Veteran with ALS fights VA for benefits

If you are heartless enough to look at the claims tied up, the mountain of backlogged claims, and think for a second this is right, then I really feel sorry for you. What would it be like if you happen to be a civilian, hurt on the job and then have to wait over a year for a single check to pay your bills? What would it be like if Workman's Comp told you they were just too busy with other claims for you? Could you tell your mortgage company they just have to wait like you do?

Now, think about going to work for the nation in the military, training everyday for the day you would risk your life for the rest of the nation. What if you thought that it would be worth it if you were wounded the same nation would make sure you had what you needed to pay your bills and take care of your wounds? Then how would it feel when they didn't? You are left with whatever wound you carry, whatever illness caused by service that will stay with you the rest of your life plus bills you can no longer pay because of it.

Not great now is it? This is happening all over the country everyday while veterans wait to be taken care of, wait for claims to be approved and wait to be able to pay bills. One more thought. Did they make us wait when we said they needed to risk those lives and go off to war? The really sick part of all of this is that most of them would tell you they'd do it all over again even knowing how badly they had to suffer for doing it!

You've read about the false outrage over end of life decisions veterans are able to make. Well, here's one of the veterans that need the benefits he earned to help him make his days as comfortable as possible. Read this and then send it onto the people sending you the false outrage of the week about death book.

Veteran with ALS fights VA for benefits

05:40 PM EDT on Monday, August 24, 2009

By RAD BERKY / NewsChannel 36
E-mail Rad: RBerky@WCNC.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A U.S. Army veteran who is fighting for his life is also fighting the Department of Veterans Affairs for his benefits.

"I'm frustrated with the VA," said Todd Overgaard at a news conference in Charlotte.

Overgaard decided to go public with his story, hoping coverage would force the VA to act.

Overgaard is 45 years old and has ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease, a disease for which there is no cure. He has been in a back-and-forth struggle with the VA to get $72,000 for end-of-life benefits that he says he is entitled to in order to make handicapped upgrades to his home in Hendersonville.

The improvements his family says he needs include a special bathroom and a lift. He says his requests have been delayed and denied after years of trying.

His wife Cindy said, "The frustration is having to fight for something you know by law they are entitled to."

When he was in the Army, Overgaard was a chemical weapons instructor. Since he left the service, the military now recognizes ALS as a service-related disease, making vets eligible for benefits.
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Veteran with ALS fights VA for benefits