SAL Commander: Suicide prevention becomes a very real story while in VA medical center

Hello, Minnesota American Legion Family!

As some of you know, I was quite ill, and I spent 16 days in the VA hospital. I have to voice my admiration and respect for the doctors and nurses, especially the nurses. While I was in the hospital, a veteran friend of mine and I were on the phone. He was on speaker, and he was saying that he was going to commit suicide. He just couldn’t deal with life anymore.

A nurse was in the room and overheard the conversation. My friend lives in New Jersey and had been moving around to different housing situations, and I wasn’t sure where he was exactly. I had conferenced in another friend of ours into the call and together we were trying to talk him out of his plan to kill himself.

The nurse asked me for his phone number and I quietly gave it to her. She contacted the VA police at the Minneapolis VA hospital, and they, in turn, contacted the VA police at the East Orange VA Medical Center, and they contacted the local police department who were able to locate my friend’s phone.

Police in the city where he was dispatched a squad car and an ambulance to his location. The police officers talked to him and convinced him to get in the ambulance and go to the VA hospital and get some help with his PTSD issues and he agreed to go to get some help. The nurse saved my friend’s life. I will be eternally grateful for the nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center for stepping in and saving my friend’s life.

That nurse is a shining example of the staff at the VA hospital here in Minnesota. And I have to say that during my time at the VA hospital, the nursing staff was outstanding in every respect. And not just the nurses — all of the other staff that I encountered during my time there were wonderful in their interactions with the veterans in the hospital.

I put the nurse in for a commendation for her actions to save my friend’s life. My friend is receiving continuing treatment at his local VA and is getting the help that he needs to resolve his issues.

That is my personal story of “Be the One.” Sometimes, it takes more than one; it takes a team effort to “Be the One” to step in and stop veteran suicide.

I am in the process of my recovery from the influenza type A that made me so ill. It affected my heart and lungs. I had pneumonia in my right lung, and my heart isn’t pumping effectively, but I’m on medication to help my heart work better. I want to thank all the members of the Legion Family who sent me get-well cards, called me and gave their wishes for a quick recovery from my illness and those of you who came to visit me.

I also want to personally thank the Legion Family who did a hospital visit during my stay, and I’d like to publicly thank Joe Jansen for his visit as part of that hospital visitation. When I was admitted to the hospital, there was a shortage of beds because of the influenza outbreak. There were veterans, myself included, who were sitting in the Emergency Room waiting for a bed to open.

The department service officer stepped up and went to the hospital administrator and pointed out the condition of those veterans waiting for a bed who were basically trapped in the ER on a gurney. This got us out of the ER and into a real bed in the hospital.

I am well on my way to a full recovery and am excited for the next few months as I finish my term as detachment commander. I plan on being at as many events of the Legion Family as I possibly can. I’m looking forward to seeing you all. Thank you all for your support and remember to “Be the One”!

John Weiss of St Paul Arcade-Phalen Squadron 577 is the commander of the Detachment of Minnesota for the Sons of The American Legion. His theme is “Stepping Up For Veterans.”