December 25, 2014 VOLU M E 31 | I SS UE 26 | 5 0 ¢
WheatRidgeTranscript.com J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Finding forgiveness By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado communitymedia.com Louis Zamperini’s tale of surviving a vicious Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II was unknown to many. Even when Donna Miller, a Golden native and history enthusiast, was asked nearly eight years ago if she had ever heard of Louis Zamperini — she was unaware of his story. But her lack of familiarity would not last long. Miller, an American Airlines pilot and history lover, met Zamperini through a mutual friend during a layover in Los Angeles. After hearing about his story and meeting him in person, a friendship kindled, and she would spend a handful of years traveling with Zamperini to numerous public appearances where he discussed his journey in finding faith and forgiveness after surviving years of abuse at the hands of Japanese guards. “In his forgiveness he was able to let everything go,” Miller said. “He had this very burden free, happy life.” Zamperini passed away in July 2014 at the age of 97. “Unbroken,” a movie based on the book of the same title, hits theaters on Christmas Day.
Directed by Angelina Jolie and written by Joel and Ethan Coen, “Unbroken” details the former Olympian’s hellish ordeal in which Zamperini was tortured and brutally beaten for more than two years by Japanese forces after the bombardier veteran’s B-24 crashed in the Pacific. Zamperini was one of three crewmen to survive the crash out of the 11 people that were on board. The three men spent 47 days on a raft set adrift before being picked up by Japanese sailors. “He inspired me to push harder and not give up,” Miller said. “One of things he always said was don’t give up and don’t give in.” Zamperini’s survival as a POW is only a fraction of his story. His post-war years that left him with post-traumatic stress disorder led him to find his faith and ultimate forgiveness for his captors that showed no mercy. In 1950, Zamperini return to Japan as a missionary, where he met a few of his former captors and pleaded for clemency for one of them who was in prison awaiting trial for war crimes. Clemency was never granted but Zamperini’s enduring resilience and grace has inspired thousands of people across the globe. He received many letters from people facing numerous challenges including cancer treatments, Miller said, adding that just knowing Zamperini was inspiration
Louis Zamperini and Donna Miller arm wrestle for the pilot seat before taking off to one of Zamperini’s public appearances where he talked about overcoming his horrific ordeal as a POW by the Japanese during WWII. Photo by Amy Woodward to be more grateful, to be more motivated and to complain less. “He inspired people, and I think it really
touched his heart that his story could help other people,” Miller said. “I feel so honored to have known him.”
Lutheran receives chest pain center accreditation Recognized for efforts to provide best treatments, outreach By Clarke Reader POSTAL ADDRESS
WHEAT RIDGE TRANSCRIPT (ISSN 1089-9197)
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creader@colorado communitymedia.com Chest pain is one of the top reasons people visit hospitals and the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) recognizes hospitals that provide the best care patients in need of chest pain treatment. Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge received full accreditation as a Chest Pain Center from the SCPC for the changes and improvements made to its chest pain treatment and outreach efforts. “Lutheran earning its Chest Pain Center accreditation shows that we have worked hard and are continuously committed to providing excellent and appropriate patient care to `all-comers’ with chest pain,” said Grant Wicklund, Lutheran president and CEO in a statement. “We are dedicated to
promoting community awareness around heart disease in an effort to reduce the number of lives it claims as our nation’s No. 1 killer.” Lutheran received its accreditation by meeting or exceeding a wide array of criteria and hosting an on-site review by SCPC. Some of the areas that Lutheran had to demonstrate expertise in include: integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system, having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care and supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack. “We put a lot of work into our system here for high and low risk patients,” said Sara Colbert, the Chest Pain Center coordinator at Lutheran. “The process took about a year and we worked with local EMT agencies and community outreach.” The accreditation program helps physicians to reduce time to treatment during the early stages
The Lutheran Medical Center, located at 8300 W. 38th Ave., Wheat Ridge. File photo of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether or not they are having a coronary event. SCPC’s accreditation process ensures that centers meet or exceed qualityof-care measures in acute cardiac medicine, according to provided information. Colbert said one of the key goals of the hospital’s Chest Pain Center is to get the word out to
residents to call 911 if they’re having chest pain — don’t wait or try to drive yourself to the hospital. “We’re making a big push for this kind of care information at schools and rec centers,” she said. “Now that we have this accreditation we have to make sure everything stays up to levels people expect.” For more information visit www.scpcp.org or www.exemplalutheran.org.
Hopeline recycling supports Family Tree By Clarke Reader
creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com Family Tree and Verizon have been working together to overcome child abuse, domestic violence and homelessness for a decade, and Verzion announced the largest grant yet to help Family Tree. Verizon’s HopeLine grant provided Family Tree with $15,000 to support direct client services for survivors of domestic violence. “This funding will directly impact our clients by providing them with the resources and empowerment necessary to create lasting, positive change in their lives,” said Scott Shields, Family Tree CEO. “The programs we will be able to offer are critical in helping our clients on the path to self-sufficiency.” The HopeLine program collects no-longer
used wireless phones, batteries and accessories from any wireless carrier and phones that can be refurbished are sold for reuse and those without value are disposed of in an environmentally sound way. Proceeds from the program are used to provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness. “We are proud to support an organization like Family Tree, which is making a difference in the lives of survivors of domestic violence every day,” said Chris Lewter, regional president of Verizon Wireless. “HopeLine has been a passion for Verizon Wireless for almost 15 years, and we are proud to help play a role in ending domestic violence in our communities.”
Shields said an important part of receiving the grant is being held accountable about how the money is spent, and so the organization is making sure the $15,000 is used to help their clients in the best ways possible. He said the money may go to transportation options and travel vouchers if their clients need that assistance. “These funds provide us with resources to support our clients,” he said. “We are able to provide services at a level we wouldn’t be able to otherwise.” HopeLine phone donations are accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications stores across Colorado. For more information about HopeLine, visit www.verizonwireless.com/ hopeline. For more information on Family Tree, visit www.thefamilytree.org.