“Mentoring Monday: Uncle George says it's going to rain. How does he know? Because his knee is throbbing. George fell off his bicycle when he was 12; he got a bad cut, and the fall caused some internal trauma to his knee. Although he's fully recovered from the injury, 40 years later he still has a scar, and his knee acts up when the barometric pressure changes. His brother, Uncle Fred, has a different injury. Fred's brain was physically scarred by combat trauma. Just as the oncoming rain triggers George's knee pain, the sound of distant thunder is a trigger for Fred, because it brings back bad memories. George reaches for the aspirin bottle and elevates his leg. Fred reaches out to pet his service dog, and starts to do some deep-breathing exercises. Is either one of them crazy? NO. They just have different types of injuries that they have to manage in different ways. "Trauma is trauma", as Mary says. Sometimes the scars it leaves are visible, and sometimes they're not. Fred doesn't tell George to just "get over" his painful knee, and George doesn't tell Fred to ignore his symptoms, either. Fred may not be able to show anyone the scars from his injuries, but they're just as real as George's. Because Fred's service dog has told him the sound of thunder is causing his body chemistry to change, he takes steps to manage his physical and psychological response. Then Fred and George can sit on the porch and enjoy watching the summer rainstorm together.”
