Family hunts for answers to Iraq war veteran's invisible wounds
WWMT News
Updated: Friday, March 7 2014
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A Battle Creek veteran is recovering Thursday night, and is finally getting the care he needs after a decade of misdiagnosis.
Gunnery Sergeant Nick Avery served in Iraq, and when he came back he--like many other veterans--was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
In the ten years since, however, his condition deteriorated so much that he lost the ability to care for himself.
Newschannel 3 looked into the story behind Sgt. Avery's invisible wounds, and the revelation that finally has him on the road to recovery.
Sgt. Avery's family is paying $1,000 a day out of pocket for his care, because they say he wasn't receiving the attention and treatment he needed at the VA Hospital, and they say it's all worth it, after just learning the trauma that sent him on the downward spiral.
The 48-year-old Avery is now dependent on the care of others, with his condition unexpectedly declining since 2009.
"I want to see Nick at peace in his life; I want him to know that he's happy. I don't want him to live in torment and terror to have flashbacks," Avery's sister Jill Kellogg said.
The family tells us he wasn't the same after serving 6 months in Iraq, and was being treated for PTSD.
"It was like there was a guard up," his mother Elaine Avery said. "He did do some talking about the war, but it was very surface level."
His family says they never thought that a decade later it would come to this, though.
"It just makes you so sad to see where he is at; he is declining and you are desperate, and saying 'What can I do for my son?'" Elaine said.
Sgt. Avery started losing motor skills about three years ago, and found himself unable to spell and add at work.
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Friday, March 7, 2014
Forty-one Senators Told Veterans They Are Not Worth Votes
This is funny and sickening at the same time. Why? Because it is all true. But this wasn't just about voting against veterans.
VOTED AGAINST VETERANS
Jon Stewart Is Shocked (But Not Surprised) By GOP Killing Veterans Bill
The Huffington Post
by Ross Luippold
Posted: 03/06/2014
When a bill came up for vote that would have expanded health care and education for veterans, we knew two things would happen next. First, Republicans would block the bill, because that's kind of their thing. Then, Jon Stewart would deliver a passionate monologue explaining just how disgraceful this is.
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U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress - 2nd Session as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: S.1982 )
Vote Number: 46
Vote Date: February 27, 2014, 02:26 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5
Vote Result: Motion Rejected Measure Number: S. 1982 (Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014 )
Measure Title: A bill to improve the provision of medical services and benefits to veterans, and for other purposes.
Vote Counts:
YEAs 56
NAYs 41
Not Voting 3
VOTED AGAINST VETERANS
NAYs ---41It isn't the first time. It happened last year too.
Alexander (R-TN) 521,267
Ayotte (R-NH) 110,778
Barrasso (R-WY) 56,518
Blunt (R-MO) 497,874
Boozman (R-AR) 250,095
Burr (R-NC) 769,384
Chambliss (R-GA) 774,764
Coats (R-IN) 490,380
Coburn (R-OK) 340,395
Cochran (R-MS) 225,469
Collins (R-ME) 127,694
Corker (R-TN) 521,267
Cornyn (R-TX) 1,667,740
Crapo (R-ID) 138,108
Cruz (R-TX) 1,667,740
Enzi (R-WY) 56,518
Fischer (R-NE) 138,773
Flake (R-AZ) 527,400
Graham (R-SC) 420,968
Grassley (R-IA)233,815
Hatch (R-UT) 150,771
Hoeven (R-ND) 56,213
Inhofe (R-OK) 340,395
Isakson (R-GA) 774,464
Johanns (R-NE) 138,773
Johnson (R-WI) 409,419
Kirk (R-IL) 774,710
Lee (R-UT) 150,771
McCain (R-AZ) 527,400
McConnell (R-KY) 339,334
Paul (R-KY) 339,334
Portman (R-OH) 877,894
Risch (R-ID) 138,108
Roberts (R-KS) 223,708
Rubio (R-FL) 1,520,563
Scott (R-SC) 420,968
Sessions (R-AL) 414,963
Shelby (R-AL) 414,963
Thune (R-SD) 75,687
Toomey (R-PA) 953,644
Vitter (R-LA) 315,342
"Americans don't trust us," said Sen.Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. "And why should Americans trust us when we keep using gimmicks and budget sleight of hand to hide more spending and drive the country further into debt."According to the Department of Veterans Affairs I have just added in these "Nay" votes population by state as of 9-30-13
Over 100 Veterans' identities traded for crack at Tampa VA
Former VA worker gets six years for trading IDs for crack
ABC News WZVN
Posted: Mar 06, 2014
TAMPA, FL
A former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs was sentenced to six years in federal prison Thursday morning for the theft of more than 100 veterans' personal information.
U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez-Covington sentenced David F. Lewis for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents and testimony presented in court, Lewis was an employee at the Tampa VA Medical Center.
On at least five different dates in 2012, Lewis accessed and printed the personal information, including names, social security numbers, and medical information of over 100 veterans who were in-patients at the Tampa VA Medical Center.
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ABC News WZVN
Posted: Mar 06, 2014
TAMPA, FL
A former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs was sentenced to six years in federal prison Thursday morning for the theft of more than 100 veterans' personal information.
U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez-Covington sentenced David F. Lewis for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents and testimony presented in court, Lewis was an employee at the Tampa VA Medical Center.
On at least five different dates in 2012, Lewis accessed and printed the personal information, including names, social security numbers, and medical information of over 100 veterans who were in-patients at the Tampa VA Medical Center.
read more here
Camp Pendleton relieves 2 after bomb blast investigation
2 relieved of command for blast that killed 4 Camp Pendleton Marines
LA Times
By Tony Perry
March 6, 2014
CAMP PENDLETON -- The explosion that killed four enlisted Marines during a Nov. 13 training exercise was probably caused when a grenade round was "dropped, kicked or bumped," according to a investigation report released Thursday.
The grenade set off an explosion among several hundred grenades and other shells that had been gathered for demolition.
As a result of the investigation, a captain and master sergeant were relieved of command -- an action that may end their careers.
Brig. Gen. John Bullard, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations West, said that the exact cause of the accident may never be known.
The four Marines were explosive ordnance disposal specialists who had been assigned to clear away thousands of rounds from one of the impact areas on the base.
The captain and master sergeant had failed to adequately assess the potential danger, the general concluded.
Camp Pendleton training accident claims lives of 4 Marines
LA Times
By Tony Perry
March 6, 2014
CAMP PENDLETON -- The explosion that killed four enlisted Marines during a Nov. 13 training exercise was probably caused when a grenade round was "dropped, kicked or bumped," according to a investigation report released Thursday.
The grenade set off an explosion among several hundred grenades and other shells that had been gathered for demolition.
As a result of the investigation, a captain and master sergeant were relieved of command -- an action that may end their careers.
Brig. Gen. John Bullard, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations West, said that the exact cause of the accident may never be known.
The four Marines were explosive ordnance disposal specialists who had been assigned to clear away thousands of rounds from one of the impact areas on the base.
The captain and master sergeant had failed to adequately assess the potential danger, the general concluded.
All four Marines had deployed to combat zones and been awarded a Combat Action Ribbon, awarded only to Marines who were under fire and returned fire.
Those killed were:
Staff Sgt. Mathew Marsh, 28, of Long Beach. He deployed twice to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan.
Gunnery Sgt. Gregory Mullins, 31, of Bayou L'Ourse, La. He deployed twice to Afghanistan.
Sgt. Miguel Ortiz, 27, of Vista, Calif. He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Eric Summers, 32, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. He deployed to Iraq and three times to Afghanistan.
The four had a total of seven children, all under age 10. The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation has awarded each child $30,000 in college scholarship support.
read more here
Camp Pendleton training accident claims lives of 4 Marines
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Vietnam vet to go hunting with all-terrain wheelchair
Legion post helps legless Vietnam vet to go hunting with all-terrain wheelchair
Indystar
Bill McCleery, Indianapolis
March 5, 2014
Vietnam veteran Jesus Quintana loves to hunt, but crossing fields and forests is not easy for the Eastside Indianapolis double amputee.
Each year, he typically is driven a few times to his favorite spots, such as areas around Camp Atterbury in Johnson County, then helped to a hunting blind.
The wheelchair the 65-year-old retired Marine uses does not maneuver well over ruts, rocks, mud or thick vegetation.
Next month, however, Quintana plans to hunt turkey for the first time, and he will have a new means of getting around: a $12,000 all-terrain wheelchair donated this week by American Legion Post 182 in New Palestine.
The chair has a higher clearance than a typical wheelchair and uses tanklike treads rather than wheels.
"I am very grateful," Quintana said Wednesday. "Beyond helping me hunt, it's going to be a big help with a lot of everyday things. Just on my own property, I've wanted to go out there and repair a fence some dogs tore up. But I haven't really been able to get to it. I think I can get out there with this thing."
He and his wife, Betty, live near 21st Street and Emerson Avenue.
"I'm looking forward to taking it around my neighborhood on warm summer nights and smoking a little cigar," he said. "I don't like to smoke in the house."
Quintana lost his legs in an explosion during an Aug. 29, 1968, combat mission. Quintana and his unit had marched into a rice paddy near the Ho Chi Minh trail when an artillery shell exploded.
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Indystar
Bill McCleery, Indianapolis
March 5, 2014
Vietnam veteran Jesus Quintana loves to hunt, but crossing fields and forests is not easy for the Eastside Indianapolis double amputee.
Each year, he typically is driven a few times to his favorite spots, such as areas around Camp Atterbury in Johnson County, then helped to a hunting blind.
The wheelchair the 65-year-old retired Marine uses does not maneuver well over ruts, rocks, mud or thick vegetation.
Next month, however, Quintana plans to hunt turkey for the first time, and he will have a new means of getting around: a $12,000 all-terrain wheelchair donated this week by American Legion Post 182 in New Palestine.
The chair has a higher clearance than a typical wheelchair and uses tanklike treads rather than wheels.
"I am very grateful," Quintana said Wednesday. "Beyond helping me hunt, it's going to be a big help with a lot of everyday things. Just on my own property, I've wanted to go out there and repair a fence some dogs tore up. But I haven't really been able to get to it. I think I can get out there with this thing."
He and his wife, Betty, live near 21st Street and Emerson Avenue.
"I'm looking forward to taking it around my neighborhood on warm summer nights and smoking a little cigar," he said. "I don't like to smoke in the house."
Quintana lost his legs in an explosion during an Aug. 29, 1968, combat mission. Quintana and his unit had marched into a rice paddy near the Ho Chi Minh trail when an artillery shell exploded.
read more here
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