Off topic - In support of Alex and other Veterans

[Diandra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/op...pagewanted=all

I am not exactly sure why I am posting this other than I read this article last night and it haunts me. It made me think of Alex and for older members of this forum who remember Wade and his struggles. I have veterans in my family with untreated healthcare issues. Only this past year, the 89yr father of a friend was dx'ed with PTSD from WWII.....WWII!!!....this man and his family have suffered for over 60 years.

Anyway, I digress. The focus of this article is Major Richards and his traumatic brain injury from 2 concussions. He states, for what he has been through he wished he had lost a limb instead. This article also states the profoundly shocking fact that for every soldier lost in war this year, 25 soldiers take their own lives. I was stunned. I just kept thinking, as citizens, what can we do to help them?. It is not news that this country is doing a poor job of caring for it's veterans but the suicide rates were so shocking to me, beyond anything I could have imagined.

I guess I wanted to start a discussion about what we can do....vote for the folks who promise to help our veterans?...write to our legislators and tell them we want more support for veterans?....join volunteer groups that help veterans with healthcare issues? If anyone, vet or otherwise, has any suggestions for what we can do, I would like to hear them. Do any of you have charities you give to or know of charities that are truly helping these veterans? Thanks and for all those who are veterans, thanks for your service to our country.
Diandra

P.S. Mods...if this is the wrong place for this I apologize...I will move it to wherever you think is a better forum. I just did not know what other forum to go to and still reach my chronic pain forum buddies.

[alex44]

Diandra - Thank You a million times over. I read the artical and am crying right now, and being both a Vet, and in Chronic pain, it is not easy to bring tears to my eyes. I have seen too much. I LEFT the local VA clinic as soon as I got SSI and am now on Medicaid, where I get MUCH better care. Pain Management at the VA is a JOKE - i was able to get my meds for awhile, but then they wanted me to go to Tuscon 3 times a week for "Group Therapy" Steroid injections, they may work for some people, I am glad if they do, but after 12, My S/O's bladder froze,she had to wear a In-dwelling foley for 6 months, that and I do not trust the VA. I have fired more doctors - my present one, who I do not see, is an idget. This after 13 years of decent relief - they want to change everything. I have been beaten up in group therapy - never again. Anyway, thank you, Tuscon is an hour each way, it HURTS to ride that long, My Medicaid Doc. has no problem filling the same scripts w/o the BS. MMJ - not for everyone, but i found out a long time ago , it relieves my depression and I have been given trials of at least 8 to 10 meds, I gave them all a fair chance - too loopy,and other S.E's. Medicaid - another story with regard to MMJ. it does help my depression except I can't have it so I DON'T - differant fight - check u-tube in a couple of weeks - I will have my say and I use to do some production work so i am hoping for it to go Viral. I feel for the vets coming home, MHC is hard to get - to see a psyc. - three month waiting list. Again, thank you from an older vet, I well remember Wade, I don't know his situation, he may have passed. if so, I will pray for him, as well as Richard, he got a raw deal. as I do for everyone on this board - as a minister, hence my tag Skypilot, i can do no less and would do so even if i wernt.
God bless you and thank you
I hope you are as pain free as possible
Alex44
Skypilot
PS - Social Media is a powerful thing - put messages on twitter, U-Tube, Facebook, whatever you have the energy for and are comfortable - It does get noticed.

[Eva 14]

I hope the VA gets their act together to help our veterans. I know it's a huge bureaucracy, and that is part of the problem.

Our veterans deserve so much better!

Alex, I'm so sorry to read about what the VA put you through. "Group Therapy"---how stupid. I do know how harmful some of those amatuerish "psychotherapy" sessions can be, and I have a degree in Psychology. Psychotherapy does NOTHING for my pain, and has only caused some problems. I avoid it. Steroid injections don't seem to be of help to most people, either.

I know how most doctors make us suffer and will prescribe ANYTHING but the opiates that help. I went through it in the private system. It took me years to finally get to a pain management doctor.

I wish you could get the MMJ that you need. The system is so messed up. But keep on fighting---hopefully it will help. We need to get the message out about chronic pain and what relieves it.

Eva

[Mark N]

Diandra thanks for bringing up this issue. I have been forced to use private health insurance because VA won't take me despite serving 4 years with a outstanding record and an Honorable Discharge. I am fortunate that I have had good private insurance to deal with my health issues. Part of the reason VA doesn't take me is they say my medical conditions are due to my service and it is hard to prove that they are. It is ok though as I would rather have their focus on the new wounded soldiers coming home and the older veterans that can't get adequate health care for their infirmities along with any that fall through the crack with their own health care.

The problem with the suicides and returning veterans is that we don't have an adequate support system, I think it takes an integrated effort between VA and local veterans and family members including their family doctors. With the new armor that protects our troops and the much better battlefield treatment they survive explosions and gunshot wounds that would have been KIA in previous actions. As a result we have more coming home with unseen injuries and I know talking to my local VA rep whose son suffers from mild PTSD and he struggles to have people to talk to that understand what he has gone through so he hangs around other troops that have served in the combat zones.

I think one of the biggest problems is our society hasn't geared up for a war mentality. I don't mean that we need to build up more arms and become militaristic, I would like to see us pull back our forces, but I do mean our society has kept what our soldiers go through separate from society. People don't want to know what really happens in combat and when it does happen want to persecute our troops for protecting their own lives. I expect troops that break the USMJC [the military code of justice ] to be prosecuted but not the troops that do what they have to so they and their buddies can survive. Too many of our citizens hate the wars and in turn hate the military members, notice I didn't say all just too many, so our society isn't geared up to provide the support this battle hardened and in many cases battle shocked troops re-enter society. Military and especially combat life is far different than civilian life and it takes time along with support to change from a combat environment to civilized society. There are many organizations willing to help we just need it all more coordinated.