Latest news with #Mason-Dixon
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sister of fallen Blountville soldier reminds people of true meaning behind Memorial Day
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Memorial Day weekend is the 'unofficial start' to summer, with many taking the extra day to go out on the water, get together with friends, or spend time with their family. But Joyce Crosswhite wants people to remember what the holiday is all about – honoring people like her twin brother, Roy Neal, who was killed in the Vietnam War. 'He never questioned when he got his draft,' said Crosswhite. 'Our father died when we were in high school. So he was the man of the house.' PREVIOUS STORY: Sister of Blountville fallen soldier shares meaning of Memorial Day Neal had a full ride to Milligan on a basketball scholarship. He worked for Mason-Dixon during the summer to help provide for their family. 'Mother was a teacher. We lived off of a teacher's salary,' Crosswhite said. 'When the quarter started back, he didn't go because he was going to work another, you know, work a little bit longer, save some money. That's when they drafted him.' May 28 marks 57 years since Neal was killed in action. 'He went down fighting,' she said. 'It's horrible. They shot a rocket at 'em and killed all three of them.' Neal, a military policeman, was in a Jeep with two other soldiers following behind a convoy. 'He and two other gentlemen were following a convoy. And the Vietnamese, they attacked the convoy,' she said. 'Well, the convoy got through.' She remembers the day the military sent people to give her family the news. 'It was my sister and my mother, myself. And we all three just kind of passed out,' she said. 'Worst day of my life. The worst day of my life.' As this year marked 50 years since the Fall of Saigon, which effectively ended the Vietnam War, Crosswhite is still grieving. 'I'm angry, I mean, of course hurt, but I'm angry and, I don't know how my mother lived through this,' she said. 'His life was wasted. Those people that died over there, their lives were wasted. What came out of that war? Nothing. Nothing.' Crosswhite is proud of her brother and his service to our country. She has channeled her grief into honoring him and other fallen military members like him. Recently, she spearheaded the effort to create the Sullivan County Veterans Memorial Park. 'I think he would be proud,' she said. 'It's all about him.' There is also a bridge dedicated to him in Sullivan County. 'At the bridge dedication, [several members of his unit] came in from New York, South Dakota. I mean, he was well thought of in his unit,' she said. 'I fell in love with every one of them, fell in love with every one of them because they praised him.' And on this Memorial Day, she is encouraging people to take time to reflect and think about the sacrifices service members, like her brother, made. 'He truly was a good person, well-respected in his community. So he's missed every day,' she said. 'I wonder what life would have been, what he would have been. I don't know if I'd be doing this if it hadn't been for him. And then I wonder what he would have brought to this world.' Crosswhite says Memorial Day is a hard holiday for her. However, this year, she is helping to put on a ceremony at the Sullivan County Veterans Memorial Park. It's Monday, May 26, at 4 p.m. The park is located at 1575 State Route 394 in 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
18-04-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Florida lawmakers must uphold high standards for eye surgeries
Americans who need eye surgery have long enjoyed some of the best care in the world under the skilled hands of our nation's highly trained ophthalmologists. However, Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that would threaten to compromise this level of care by allowing optometrists — professionals with significantly less training — to perform laser eye surgeries. Our leaders in Tallahassee must put patients first and reject House Bill 449, sponsored by Hialeah State Rep. Alex Rizo, who wrote an opinion article in support of the bill for the Miami Herald. On Thursday, the bill was placed on an April 24 special order calendar. This bill is dangerous given the risks to patients' vision and potentially permanent complications that could arise if a surgery is performed incorrectly. Although optometrists play a vital role in everyday eye care, they are neither medical doctors nor trained nor qualified to perform eye surgeries. Whether you need surgery to address glaucoma or remove cataracts, you want to rest assured that the surgeon using a laser on your eye is adequately trained before you go under. That's why these surgeries should only be performed by a licensed ophthalmologist, a medical doctor that undergoes more than 17,000 hours of instruction and more than a decade of rigorous training. This includes a four-year undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, four years of residency training and, often, additional hands-on fellowship hours treating live patients to ensure they can perform eye surgeries safely and effectively. While optometrists are excellent at their jobs and skilled in providing routine eye care, they lack the necessary education and hands-on training to perform eye surgery. Optometry schools do not provide the requisite knowledge and skills to safely operate on patients. Some proponents claim we need HB 449 to ensure that Floridians have access to surgical eye care. However, the data tell a different story: 96.3 % of Floridians already live within 30 minutes of an ophthalmologist. While continuing to improve Floridians' access to top-notch eye care is an important goal, there is no access issue — but HB 449 would let unqualified clinicians perform eye surgeries with only minimal training. How minimal? Optometrists would be authorized to perform eye surgery by completing a mere 32-hour crash course that can be completed over a long weekend. This is not sufficient — and should not be acceptable. In the handful of states where optometrists can perform certain surgeries, studies have shown that patients are nearly twice as likely to need additional surgery in the same eye when performed by an optometrist instead of a licensed ophthalmologist. This suggests a growing number of eye surgeries are being done unsafely by optometrists. Moreover, a recent Mason-Dixon poll found that 79% of Floridians oppose allowing optometrists to perform eye surgeries and would prefer to leave surgery in the hands of medical doctors. Additionally, 40 states, including Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the Veterans Health Administration, forbid optometrists from performing laser eye surgery. The data are clear: Allowing optometrists to perform these delicate surgeries puts patients in harm's way. And due to the unique demographics of our state, Floridians may be uniquely impacted. We have the second highest proportion of residents aged 65 and above in the country, and older adults are much more likely to require eye surgery. In fact, about half of adults over the age of 80 have had or need cataract surgery. We could see a serious increase in the number of life-altering injuries and complications at the hands of optometrists. It is shocking that lawmakers would consider any bill that could jeopardize the safety and quality of eye surgeries. Mastering the skills to perform successful surgery on this delicate, vitally important part of the human body takes years of education, clinical training, and hands-on experience. If legislators allow optometrists to perform eye surgery without adequate medical training, Floridians could soon pay the price. Lawmakers should not lower standards for eye safety and I urge them to oppose HB 449. Raquel Goldhardt is a professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Miami and president of the Florida Society of Ophthalmology.
