7 million can be used up quickly.

People disabled by crime in other less high profile confrontations may have access to state victim’s compensation, but the funds may be inadequate to restore them to their pre-injury status.

Disability happens more often than people think, and it many ways,
but a defense strategy of prevention and avoidance is a tool that people can practice.

Having the right type of disability insurance, savings, resources, creating a self-employment emergency plan, and having a strong support system will help ease the challenges and adjustment.

In the case of the Boston Marathon, experts agree, that it’s impossible to protect a wide-open public event, 26 + miles in distance. Perhaps… but I can’t help but think that rethinking how the events are planned is in order.

And I can’t help but think that someone out there with a vision and the right skill set could develop a new app or cost-effective technology that could dramatically reduce the risk at these events.

Israel is renowned for it’s security measures. “No-one understands security as the Israelis do…,” so adapt, borrow, and innovate from them.

References
Anderson Cooper 360
Injured Marathon Survivor
http://tinyurl.com/bvyh4fw

Disabilitycanhappen.org
http://tinyurl.com/ycydfke

World health organization
Injury-related Facts
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/disability/en/

Huffington Post
$7 million-dollar fund
http://tinyurl.com/c7py4zc

ABC News.com
U.S./Marathon Security Practices
http://tinyurl.com/c365nxu

Charlie Rose
BostonMarathon
Update April 17
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12878

Homeland Security
Newswire
http://tinyurl.com/d4wuhd2