Stephen Fisher joined the United States Marine Corps after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. After three tours in Iraq and surviving three roadside bombs, he suffered nerve damage, vision loss and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among many other injuries from his service.
But when he returned home to civilian life, he left one battle in Iraq and began to fight another against the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) bureaucracy attempting to receive healthcare he needed. Fisher filed his first claim in September 2007. Since then, the VA has repeatedly dragged its feet because Fisher couldn’t make all his review appointments for his claims due to working a part-time job as a police dispatcher. His fight for benefits continues.
But we can send billions to fake relief agencies, homo/tranconfused knuckleheads and every other scum on the planet..
ReplyDeleteJD
so, he wants disability from the VA BUT he won't reach out to get it. I used to file a claim, go to an appointment (with multichoice dates) and received a disability rating. Couldn't be easier. 100% is @ $35,000.00 a year. The problem here isn't the VA.
ReplyDeleteWell apparently you don’t go to the Syracuse VA. They lose records, pick and choose. Don’t know of a single American Veteran Doctor there.
DeleteMaybe he is too pale, and busy being a chump working for a living. Big overlap there. Call it privilege.
ReplyDeleteWas active duty twelve years including a VN tour 65-66. I did not receive any wounds or injuries, but if I had, I would thought long and hard before I would put myself in the VA meat grinder. Thankfully after pulling the pin, I worked for companies that had total coverage medical plans. That along with the great distances and being frequently outside CONUS, I never had to worry about that. I feel a deep sadness that deserving vets have to suffer through that morass.
ReplyDeleteOnce his disability is approved he'll receive back pay. A large amount is coming his way.
ReplyDeleteBut he has to go through the process, which can be somewhat lengthy, even much longer if he doesn't attend to his appointments, and it could alter his back pay.
one day I found $32,000.00 in my account from the VA. I didn't have a clue. I went to my County official, had an evaluation and a few weeks later my disability was increased and THEY found I was due back pay. The VA has never refused me any services. I spent 14 months in RVN, the VA was an open door for me. It took over 40 years for presumptions manifested themselves.
DeleteAny veteran who tries to get a VA rating without seeking a non-VA Veteran Service Officer is farting in the wind. It will most likely be a futile effort. Virtually every single county in the US has a state-funded Veteran Assistance Office. There are VSOs in the VFW, the DAV, the Am Legion... they are there to help and succeed.
ReplyDeleteThat was my experience in ‘80. Detroit VA wore me out. I happened to meet a DAV service officer who helped me get 10% for eye damage from welding. I stayed away from VA until 2014 when I went to the Saginaw Mi. for hearing aids. I mentioned my tinnitus to the audiologist, he said “ dude you’re entitled to 10% for your tinnitus” no muss no fuss I had another 10%. What I’ve never gotten was acknowledgement that my back was messed up working construction in the AF.
DeleteI was Air National Guard for 21 years. I was Commo, in the rear with the commo gear making sure the hero's that went outside the wire could make their Mama calls back home when they were off mission. I have 3 campaign ribbons as I was in a high deployable carrier field in a highly deployed unit. Two years ago I was 62 when the VA in Atlanta told me the only VA benefits I was due was a VA loan and GI-bill which had timed out. That was because I never served 2 continuous years Active duty. Six weeks ago I get a 1099 that shows I received VA benefits last year from September to the end of the year. I have an appointment with the VA to find out what this is about but they just contacted me to postpone it till April. I was Combat Comm and JCSE working the 39 Telephone Switch and later the Satellite Van.
ReplyDeleteAfter serving four years active duty the best thing I ever did was stay in the reserves for another 26 years. At retirement both my wife and I received Tricare for Life and didn’t have to use the VA. Along with Medicare I have no doctor or hospital copays and minimal expense for all the medications my wife and I take. Plus I get a 30 year pension which I have deposited in the old lady’s account in order to keep her quiet.
DeleteI think that this is a bigger problem than just this story. While I love things like the Wounded Warriors Project and the Gary Sinise Foundation, I object to the fact that wounded or PSTD suffering veterans have to rely on the good will of Americans in order to get the necessary services instead of the government itself making sure that any veteran who suffered injury during their service to the nation gets whatever is needed to function as normally as they can.
ReplyDeleteIt is things like that which our taxes should pay for, so that EVERY American has a stake in making sure that those who sacrifice their life and limb taken care of.
As an aside, thanks go out to all veterans who read this, for your willingness to put the safety of the nation ahead of your own lives. Those who served in Germany or France, etc. and did not see actual combat are just as deserving of my thanks as someone who was wounded on the field of battle. I am grateful that there are so many still willing to lay down their lives in order to ensure our nations safety.
I think it depends on the location. My oldest brother is a disabled vet (non-combat) and he has nothing but praise for his VA doctors. His son, on the other hand, came back from A-Stan AFU and seems to be continually jerked around by the VA.
ReplyDeleteI think most the doctors I've had at the VA were DEI hires. My present doctor hated me the minute he walked into the room. I discovered he graduated from a black doctor hospital. Thank gosh blacks can't be racist eh? I'm tired of switching doctors. After three requests they just seem to get worse. I live to close to a VA to qualify for the private sector. The VA is like social medicine. You get what they give you. What do they call a student that graduates at the bottom of their class in medical school? They call them doctor.
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