Veterans, if you can't take care of all of them, stop making more of them!

Veterans, if you can't take care of all of them, stop making more of them!

When the people who work for the VA think everything is fine, you only need to understand they only hear what the VA tells them. It's as simple as that. They work very hard, most are highly trained and experienced. No matter how much outreach work I do, it would do no good to have them where they are able to diagnose and treat the PTSD veterans. The difference between us is that I track all of this across the country and internationally. A usual day for me is about 16 hours of reading and posting, emailing and phone conversations. While the VA workers hear what is right in front of them, they do not fully understand the level of despair that is out here in the country.

Several Vietnam veterans are still having their claims denied no matter how much evidence they have. One, a good friend of mine, called this morning to tell me her records have been changed. She has the original documents. She's tried to do everything possible to fight to have her claim approved, but it has been denied over and over again. She's suffering for a fight that shouldn't have been. She has Agent Orange illnesses, PTSD and is seeing her life fall apart. This has been a five year battle for her. She went to the DAV. She got a lawyer. She contacted her elected officials. The VA will not respond to their communications and they do not push for answers. Nice.

Really nice that this veteran is suffering, doing everything possible to fight for herself and is seems no one who is supposed to be fighting for her actually is. Aside from the financial suffering on top of the government accepting responsibility for what has happened to her, there is the extra stress on an ill veteran being told what is wrong with her, is not the responsibility of the government she served. Would you like it? Does anyone in the VA put themselves in the veteran's place when they are ill and no one seems to be able to do anything about it?

It's not new. During my husband's six year battle to have his claim approved, the doctors knew what it was and what caused it but the people who approve the claims didn't. It was six years of fighting and suffering and six years of extra stress on a PTSD veteran already stressed out seeing his life fall apart. Once his claim was approved, he's getting great care, except his appointments have been cut back because of the overloaded system and the new veterans. The truth is, he's alive today because of the care he's been getting. So when I slam the VA, it has nothing to do with the people working with the veterans and how much they care about them. I have never once had any bad experiences with the doctors he's seen or the staff at the VA hospitals he's been to. Others have not been so lucky.

When a legitimate claim is denied, it is time lost as salt is added to the wound. When it comes to PTSD, you have a very complicated problem because most of them have lost the ability to fight for themselves. Most have to rely on an advocate fighting for them. So how is it that the VA itself is not the advocate? They turn to service organizations. They turn to lawyers and lawmakers. They try the best they can as they suffering and wait for a miracle. When the people they turn to, do not fight for them with all they have, it's as if they have not only had the VA turn their back on them but the entire nation as well. What do they do when no one is helping them as if their life depended on it? In most cases, their life does depend on it. Read the news lately on the suicides and attempted suicides?

Part of PTSD that does not get addressed often enough is the paranoia that comes with it. They tend to see everyone as an enemy out to get them. They lost the ability to trust. Now add in finding out that they have PTSD because of their service to the nation. What does this enforce in their mind? Does it enforce they cannot trust the government they served and suffered for doing so or does it enforce this nation was worthy of their suffering?

Isn't it time we got this right for all of them or stop making more veterans needing care that will end up having to fight to receive it?

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos

Namguardianangel@aol.com

http://www.namguardianangel.org/

http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington