Yep I said it, 9 years I have been appealing one denial after another. A year and a half ago I finally had a hearing with a VA arbitrator, questions were asked and answered. findings were made and was told theat I indeed have Fibro and that they do believe that it is service connected.
But I have other problems like hearing, tinnitus and arthritis in knees and feet. So after waiting for there decision for almost 6 months I get a decision. They put it in writing that yes i have fibro and yes it is service connected but before they pass down a decision I must be re-evaluated for my hearing and well just about everything. So the local VA Central office was told to gather this info and evaluate and let them know their findings.
Well that was over a year ago and finally i get the letters that they have scheduled me for re evaluation exams but some new docs. I mean we did all this 9 years ago, nothings changed except maybe in some ways somethings are worse now. But I go and find some interesting things about my history. My discharge exam showed arthritis in my neck and the base of my spine. That was 39 years ago, but there were no X-Rays of my shoulders and elbows. Pain I was treated for in service and not since either even though i have been complaining about them all these years, so X-rays were ordered and I now have bruises all over my under arms that look like finger prints. I don't what hurt more the exam or the X-Rays. Plus another exam that verified the existence of my fibro and I also was told that I had tender points reported in my discharge examination.
Now I have poked, prodded and X-rayed again and again I am waiting on decision that from the sound of what every Doc I talked to should have been made years ago.
Yet here I sit waiting. Still wondering if I will be approved this time or not. Or am I going for a record here.
I'm holding hope for you, brother!
Waiting is always the hard part.
We are with you and know that you will prevail in the end.
Good grief brother.. I guess nobody ever accused the VA of having their stuff together. Keep fighting.. we know the outcome already, it's just a matter of how hard their heads are and how long it takes to sink in.
We're right here with you brother.. Waiting sucks but we're not going anywhere. :budy:
-Edit to clean up my own language.. shame on you Fox!!! :blush:
Yikes!
Brady,
I think it is time that you and the wife took a few days off so you could be by yourselves. It does wunders so I am told. :pals:
I am so so sorry that it is taking so long but I am glad that the wheels are turning if ever so slowly at least they are turning.
Just a little update. All the re-evaluations are now complete and last summer I was informed that my file was in the hands of the final decision maker.
He must have one hell of a pile of claims because here I sit still waiting.
Be so happy once the final decisions have been made as this will make life so much more manageable for my wife and I.
10 years now and still counting.
That was your fingers I presume, and now you can start on your toes. :emomad2: :emowall:
If it gets approved you should get one nice check.
Praying for ya! Hoping for good things ahead!
Yeah the back pay will be awesome!!! You will be able to fly all of us somewhere for the first annual Men with Fibro get together. Whoope Yi-Hah and all that.
Well it has been a couple months now and I am still reeling. After only 11years of waiting I am granted partial disability on my claim. They went by my discharge 100%, not considering the overwhelming evidence of all that has befallen me in the past 41 years since my discharge from the Air Force.
I was granted a total of 40% disability, 10% more and all my co-pays would have disappeared. But we are appealing a bunch of things to bring that percentage up where it should be.
I was granted 30% for my shoulders and 10% for my tinnitus. So we still have my back and leg issues, plus my Fibro, which at my hearing they said was something that was real and they said it was service connected. But our local Grand Poobah see's it differently. That is why we are appealing.
But the extra money each month will be great, and I found out that once I am gone, since my service connected disability exceeds 30% my wife will continue to get my disability checks. That was great news.
The money is not the greatest but it has increased my income by 50%. So now I am thinking Cable would be nice. Wife already has her new car, we put 50% down and are making payments on the rest and I ordered a new recliner. So life is a little bit easier now and hopefully it will get even better in the future.
Also found out that when I turned 65 my Disability became Social Security. But the money stayed the same. So it is a big hooray for me.
Sorry Tojo I won' be funding any get togethers. Not enough percentage points.
So very good news all around.
I've very happy for the 40% that you did get... I'll continue to pray about the other 60% but hey... you're finally getting some cash back!!! WAHOOOOOO!!! :clapping:
So glad that you've got a bit of wiggle room brother. I know it won't go really all that far but I'll bet it's a welcome sight!! Happier New Year to you and your sweet lady. :bighug:
:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: Right on! Congrats! :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :emocrazy:
I started to post some fire works like for the 4th of July, but then realized that pictures can only express a certain degree of emotions. I guess that the best is just saying that my heart really feels for you and the family. Even this pittance isn't near enough to cover the devastation that you and the family has gone though because of some idiot's lack of moral feelings for those who have suffered so much for so long and partially even due to military screw-ups.
Hope you can get the rest of what you should have coming before you are gone and they forget all about your claim. :pals: Pals to the bitter end my friend.
Quote from: foxgrove on October 18, 2012, 09:11:39 PM
-Edit to clean up my own language.. shame on you Fox!!! :blush:
Fox, don't worry about it, you just said what the rest of us were thinking.
Brady, It appalls me how our hero's are treated by our government that has promised to take care of them. I believe that if you served your country voluntarily in any of the armed forces, the government should bend over backwards to take care of you, whether you were injured or not, but especially if you were. Several years ago, I tried to get a facebook page started built on the idea that we needed to take the salaries the politicians are making needed to taken away, and the be paid what Social Security recipients, and soldiers make, and those large salaries be divided between those two groups. I had a lot of people that signed up on the page and said I agree, but when I posted a list of the emails of every politician in Washington DC, asking people to email at least their officials, if not every member of congress. I did email every member of congress, at least those that would let my email through. Some had their email set up to only accept mail from the zip codes in their district. Those I sent snail mail letters to. I was so surprised that I was the only person that lifted a finger to help. I tried for almost a year, but I got tired of people saying "I agree, we need to do this, it would make such a difference in how the politicians act", but were then unwilling to copy and past and email, and addresses I provided.
I hope you can manage to get approved for everything you deserve. I for one appreciate the sacrifices you made for me, and our country.
I am just getting started on my latest try for service connected claim.
I was on a Navy minesweep that had a major shipboard fire off Vietnam
we burned out our generator room/forward engine room.
The fire burned a lot of electrical cables that contained PCBs.
The U.S. Navy required that all electrical cables supplied to its ships be coated in a PCB mixture as a fire retardant.
when PCBs are burned they produce a dioxin called polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins PCDD.
Agent orange had a dioxin called 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin TCDD.
I am filing claiming that some of my health problems were caused by the dioxin in the smoke and long term in the soot that remained on the sip after the fire.
clapping hands clapping hands clapping hands clapping hands clapping hands clapping hands clapping hands clapping hands
. Something is not right in Denmark! Man, I met a young man who's/whoms legs were damaged in one of the humvee incidences we have heard so much about! He was living in the section eight neighborhood, collecting $1,100 a month and food stamps!
. Unbelievable!
Praying for all those who have served their country only to be treated terribly by the government they served! I worry about the long term effects of doing fire rescue and what we end up exposed to . Even Volunteers in this work have an extremely higher risk of contracting industry related diseases such as cancer COPD heart and lung issues. My brother was a LT Cmdr in the navy as an Engineer and I know he is concerned as many of his comrades have dealt with issues related to the aging naval fleet and it's issues.
So true.. warships have never really been built with the health of people in mind, only their ability to survive a conflict, and most were built long long before thoughts of toxic substances were only a twinkle in their unborn children's eyes...
Sadly, the way the forces today deal with the damage these war machines have wrought on their users is a very sad testament to man's ability to screw his fellow man... it's bureaucracy, greed, and outright stupidity all wrapped in well tailored suits while the people they were called to serve still wait for a modicum of the tangible respect they so fully deserve. Makes me want to puke at the disrespect they show by their lack of action.
Continued prayers for our servicemen and women. We will not forget...
Thanks for all the encouraging words and sentiments. My case worker is connected with Vietnam Veterans Of America, and he is my second one, the first was with the DAV and once I switched to my new guy it was a a matter of a couple of years and I got some satisfaction. He knows how to work the system and he works it and he is a volunteer. He has done ten times more for me as a volunteer than the DAV's paid representative was able to do in 9 years of nothing.
So I have high hopes my guy will come through for me again. I would like to live my twilight years not worrying whether I have the cash to pay a debt and would love to see my wife quit working full time. We need more time together, and I would love to be able to do some traveling. I have never seen any of the great sites of our nation. I would like to be able to see them. Oh my bucket list is very full, I would like to whittle it down some.
So if he is able to get me what I deserve on just what I already got, it will boost my benefit to 60% add Fibro to the it after that and we are at the 100% mark and I still have issues that need attending. How do you get more than 100%. I don't know but I will try.
Also once I hit 100%. My wife becomes eligible for government subsidized health insurance for the rest of her life. Low premiums and no copay, including dental and prescriptions. Not counting her glasses. The last pair we got her it was over 325.00 just for the lenses. Yeah she's blind without them.
For the first time in over twenty years I am feeling confident about our future.
That is Great :clapping: Keep us updated.
Keep the spirits high and we all hope that you will prevail. About damn time. buttkick
That is awesome! :bighug: :bighug: :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
Fabulous news brother. Wow!! A future!! What a huge feat to accomplish... very happy for both of you. :bighug:
Augoldminer, I know what you mean regarding the problems with agent orange, I am building my latest appeal around the fact that up till about the time I arrived on Guam they were using Agent Orange To keep the jungle growth away from the flight line.
I used to take naps on the grass while waiting to be transported to my next job, and we always scavenged fruit from the growth along the flight line, like wild banana's and guava and these green berries that were so sweet and good but hard to find.
All that grew in soil that was previously treated with Agent Orange.
There are also questions about agent orange being used at the naval station Guam in the ammo storage area(Fena Lake) that was also the fresh water supply for the main navy base.
http://cybersarges.t...com/aoguam.html
http://guamagentoran...derson_research
I spent a couple weeks drinking the water on the base there.
The ship also stopped over night at Johnston island twice and we filled and used fresh water from the islands distillation system after the left over agent orange was stored there and the drums were leaking into the sea around the island .
http://veteransinfo.tripod.com/ao%20johnston%20atoll/johnston_island.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange#mediaviewer/File:Leaking_Agent_Orange_Barrels_at_Johnston_Atoll.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange#mediaviewer/File:Agent_Orange_at_Johnston_Atoll_1976.jpghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange#mediaviewer/File:Agent_Orange_at_Johnston_Atoll_1976.jpg
how many time do you have to get exposed to dioxin for the VA to believe you.
That is terrible. As if regular contamination wasn't enough when they know there were issues and still deny claims it makes me sick to my stomach,
Good news! I watched this program tonight and it was called"weed III" or something and amongst the other things marijuana is good for,they have found strong evidence that it is 😊 great for PTSD and Alzheimer! Yes, Alzheimer disease,some how it lubricates the bloods pathways in the brain and prevents the plague build up that causes the brains problems.
. Also,senators Kirsten Gillibaun, Ron Paul and another senator are going to introduce to Congress a bill for taking marijuana from schedule III drug 💊 to schedule II. Thus, allowing more experimental research and development. Plus,making the right to all states allowing for the using of medical marijuana!
. It's been about ten years ago,that that county mental health worker,Ann Marie Mills, came charging out of her office,screamed in my face what a dirt bag I was for using for the purpose of fibromyalgia suffering and chronic fatigue syndrome and the package that goes with it,depression and anxiety just to name a couple. Looking back how her hatred and prejudice,puts me so far behind and all the extra years of suffering that she caused me. How much the " good old gal" club protected her rights and squashed mine as a drug seeker and" oh, he's got mental problems" that's why he's seeing the county mental health workers for help. He's got no rights,he's a second class citizen. He's nothing more than a burden on society... He's doing nothing to earn his own life...
. How hateful that experience was with the county and then the state mental health agency I reported her abuse to. Looking for the light at the end of a long tunnel guys. It's not going to make us a whole"productive members of society" but again maybe it will for some. But I know 😊 from past experience,it will be much better than using the opiates,they have provided for me,after the Ms mills illegally cancelled my prescription for merinol. God bless 😊
:giveup: :blue thumbs up: :jawdrop:
. Ships ahoy....gentlemen...."Off the streets and into the medicine cabinet!" Pennsylvania is putting it on the ballot for tomorrow or sending it through the Penn state congress and the media is predicted that it is going to pass and the governor will sign!
. Another state allows users who are in pain and suffering anxiety or depression to have access to natural resources of marijuana.
. How many people who watch the people's music 🎶 awards last night,heard the song 🎶 about the doctors over prescribed for anxiety and pain...."Over prescribed" put the whole blame on the doctors... Hey 🙋 sorry...some people need the medication for pain and anxiety. No matter what. What about the escapees' taking responsibility for their own personal behavior of drug 💊 use for self medication or escape from reality. Sing 🎤 a song 🎶 about their experiences with life,that they are melting down the 80 mg oxicontin and shooting it into their own bodies with needles. These people have a problem. They need help. In Spain or Portugal they have public vending machine for getting needles and a blue light in the bathroom 🚽,so that the junkies can see that vein better. True story. Not sure about the county,but the country is having an epidemic of unemployment for it's youths. Idle hand ✋ are the home for the devil? A large number of the boredom without any work and the energy of youths,some went to drugs 💊.
. It's said that this"openness" for the user and interventions have been successful in lowering the total number of users. This program helped some youth to invest the same money 💵 used in drug 💊 prevention programs to start new business opportunities. Amen
old man w-cane
. My Ph.D. daughter is home and taking a break from her studies.... Great having her home 🏠 don't get to see her often,she's either studying 🏫 in Germany or setting up refugee camps in Africa. Busy lady,Does herself great honor.
. I asked what she reads from the European news papers about America! She's said that it's mainly about the shootings and the herion epidemic of American citizens. But she's telling me that they have a great problem with cocaine in Europe . Coming from Africa route through Egypt and Syria... Mankind always searching for the high
..... It's in the bible,seak and you shall find....