Latest news with #PTSD
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Isle of Man's veteran's hand crank challenge to 'inspire others'
An army veteran who completed the equivalent distance of the Isle of Man's Parish Walk on a hand crank machine after losing the use of his legs said he hoped his efforts would "inspire others".Mike Ryan said he decided to complete the 85-mile (137km) challenge at the National Sports Centre (NSC) as the event's route would be "impossible" in a wheelchair due to the said he had decided to take on the venture, which he completed in just over six hours, to "surprise" himself and demonstrate to others "I am more than what you see".Mr Ryan said: "It is easy for people to look at people with a disability and think they are 50% of the next person... give me an option to be judged on a level playing field and I won't come last." The former member of the Royal Engineers said he decided to use the hand crank machine, which is designed to improve upper body fitness, because it was the only piece of exercise equipment he could use that registered a distance. Mr Ryan, who served in the British Army between 1994 and 2001 and did tours of Germany, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, said he broke his legs in more than 140 places over a three year was referred to the NSC by the island's mental health services due to developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after leaving military service. Attending the gym sessions "helps me get out of the house more and combat stress", he said he had "jokingly" asked to sign up for the Parish Walk Challenge at the NSC, which sees entrants complete the distance of the walk on a variety of gym equipment, but had then taken it on in receiving a medal for completing the task, he said although it was different from the annual walk itself it was no less of an achievement."I know it is not the same as completing the Parish Walk, but I would say to anyone to go and do 85 miles in a day is challenging, even if it is not the same challenge," he others with PTSD to seek help, he said: "Don't suffer in silence like I did for a few years."Completing the challenge in six hours and 15 minutes, Mr Ryan raised about £650 for local charity Bridge the Gap, which aims to help young people with long-term health conditions. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Global News
a day ago
- Global News
Woman with doll phobia sues boss after prank allegedly left her with PTSD
A former Truist Bank employee has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming her manager thought it was Child's Play to prank her by placing a Chucky doll on her chair during training. Debra Jones alleges the prank caused her to suffer a severe panic attack and claims she needed weeks of medical leave after the stunt featuring the Chucky doll, known from the Child's Play horror movie franchise. Jones accused the manager, identified as Matthew Korr, of deliberately traumatizing her and alleged she was discriminated against because of her medical conditions, which include 'major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and autoimmune disorder vitiligo,' according to court documents obtained by People. She said her employer knew she had those medical conditions and that the incident took place in June 2024, during her last week of new hire training. Story continues below advertisement Jones said she told her manager that she had a crippling fear of dolls so he threw her into full panic mode when he placed 'the doll that kills people, in Plaintiff's office chair.' According to the lawsuit filed in Nash County, Jones said her manager's actions interfered with her training and worsened her medical condition. She added that the manager laughed when he saw her reaction to seeing the doll on her chair. Jones was treated by a medical provider on the same day as the prank and placed on medical leave for eight weeks after receiving a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the court documents. 3:35 'It's just good, stupid fun:' 'Chucky' actor Jennifer Tilly talks about new TV series When Jones returned to work in August 2024, she said she was assigned a new manager and claimed that there were continuous problems with her, including an incident when the manager made a joke in front of her and other team members about her being 'always fraudulent vigilant' after Jones discovered a fraudulent cheque. Story continues below advertisement Jones said she found the joke to be offensive and argued in the complaint that she was treated differently from other team members when she made mistakes and alleged that the treatment was based on her disabilities. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The complaint noted another incident in January 2025 when another Truist manager allegedly told Jones that her accommodation of leaving work at 3 p.m. three times a week for treatment of her autoimmune disorder was affecting other employees who needed time off. The manager allegedly told Jones that the job might not be a good fit for her and that she can't keep using her 'emotional and anxiety problems as an excuse.' The complaint alleges that the manager hinted that Jones would be fired if she didn't improve. Jones alleged that she experienced panic attacks after the meeting with the manager and was taken out of work for treatment of her disabilities. In March, Jones claims that her employer notified her to pick up her personal belongings at the office. Jones is suing Truist Bank for emotional distress and discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. She is seeking compensation for lost wages, emotional pain and mental anguish for an unspecified amount. 1:47 'Child's Play' trailer A similar situation took place in the U.K. in May when an NHS worker was awarded close to 30,000 pounds (C$55,000) after being compared to Star Wars bad guy Darth Vader at work by a former colleague. Story continues below advertisement Lorna Rooke said that in 2021, a co-worker took a Star Wars-themed Myers-Briggs personality test on her behalf that likens participants to one of the franchise's characters. Rooke, a blood donation bank employee, was given Darth Vader — the Sith lord widely viewed as one of the most powerful, hated villains of the franchise — as her personality doppelganger, but said she was not present when her colleague, Amanda Harber, took the quiz for her, saying she had left the room to answer a personal phone call. Harber then disseminated the results among their colleagues. An employment tribunal in Croydon, London, ruled that the incident was a 'detriment' because it harmed Rooke and impacted her negatively, the BBC reported. As a result of the quiz, Rooke was made to feel widely disliked, which contributed to her low mood and led her to feel anxious in the workplace, the tribunal found. She won the detriment case and was compensated 28,989.62 pounds, which equates to C$53,288.76. — With files from Global News' Rachel Goodman
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
US Banker Sues Employer Over Chucky Doll Prank, Claims It Gave Her PTSD And Ruined Career
A former employee of a US bank is suing her ex-employer on allegations that a manager placed a Chucky doll in her office chair despite knowing she was afraid of dolls. According to the New York Post, Debra Jones, who worked at North Carolina's Truist Bank, filed a complaint against her former company on May 21. In her complaint, she alleged that she was "subjected to discrimination and retaliation based on her being a qualified individual with disabilities". She is now seeking compensatory damages from the bank, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Debra Jones said she began her employment at Truist Bank in April 2024, the outlet reported. In her complaint, she stated that she was diagnosed with "major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, and autoimmune disorder vitiligo." She alleged that her employer knew she had those medical conditions and her fear of dolls. In June 2024, during the last week of new hire training, Ms Jones said that her manager placed a Chucky doll in her office chair. Notably, the doll is a fictitious character from the 1988 slasher horror film 'Child's Play'. In her complaint, she said that the manager's actions interfered with her training and worsened her medical condition. She also alleged that her manager laughed when he saw her reaction to seeing the Chucky doll. On the same day, Ms Jones was treated by a medical provider and was placed on medical leave for eight weeks. She then received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the Chucky incident. Ms Jones returned to work in August 2024 and was assigned a new manager and was allowed to leave work at 3 pm, three times a week, for treatment of her autoimmune disorder. Then, three months later, she said that the new manager made a joke in front of her and the team about her being "always fraudulent vigilant," after she discovered a fraudulent check. Ms Jones said she found the joke offensive. In her complaint, she argued that she was being treated differently when she made mistakes, and that the different treatment was based on her disabilities. She also alleged that she was subjected to retaliation and discrimination by her new manager. In January, Ms Jones alleged that another manager told her that her reasonable accommodation of leaving work at 3 pm was affecting the other employees who needed time off. They also told her that the job might not be a good fit for her and that she can't keep using her emotional and anxiety problems as an excuse. They also allegedly told her that she would be fired if she didn't improve. In her complaint, Ms Jones claimed that she experienced panic attacks after meetings with the two managers and was later taken out of work for treatment of her disabilities. Then, in March 2025, she was notified by her employer to pick up her personal belongings at the office. She argued that she experienced retaliation, discrimination and different treatment based on disabilities. She also stated that the actions of the bank have led to lost wages and caused her emotional pain and mental anguish.
Forbes
a day ago
- Health
- Forbes
Scientists-In-Training Speak Out To Protect Public Research
Erin Morrow, a native of Powder Springs, Georgia, was diagnosed at age 20 with a cardiac conduction disorder that left her at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. A pacemaker implant made her recovery possible and allowed her to pursue a future in science. Now a PhD student in cognitive neuroscience at UCLA, she studies how emotion and stress shape the structure of our memories. Her work could improve diagnosis and treatment for PTSD. But her path to research is also a personal one. She credits decades of publicly funded research with enabling the treatment that saved her life. Erin Morrow holds the printed version of her op-ed published in the Marietta Daily Journal. This week, Morrow is one of hundreds of early-career scientists publishing opinion pieces in their hometown newspapers as part of a national campaign known as the McClintock Letters Project. The goal isn't just to inform or persuade. It's to reconnect. 'I think it's important to recognize as scientists that we're first [humans] and scientists second,' Morrow said. Her op-ed, published in the Marietta Daily Journal in Georgia, where she grew up, recounts her experience undergoing surgery at a local hospital and explains how federally funded research made her treatment possible. Amid polarized debate and funding under threat, graduate students from more than 100 institutions are turning to a distinctly low-tech form of outreach: the letter to the editor. Their goal isn't just to save their grants—it's to explain, in human terms, why science matters, and why it needs the public's support. These young researchers, in the vanguard of American science, aren't lobbying Congress. They're writing to their neighbors. The McClintock Letters Project began with a simple idea: that scientists could reach people more meaningfully — not just as experts, but as fellow citizens invested in the same shared future — not through national platforms, but by writing to the communities they came from. The idea emerged earlier this year at Cornell University, where graduate students Isako Di Tomassi and Emma Scales, co-leaders of the Advancing Science and Policy (ASAP) Club, were looking for ways to mobilize students concerned with the increasing uncertainty in federal science funding. Di Tomassi and Scales wanted to elevate early-career scientists across disciplines in a way that would bring their work back to the communities they came from. They teamed up with graduate student groups from more than 20 institutions, with organizing support from a national Slack network of early-career researchers focused on science policy. The goal: to coordinate the publication of 1,000 op-eds in local newspapers across all 50 states, timed to the week of June 16, the birthday of Nobel laureate Barbara McClintock. What unites these pieces isn't just their timing or format. It's their method: personal storytelling. 'We wanted scientists to explain what they do, why it matters, and how it connects to the communities they come from,' said Di Tomassi. 'Not as an advocacy piece, but as a way to reconnect with the public.' Barbara McClintock was a pioneering 20th century geneticist. Working largely on her own and often facing skepticism, she discovered 'jumping genes' — mobile elements in DNA now called transposons that transformed the field of molecular biology. She received her PhD in botany from Cornell in 1927. In 1983, she became the first American woman to win an unshared Nobel Prize in science. Her discoveries in maize genetics laid the groundwork for everything from genetically modified crops to gene therapies in humans. Her legacy is a powerful reminder of the importance of basic research and the uniquely American infrastructure that supports it. 1947 portrait of Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) an American geneticist who won the 1983 Nobel Prize ... More in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of genetic transposition. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) The McClintock Letters campaign comes at a time of historic uncertainty for American science. Thousands of NIH and NSF grants — the lifeblood of basic research in the US — have been curtailed, delayed, or withdrawn. Among the most contentious proposed changes is a 15% cap on indirect cost recovery, a financing method used to support the basic operating costs of research institutions. The cumulative outcome of these disruptions has been terminations of staff, dismantling of labs, and what scientists describe as the 'decimation' of support for the next generation of researchers. According to data compiled by Grant Watch, a grassroots network of independent scientists documenting funding cuts, approximately $3.2 billion in NIH research funds have already been disrupted. For many early-career scientists, the consequences are personal. 'Grad students are being affected by canceled training fellowships. Their PIs are having their NIH and NSF grants revoked or canceled. Clinical trials are getting canceled,' said Erin Morrow. 'These are patients who are enrolling in these clinical trials as a last resort for the conditions that they're in. So, yeah, it's really disturbing.' A recent federal court ruling by Judge William Young temporarily blocked some of the government's plan to cancel NIH funding, offering a brief reprieve. But the broader future of federal support for science remains unsettled. That's what prompted so many young scientists to speak out — not in protest, but in dialogue — with the communities that shaped them. They want those communities to understand that policy decisions made in Washington don't just affect distant researchers at elite institutions. They shape the future of public health, education, and innovation in every part of the country. The McClintock Letters aren't about policy details or partisan takes. They're about people. They're about early-career scientists like Isako Di Tomassi, a plant pathologist at Cornell, whose research was disrupted when her PhD advisor — an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture — was suddenly fired. Di Tomassi was forced to change labs and advisors, abandoning a major line of inquiry. One of her projects, a proposed genome-wide association study to identify virulence traits in Phytophthora infestans, the pathogen behind potato blight, was scrapped. Her experience illustrates how disruptions in federal research institutions ripple outward to shape the careers and contributions of young scientists. Cornell student Isako Di Tomassi studies the fungus that causes potato blight. 'We believe science became too distant from the public,' explained Alex Rich, a 4th-year neuroscience PhD candidate at Yale University and one of the organizers. 'We lost sight of the fact that all scientists come from communities, and that in many cases, they were inspired to pursue science by their communities, and the reason they do science is to give back to their communities.' Another contributor, Margot Schmitt, a former inpatient social worker who now studies how alcohol use and aging affect brain structure, distilled her motivation in the Brattleboro Reformer this way: 'To fix something, we need to understand it. To understand it, we need to study it. To study it, we need scientists and funding.' Amanda Finn's op-ed, entitled 'In Defense of Education', appeared in The Signal of Santa Clarita Valley, and shared how her path to a Ph.D. in nutrition science was shaped by family values and public investment. The daughter and granddaughter of Central American women who saw education as the one thing no one could take from you, Finn described learning how to do research through a federally funded NIH training program. She now studies how large-scale factors like neighborhood poverty limit health choices. 'After all this work,' she wrote, 'I can't bear to see biomedical research be forever marred by Trump's policies.' For many contributors, writing an op‑ed required learning a new form of communication. At UCLA, Erin Morrow organized a writing workshop in her department to help peers think through narrative strategies for local audiences. Across the country, participants received similar support through informal peer networks and guidance from organizers. Science Homecoming, a nonprofit that promotes public engagement by scientists, also offered free editorial feedback to any contributor who submitted a draft. The goal wasn't just polish, but pedagogy. Participants learned to distill complex research into human terms and to write as scientists and neighbors. 'Often as trainees in science, we're encouraged to take the personal out of the work that we do,' said Erin Morrow. 'I really wanted this project to help bring people back to that space of thinking about the community that formed them.' Organizers hope the McClintock Letters Project won't be a one-off event. With over 1,000 scientists signing an accompanying open letter, the initiative is already seeding longer-term infrastructure for public engagement. The national Slack channel now serves as a coordinating hub for early-career researchers. 'We started a campaign — but I think we might have started a movement,' said Di Tomassi. Yale student Alex Rich was one of the organizers of the McClintock Letters, a project by graduate ... More students from around the US that sought to connect with Americans about the importance of federal science funding through a large scale letter writing campaign to local newspapers. Some have described the policies of the Trump administration as a war on science. But, if it is, the McClintock Letters Project is not a counterattack. It's an invitation. Rather than frame the current situation in terms of conflict, its organizers have chosen to lean into something quieter and harder: trust. That trust is not earned through credentials, but through openness. As Morrow explained in an interview, the premise of the project is that scientists are not just stewards of knowledge — they are members of communities, and their work can only be meaningful if it's understood and valued by the society it's meant to serve. That's why this campaign turns away from confrontation and toward connection. It asks scientists to step into the public square not as experts but as neighbors. And it encourages the public not just to defend science, but to claim it as their own. A list of op-eds associated with the McClintock Letters project is available on their website.
The Independent
a day ago
- Health
- The Independent
Anger over ‘light touch' sanction for doctor who had sexual relationship with teenage patient
A vulnerable patient has hit out at the 'light touch' punishment given to a doctor who had an inappropriate sexual relationship with her while she was a teenager. Dr Cian Hughes met the girl in hospital in 2011 after observing her surgical procedure at Bristol Children's Hospital when she was aged just 13 and went on to start a sexual relationship with her four years later. Dr Hughes, a 23-year-old fourth-year medical student at the University of Bristol when the pair met, was last week suspended for misconduct. But the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service did not strike him off, despite pleas from the General Medical Council. The victim, patient A, has now hit out at the sanction and accused the panel of denying her a voice after she was not allowed to give oral evidence. She told The Independent: 'The penalty feels very light touch for the impact he's had and the things he has done to me. My confidence in the medical profession is pretty much non-existent. 'I think [the sanction] is too lax. This case isn't just about me and him. There's nothing you can do to undo what he did and what happened. The reason I followed through with this for the last five years has been about making sure that other doctors don't do it to other patients.' The woman, who suffers from PTSD, added that her physical disability was not highlighted by the tribunal panel as an aggravating factor, but she believes it should have been. '[This], along with the age gap, my mental health at the time, the way we met, how much I trusted him and my naivety around relationships contributed to a very unhealthy power imbalance,' she claimed. 'The long-term consequences of his actions for me are potentially going to be lifelong.' During the MPTS hearing, thousands of messages between Dr Hughes and the young woman were presented, as well as a written statement. Dr Hughes's defence said the relationship between the medic and Patient A was 'a very loving relationship'. Patient A, meanwhile, said he was 'a very capable and kind mannered medical professional' but claimed 'behind the bedroom door, he was a different person' which she said was not displayed in the text messages. Patient A told The Independent she was clear to the MPTS that she could and wanted to give evidence, but was denied this. According to MPTS rules, victims of doctors facing sexual misconduct claims are not always called to give oral evidence unless the panel or the doctor ask for them to be. Witnesses are only called to give live evidence where their evidence is disputed by a party of required by the tribunal. She added: 'I came away feeling more traumatised, especially since I had always said I wanted to give oral evidence. '[The MPTS's] process is victim-hostile. This process doesn't allow me to have a voice or even be treated as a victim by the MPTS.' In its determination of the sanction, the MPTS tribunal said that Dr Hughes' misconduct 'was serious and warranted a significant response to mark its gravity.' However, in determining that suspension was more appropriate than being banned from the profession, it highlighted mitigating factors including the medic's admissions, apology and 'well-developed insight, remediation and remorse'. It said it accepted Dr Hughes's lawyer's submissions that this was a 'nuanced' case and 'distinguished from other cases of sexual misconduct where erasure was required.' The panel also said that although Dr Hughes had 'abused his professional position' and started an 'improper relationship with a vulnerable patient', it was found that he did not exploit her vulnerability. In submissions, the GMC argued Dr Hughes had shown a 'blatant disregard' for the guidance around inappropriate relationships. However, the MPTS panel accepted the doctor's argument that he had 'persuaded himself' that the guidance 'permitted the relationship.' During the hearing, it was revealed the medic is also facing undertakings by the Irish Medical Council. The IMC would not confirm any details of the complaint; however, conditions listed on its register say: 'Dr Hughes is subject to an undertaking that he will, inter alia, not afford any treatment to certain patient groups except under specified conditions.' Rebecca Cox, co-founder of campaign group Surviving in Scrubs, which has campaigned against sexual assault within the NHS, said the group was 'dismayed' to see 'another weak sanction' from the MPTS. She added: 'Sadly, this fits with a trend of sanction decisions that do not reflect the severity of the case or distress caused to victims. The MPTS repeatedly fail victims of sexual misconduct and violence.' Dr Cox said the lack of opportunity for victims to voice their testimony is an issue that has been raised many times. Professor Carrie Newlands, consultant surgeon, co-lead for the working party on sexual misconduct in surgery at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, said: 'This is yet another case of misconduct by a doctor against someone vulnerable with a significant power imbalance, and where despite the GMC recommending erasure, the MPTS have again given a lesser sanction.' She said the suspension of a doctor for such 'egregious behaviour' is incompatible with the GMC's zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct and incompatible with MPTS guidance, which states more serious action, such as being struck off, is likely to be appropriate in sexual misconduct cases. In 2020, Patient A made a report to the police; however, in April 2021, the investigation was closed with no further no further. Reacting to the tribunal's suspension, a spokesperson for the GMC said it would consider whether there are grounds for appeal against the MPTS decision, but said the 12-month suspension was still a 'significant sanction for Dr Hughes.' Dr Hughes was approached for comment through his lawyers.
