Widow discovers VA errors after Vietnam Veteran died

Augusta family blames Vietnam vet's death on Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center
The Augusta Chronicle
By Wesley Brown
Staff Writer
Jan. 5, 2014

Karen Burough said her husband’s body finally gave out after eight years of postponed appointments, delayed treatment plans and misdiagnoses at the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Henry Burough’s death certificate states the former Army staff sergeant died May 9 around 5:35 a.m. at age 62 of cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes and high blood pressure.

His wife of 12 years, along with the couple’s three children, say the lack of care Burough received at the Augusta VA contributed to the death of the man who trained military dogs to detect land mines for Vietnam War soldiers from 1969 to 1972.

Karen Burough has CT scans from private hospitals that show what the VA could not find: a gallbladder filled with stones; a liver that failed because of an untreated case of hepatitis C; and stomach, kidneys and spleen enlarged to the point that her husband had difficulty eating solid foods and needed a catheter.

“It has been hard for me – very hard,” Karen Burough said at her south Augusta home last week. “I have so much hate for that VA hospital. They totally ignored my husband and now he’s gone.”
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