TBI vets face delays, poor access to care

TBI vets face delays, poor access to care

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 6, 2010 15:35:37 EDT

Last month, a 24-year-old veteran received his first treatment for trauamtic brain injury from the Veterans Affairs Department — more than a year after he was discharged from the Marine Corps.

“The hand-off from [the Defense Department] to VA was very slow,” Jonathan Barrs told the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on Wednesday. “So far, the VA care has been good, but this whole time of waiting was very hard, and I had to keep asking my primary care doctor for a consult, which took a very long time.”

His TBI was diagnosed in November 2008. He medically retired in May 2009. He began receiving care in April 2010.

“The injuries get worse with time,” said Michelle LaPlaca, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “The longer you wait, the less beneficial it will be for veterans.”
read more here
TBI vets face delays, poor access to care

Humanitarian Service Medal approved for Haiti

Humanitarian Service Medal approved for Haiti
The Humanitarian Service Medal has been approved for soldiers who participated in the initial phase of Operation Unified Response, the ongoing disaster relief effort in Haiti.
Read More

Saddleback College commemorates veterans memorial

College commemorates veterans memorial
By Joseph Espiritu


Behind every monument are its thinkers, builders and admirers. When the plans to build a Veterans Memorial at Saddleback College first came to light over 8 years ago, few saw the potential of the once-bare lot nestled in the corner of the campus’ quad.

But for former college president Richard McCullough and the hundreds of veterans who call the campus home, there was no better way to honor the brave men and women who fight for our freedoms than to erect the biggest veterans memorial found in any college campus in the nation.

With every shuffle of paperwork and each drop of sweat the foundation grew and took form. As time progressed, each brick laid, slowly modeled the final product, until an evident silhouette of earth tones from the bricks reflected back during the golden hours of the afternoon sun.

“I can fondly remember talks with [former Saddleback College president] Rich [Mcullough] – I was so impressed with how every time I visited the campus they had built a little more on the memorial, brick by brick,” said Irvine Valley College President Glenn Roquemore.

As the crowd sang to our nation’s anthem, eyes fixed on the flags held up by the Joint-Services Color Guard; it became apparent that the memorial was missing a flag of its own. It wasn’t until later in the ceremony will a flag that carried so much history be raised filling the gap that made the structure a true symbol of freedom.
go here for more
College commemorates veterans memorial

A belated welcome: FWB thanks Vietnam veterans

A belated welcome: FWB thanks Vietnam veterans
(PHOTO GALLERY)
May 05, 2010 5:35 PM
Mona Moore
Daily News
FORT WALTON BEACH — More than 200 people attended the city’s first official “thank you and welcome home” for Vietnam veterans at a luncheon on Wednesday.
Organized by the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, the event included welcomes from the military, local officials and community members.
View a photo gallery from the luncheon »
Former POW and current Okaloosa County School Board member Howard Hill thanked veterans for their service, crediting their efforts with the release and survival of prisoners of war. He recalled the warm welcome he received when he was released.
read more here
FWB thanks Vietnam veterans

THE POWER OF SMALL THINGS

Who do you really want to help?
by
Chaplain Kathie

An email exchange with a dear friend got me thinking about how some people doing this work on PTSD do it very quietly, never thinking about themselves. Unlike me, they don't have a blog or website and they don't do videos. They are missing a soap box simply because they are too busy helping the men and women God sends to them. In a way, I know what that is like because I don't post about any of the veterans coming to me or their families. When I think about that type of work being done across the country on a daily basis, I feel blessed to know them. All they want back is to be able to help others because their hearts are in the right place.

I do what I do because of my husband/best friend/love of my life. I have a personal interest in this. My friends however come from all different backgrounds. Some have PTSD, knowing what it feels like and what it felt like to feel alone, they are moving mountains changing lives and saving them without ever once thinking about anything more than helping. Some have or had a family member with PTSD and they know what it's like on the other side. Some just do it because they really care. Their work is done in "small ways" but those small ways end up changing countless lives.

THE POWER OF SMALL THINGS

What is it that enables this tiny seed to make such a prodigious increase? It lies in its receptive power, as it receives into its nature the mighty forces which slumber in the soil, the effect of sunbeams, moisture, and air. So long as a little aperture is kept open, there is no limit to the fertility and usefulness of the plant. You may be but a child, and your life seem weak and ineffective, but if you will open your heart to God by faith, He will pour in His mighty fullness, and the tiny seed become a great tree of strength and usefulness, grace and beauty. (F. B. Meyer)

So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)

Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God's character has to be cleared in our own minds. Faith in its actual working out has to go through spells of unsyllabled isolation. Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith in the Bible is faith in God against everything that contradicts Him - I will remain true to God's character whatever He may do. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" - this is the most sublime utterance of faith in the whole of the Bible. (Oswald Chambers.)

So often we say “I can’t” when we should be saying what Paul said – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” (Philippians 4:13) Anything that God asks you to do, you can do, if you walk by faith and not by sight.

In God we trust

May 6, 2010

Papa Roy

Papa Roy is another one of "them" in my life. He sends out a daily email of support for the Chaplains in our group. (Yes, even Chaplains need spiritual support.) He is humble and truly loving. He seeks nothing more than to do what he does in small ways, but when you think about what he does for us, how many people he ends up reaching thru us, you can see what a big deal it really becomes.

I believe that if you reach one heart to offer help, you end up touching a thousand hands. Every good deed we do affects the lives of the person we help and they in turn pass on the "good deed" to others.

If you do things for other people for their sake, take heart and know that whatever help you are able to give is help they may not have known otherwise. If you do things for yourself and hide behind helping someone else, then look into what has really been motivating you and then justify yourself to God. If you have been rewarded with the fame you sought, then you have more responsibility on your shoulders to help others. I really pray you live up to the reputation you wanted. As for me, I'm in the middle. Neither "saint" or "sinner" because there are times when I wish I was as popular as some, just as there are other times when I wish I was as good and selfless as others. I am happier when my ego is out of the way and "they" are my focus. I think we'd all be happier if we remembered why we got into this type of work in the first place.

Halvorson helps 'silent heroes' of current wars

Halvorson helps 'silent heroes' of current wars
05/05/2010, 11:37 pm
Charles Stanley, charless@mywebtimes.com, 815-431-4063

U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, calls them the "silent heroes" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: The family members-turned-caregivers for the veterans wounded and injured while serving their country.

Wednesday afternoon President Obama signed The Wounded Warrior Caregiver Assistance Act authored by Halvorson to provide support services for the family caregivers that dedicate themselves to providing home care for their wounded veteran.

"People don't realize that when the wounded warrior returns home, they are are not through with battle, they are on to their next battle — the battle of rehabilitation," Halvorson told The Times.

"It's a battle that they fight with the help of their family members, the silent heroes, who are taking care of them."

Key features of the new law are that it offers family members training to help care for their veteran and support such as temporary nursing assistance to provide the family members with a break. It also provides health care and a stipend for caregivers living with severely wounded veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
read more here
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=403552

Fall from grace showcases need for PTSD care

The military always knew what they were doing getting high school kids to sign up. The part of their brain controlling emotions is not fully matured. This is why they feel they are so invincible. The nature created by their youth allows them to be able to be trained to follow orders just as it allows them to rush into combat because someone told them to. For now, set aside the aspect of patriotism, loyalty, honor, courage and the connection they feel to the men they serve with. This is about what comes with the whole package.

Frontal Lobe

It has long been known that some patients with frontal lobe damage have significantly changed personalities. What is important about the study is that it helps families, friends and caregivers of the patient to appreciate and understand a very important reason why this occurs. This deficit in mentalizing can affect social cognition which is important in everyday human interactions. For example, patients with damage in the specific frontal area are often less empathetic and sympathetic, and they miss social cues which lead to inappropriate judgements.

http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/pr-frontal.shtml


The frontal lobes are considered our emotional control center and home to our personality. There is no other part of the brain where lesions can cause such a wide variety of symptoms (Kolb & Wishaw, 1990). The frontal lobes are involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior. The frontal lobes are extremely vulnerable to injury due to their location at the front of the cranium, proximity to the sphenoid wing and their large size. MRI studies have shown that the frontal area is the most common region of injury following mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (Levin et al., 1987).



http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/bfrontal.shtml


One of the most common characteristics of frontal lobe damage is difficulty in interpreting feedback from the environment. Perseverating on a response (Milner, 1964), risk taking, and non-compliance with rules (Miller, 1985), and impaired associated learning (using external cues to help guide behavior) (Drewe, 1975) are a few examples of this type of deficit.

The training I've taken over they years points to this as reason number one why so many veterans develop PTSD at such a young age. The very part of them that allows them to do what they do in combat, is also what is mostly responsible for what happens to them after it.

Read reports of most of the veterans with PTSD and you'll find the same description of what they were like in their youth, before combat, and what they changed into after. The Frontal Lobe does not fully mature until the age of 25 yet it is always 18, 19 and 20 year olds the military wants to recruit the most. This is the outcome of it.

This is why we see so much PTSD among the under 25 year olds deployed for the first time and then time after time after that. This is why they change so much. This is also why they are flocking to seek treatment considering this is also the generation of the instant answers using the web to find what they are looking for. You would have seen a lot more Vietnam veterans seeking help a long time ago if they had the same resource available to them instead of suffering all these years.

They are wounded because of their age, the kind of trauma they are exposed to and the number of times they are exposed, they are wounded because of their character as compassionate people, but it is also the way they are treated after this exposure that will predict the rest of their lives. The longer help is delayed, the deeper PTSD will cut into their character and we will have many more stories of crimes, suicides, divorce and homelessness.

First Coast veteran’s fall from grace showcases need for PTSD care
The First Coast man is featured in a documentary about life after service.
Posted: May 4, 2010 - 7:21pm

By Timothy J. Gibbons
Jamie Keyes remembers how different her son was when he returned from a second tour in Iraq.

“He just wasn’t the same person,” she said from her home in Statham, Ga. “He had had this awesome sense of humor. That was gone. He was very stoic. The fun Nathan was gone.”

Former Army Spc. Nathan Keyes was drinking more, avoiding social contact, struggling with nightmares. He left his wife and attempted suicide.

Those changes came to a head in St. Augustine one night in August 2008. While driving to the movies with his girlfriend, Keyes displayed a gun to another driver and later fired several shots.

A police chase followed and Keyes was arrested.

Now about halfway into the resulting prison term , Keyes has become the focus of a documentary made as part of “In Their Boots,” a series about the impact the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have on people back home.
go here for more
Fall from grace showcases need for PTSD care

Health Effects of the Vietnam War The Aftermath

I really adore my friends. This one came in from Shelia over at Agent Orange Quilt of Tears

Opening Statement of Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Full Committee on Veterans' Affairs
I would like to thank everyone for attending today’s hearing entitled, “Health Effects of the Vietnam War—the Aftermath. The stated purpose of today’s hearing is to examine the health effects that our veterans sustained during the War in Vietnam as a result of being exposed to the toxic dioxin-based concoctions that we now generally refer to as Agent Orange.

As such, we will follow-up on VA’s outstanding promise to finally conduct the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study (NVVLS). In this vein, we will try to stop the stovepiping in VA by also looking at how all of these issues relate to providing benefits for all Agent Orange combat veterans for presumptive conditions under current law.

I want to ensure that we do not leave any of our veterans exposed to Agent Orange while fighting overseas uncompensated for their injuries and left behind due to VA technicalities. It has been 10 long years since Congress mandated that the VA study the long-term lifetime psychological and physical health impact of the Vietnam war on the veteran of that era. In 2000, Congress required that the VA conduct a longitudinal study by building on the findings of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study of 1984.

The 1984 study was a landmark study, which provided a snapshot of the psychological and physical health of Vietnam veterans. A follow-up longitudinal study is needed to understand the life course of health outcomes and co-morbid events that have resulted from the traumas our men and women endured during the Vietnam war.

Initially the VA adhered to the letter of the law, but halted the NVVLS study in 2003 by not renewing a three-year non-competitive sole source contract that they awarded back in 2001. The VA cited cost reasons, noting that the original estimate for completing the NVVLS had ballooned from $5 million to $17 million.

The VA took no further steps and ignored the law until this Committee received a proposal from former Secretary Peake in January of 2009. Former Secretary Peake recommended substituting the NVVLS with a study of twins who served in the Vietnam War and a study of women Vietnam war veterans, which would cost about $10 million.

Given the cost of the alternative option, it seems to me that the VA could have completed the NVVLS on time had the Department chosen to allocate the $10 million to the original contract award back in 2003.

This Committee did not see the merit of the alternative proposal and has continued to advocate for the completion of the NVVLS. In September 2009, Secretary Shinseki committed to carrying out the NVVLS study and while I applaud the Secretary for his commitment, I remain cautious and vigilant about this issue.

Through today’s hearing, I would like to better understand the progress that the VA has made in conducting the NVVLS study. I also hope to learn about the potential barriers that we can proactively address so that VA remains on track to complete the study. Also, Congress passed several measures to address disability compensation issues of Vietnam veterans.

The Veterans’ Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-542) required the VA to develop regulations for disability compensation to Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

In 1991, the Agent Orange Act (P.L. 102-4) established for the first time a presumption of service-connection for diseases associated with herbicide exposure. The Agent Orange Act authorized the VA to contract with the IOM to conduct a scientific review of the evidence linking certain medical conditions to herbicide exposure.

Under this law, the VA is required to review the biennial reports of the IOM and to issue regulations to establish a presumption of service-connection for any disease for which there is scientific evidence of a positive association with herbicide exposure. However, VA illogically back-tracked on the Agent Orange Act regulations by reversing its own policy to move to require a “foot on land occurrence” by Vietnam veterans in order to prove service-connection. This means that the Vietnam Service Medals, etc. would no longer be accepted as proof of combat.

This change excluded nearly 1 million Vietnam veterans who had served in our Navy, Air Force, and in nearby border combat areas. This is an unfair and unjust result that has been litigated endlessly-- and ultimately against these veterans. I am trying to undo this injustice in my bill, the Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009, H.R. 2254. I thank all of my fellow colleagues for their support of my bill and urge all Committee Members to become a co-sponsor.

Today, I hope to hear from VA why it reversed its policy that now excludes our Blue Water service members from presumptive consideration for service-connection and treatment. I also want to know why it is ignoring the latest 2009 IOM recommendation that members of the Blue Water Navy should not be excluded from the set of Vietnam-era veterans with presumed herbicide exposure. I know that VA has asked the IOM to issue a report on Blue Water veterans in 18 months, but that’s 18 months too long.

The “foot on land” requirement is especially unreasonable when you consider that these servicemembers were previously treated equally to other Vietnam Veterans for benefits purposes. Moreover, several Australian Agent Orange studies long ago concluded that their Blue water veterans who served side-by-side with our Blue Water veterans were exposed to Agent Orange and because of the water distillation process on the ships ingested it more directly.

While I applaud VA for recently adding the three new presumptions for Parkinson’s Disease, ischemic heart disease and B-cell leukemias for Agent Orange exposed veterans, those are three new presumptions for which Blue Water veterans may suffer and will not be treated for or compensated. I urge VA to start compensating these veterans now. Just like it reversed itself in 2002, I strongly urge VA to reverse itself now and compensate these deserving veterans.

Finally, I want to know for sure that VA plans to make sure Blue Water veterans are also included in the NVVLS so that they and their families and survivors have a chance to get the benefits they deserve on equal footing with other Vietnam veterans. I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses today and thank you for being here to examine these long-standing issues.

Health Effects of the Vietnam War – The Aftermath
Room 334 Cannon House Office Building Multimedia Link
Opening Statements
Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Full Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Hon. Harry E. Mitchell, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona
Witness Testimonies
Panel 1
Richard A. Fenske, Ph.D., M.P.H., Professor and Acting Chair, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, and Chair, Committee on Review of the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbices, (Seventh Bienniel Update) Board on the Health of Select Populations, Institute of Medicine, The National Academies
Charles R. Marmar, M.D., Chair, Department of Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY
Randall B. Williamson, Director, Health Care, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Panel 2
Richard F. Weidman, Executive Director for Policy and Government Affairs, Vietnam Veterans of America
Joseph L. Wilson, Deputy Director, Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission, American Legion
Commander John B. Wells, USN (Ret.), Cofounder and Trustee, Veterans Association of Sailors of the Vietnam War
John Paul Rossie, Executive Director, Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association
Vivianne Cisneros Wersel, Au.D., Chair, Government Relations Committee, Gold Star Wives of America, Inc.
Panel 3
Joel Kupersmith, M.D., Chief Research and Development Officer, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Victoria Anne Cassano, M.D., MPH, Director, Radiation and Physical Exposures and Acting Director, Environmental Agents Service, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Panel 4
Submissions for the Record
Reserve Officers Association of the United States, and Reserve Enlisted Association

VA Updates Online Application for Health Benefits

VA Updates Online Application for Health Benefits
WASHINGTON (May 5, 2010) - Veterans will find it easier and faster to
apply for their health care benefits now that the Department of Veterans
Affairs has updated its online Form 10-10EZ, "Application for Health
Benefits."

"VA is committed to tapping into the best that technology has to offer
to ensure Veterans receive the benefits they have earned," said
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "We continue to look for
new ways to improve access to care and benefits."

This revised online application provides enhanced navigation features
that make it easier and faster for Veterans to apply for their health
care benefits. This new version also allows Veterans to save a copy of
the completed form for their personal records.

The most significant enhancement allows Veterans to save their
application to their local desktop and return to the application at any
time without having to start over. Previously, Veterans had to complete
the form in a single session.

This updated online form, along with the revised VA Form 10-10EZ,
reduces the collection of information from Veterans by eliminating some
questions.

In addition, there are minor changes to simplify the wording of
questions and provide clarity in the instructions. Further enhancements
to the online application are expected to be delivered in increments
throughout 2010.

Veterans may complete or download the 10-10EZ form at the VA health
eligibility website at https://www.1010ez.med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez

. Veterans may also
contact VA at 1 (877) 222-8387 (VETS) or visit the VA health eligibility
website at www.va.gov/healtheligibility

Three more states call up Guard for oil spill

Three more states call up Guard for oil spill
Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved the requests of three more southern governors — whose shorelines are threatened by the growing Gulf of Mexico oil spill — to call up thousands of National Guard troops for full-time duty, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.