Caregiving from the VA

[Cindy Dickinson]

My best friend and honorable husband is a 100% service connected vet. We just went thru a horrible time and he ended up in the hospital. I tried calling the crisis line for help and they wouldn't do a thing. I ended up calling 911, but I was very frustrated they (the VA) could not talk to me about my husband unless he called. He has a plethura of medical issues compounded by PTSD. I am so frustrated. He is granted 10 caregiving hours a week, but the agency we had now refuses to work with my husband because he can be mean (verbally). The care giver yelled in his face which triggered his PTSD and I am pushing for a protected service investigation. He had medical issues affecting his affect, add in PTSD and the character strength of my former US Army Ranger. Triple Canopy..nominated for the Congresional medal of honor during the Viet Naum War...I am so upset. We live on the Oregon coast and there are very few services here. And by the way, for anyone else out there. The care giving list for Veterans that need home health services has close to 100 people on it. They said we're lucky he gets 10 hours. Which now I have to wait for a whole new agency to do their thing and meanwhile I am having to manage things the best I can. I am trying my best to maintain some balance, but get so frustrated. Anyone else have this experience.

[Chief Taz]

First I honor both you and your husband. I'm a Navy disabled vet living in Texas. I was only given 50% disablilty for problems while on active duty. I had 9 catagories that I filed for and was only given 5, with only 10% disability given for those they said met their requirement. My back is the worst and I was only given "0," nothing at all. I've had 3 major operations over the past years. I'm fused from my head, down to my upper lumbar. Basically all disc removed, nothing replaced such as the modern artificial disc, they wouldn't pay for it. I had 3 major falls during combat, and jumping from perfectly good airplanes. I've had the padding your have in your knees removed, but nothing provided for allowance of my injury. I can barely walk, still nothing. I fought for years, took them to court. Then I was told what their doctors says rules, meaning their writeup on me rules. And yet they never read any test, never even looked at my medical records, never even read their personal test on me. I used all personal doctors, and the Presperterian Hospital with their surgeon. I carry all the films, all test results, everything with me and they refused to even look at them. It took from the last meeting with them over 1 and 1/2 years to get the results which I told is just 50%. In the paperwork they sited test they ran on me and even days sited that they did them. Yet nothing that they sited ever happened. They lied about everything. Just to make certain I'm not going nuts, I called the administration manager of the VA hospital to verify if I had been their, acting like I was old and forgot most things. She said, No, Chief, you never had any test run her but we would be more than happy to help you. There I was with actual information from the people who document everything, yet I had no way of fighting them, the Doctor rules as I said. Here is the bottom line for me. I used one of the men who served under me who was a VA Representative in California. He helped me in all the paperwork, making certain it would follow all the rules. He told me, Chief, guaranteed you will get 100% disability. I never told the VA court about him, so he could keep his job. They ruled 50%. It hurt me and it really hurt him. The VA is all a lie and this country will never help any veteran the way it should be done. I can tell you this with all my mind and heart. Why, after retiring from the Navy I came back to Texas and became the Director of the G.I Forum in the Dallas area, where my job was to help Veterans find jobs, to fight the government for those with Agent Orange problems which has now killed most of them with Cancer and so many diseases that is hard for me to talk about. Even one of my son's father in laws, a Vietnam Marine, died of brain cancer from exposure to Agent Orange. And yet nothing was really done. Oh sure medicine for pain was given and they would put him in the hospital so he could die, but nothing else. I resigned from the job out of frustration and it was mentally hurting me. I then became the Managing Editor for SW Life Magazine. I'm a journalist with allot of clout back then, now I'm like your husband, a frustrated man with no one to help me. I will never use the government for anything. I wish I could direct you but I know it's the same all over the country, and get this. It change from state to state. Texas is actually the worse and we have more retirees here and active duty personnel than any state in the country. We now have over 200 million veterans over the nation with most having problems and most can't really get the help they need. I know your husband PST problems, I also have the problem, just not as bad. I have terrible dreams but I manage. I now am with my 4th wife. The first three couldn't bare my problems and I never took it out on them. Now I found a woman with a heart and a patriot that cares. You seem to be that very same woman, he is fortunate. Bottom line, it's your state that isn't helping you. It is different for each state, no matter what the federal people say. The Veterans Commission suppose to help you, but that is also determined by the state, and more precisely by the people who hold the jobs. I took my representative to task, and he then told me to find another person. I also caught him in lies, and even stating things he did for me and dates he received calls from me which never happened. Keep fighting and love your husband and love yourself, and please, please never give up on him. You have a friend in me. Chief Petty Officer Taz. I can't give my real name for obvious reasons. Obama and his gangster would have me eliminated. I am still an active journalist and I write on these problems all the time, and they are all published. Taz was my handle in the Navy given to me by an Admiral I served under. I never gave up and fought like that little animal, so I carried the name.

[Cindy Dickinson]

Thank you. It sounds like these problems are nation wide. I am so sorry you have been denied the benefits you earned. My father was an atomic vet and died of cancer. A Navy man and he went thru the same thing. They finally did pass a bill tacked on the to end of the agent orange bill but there was only one man alive from his 60 man outfit at that time. Dad died on father's day the year before. He did sign his benefits over to us, but the VA told us his records were sealed and would require legal intervention to access them. He was 61. He did die in a VA hospital. I would rather a living person get the settlement money than us. The only thing is that now myself and my nephew have blood disorders, for unknown reasons. No family history.. But I will deal with it. Mine is treatable with drugs. Been on them for 25 years plus now. So far my nephew is in remission and his is untreatable. But we almost lost him as a baby. I do plan to stand by my husband. He also has a long history of broken relationships. Which is typical of PTSD.
I honor and respect you for what you are doing. Keep up the work Officer TAZ. And thank you for your service to our country. And did you hear the latest on the news, about a large percentage of veterans returning with brain deterioration.(Iraq) From head injuries. I know my hubby survived two mines which took out his friends and he talks about how he earned his "blood stripes". He would have rather not. He was in Viet Naum after we were reportedly out of there. But I guess that's special forces stuff. Please keep me posted on updates and I support your battle and know I'm with you in spirit.

[Cindy Dickinson]

Update to you veterans out there. We ended up losing the 10 hours a week and we have had to hire a private care giver. Cost is about $800.00 or more a month. I tried to get home health care so we could have a nurse check him at least once a week and they tell us that their job is to train the care giver that we pay for !!???
Hello.. So that service ended, as we found a private person who is trained to check diabetes etc. But she is not trained to pick up on what could be a serious medical condition. The latest thing that went wrong was that the medications were wrong and it was causing him to retain potassium which almost killed him. I am just doing the best I can. It is so unfair. Hope not all Veterans are going thru this.

[Randys Shack]

i know to well about the va im trying to get help now in missouri for the st.louis va hospital to give me some help with someone to help ,me come in to help me in my home to clean up in my home its a long drawn out process ive been thru things with the vA for years im a vietnam vet so i truly understand its been a long time since ive been on here im better known as randy degonia i ran randysSHACK ON NING WHICH IS CLOSED NOW BUT I RUN A MUSIC VIDEO GROUP ON FACEBOOK NOW I MISS MY OLD SITE I HAD ON NING BUT I JUST COULDNT AFFORD TO KEEP IT OPEN BUT ITS GOOD TO BE BACK HERE