A fire-spotter to stop conflagrations in human lives: Chad Varah of the Samaritans

Edward Varah, founder of the Samaritans suicide prevention group, died this month near London, at age 95.

He grew up in England, the son of a minister in the Church of England. Just before he was ordained as a young man, he had presided over the funeral of a 13-year-old who killed herself because she mistook menstruation for a symptom of venereal disease.

This was a pivotal experience in his life, as his parish experience showed him that sexual problems drove many to contemplate suicide. He enlisted parishioners to help him field calls to prevent suicides. He started the Samaritans with a newspaper ad pleading for volunteers who would come to his historic London church and use "active listening therapy" to help the hundreds of people who contemplated suicide each day. After formalizing the Samaritans organization, he wrote a guidebook and became a spokesman for the group.

He said he once thought of the Samaritans as fire spotters who "keep watch for the conflagrations that break out in human lives."

Samaritans now operate in more than 40 countries, where it is also known as Befrienders Worldwide. Father Varah was widely recognized for having pioneered the phone help line for those threatening suicide, and he received honors from the American Association of Suicidology and Queen Elizabeth II.

Advice: Volunteer, and help stop the conflagrations in human lives.

Browse the index at the very bottom of this page for related stories, or read another suicide prevention story. Thanks to Adam Bernstein, who wrote the source story in the Nov. 15 issue of the Boston Globe.

Economy class syndrome: Deep vein thrombosis among airline passengers

Michael Rieff, a 53-year-old American executive with Royal Dutch Shell, took long flights almost half the time when he traveled. Several years ago, he was hospitalized with life-threatening blood clots in his lungs (from "deep vein thrombosis," or DVT) after a flight from Houston to Amsterdam. Now he has cut his flying in half, and walks up and down the aisles on long flights to restore his circulation.

Though it is often called "economy class syndrome" because of the cramped conditions there, DVT also occurs among business class and first class passengers. Indeed, Michael, Shell's head of global compensation and benefits, always flew in business class or first class.

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms within the large deep veins of the body, usually in the legs. If not treated, part of the clot can break off and travel to the lungs, where it can block blood flow (in a "pulmonary embolism"). DVT often causes unexplained pain, tenderness, redness and swelling, often in the leg. Once a clot reaches the lungs, chest pain and breathing difficulties are common.

DVT can be hard to diagnose, because other conditions have similar symptoms. Randy Fenninger, the president of the nonprofit National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia, entered a hospital E.R. with chest pain, but was not properly diagnosed for seven hours.

Randy's organization increases public awareness of the condition, and ways to prevent it. Bravo for helping others with your condition!

Advice to travelers: Walk, or find ways to exercise, during long airplane flights.

Read a sadder DVT story, or read Tanya Mohn's source story in today's New York Times.