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ALL Vets Master Muster & Intros

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    ALL Vets Master Muster & Intros

    ALLVetsMasterMuster&Intros

    First a huge THANK YOU to Sparky10
    for making our own forum a reality.
    (Sparky10 please ask your janitor to make this a sticky) Now the best way to repay Sparky is to make good regular use of our new forum and show how much we really appreciate Sparky’s efforts.

    Attention ALL Vets, Please post an intro here so we can get to know our fellow vets better. Tell us a bit about yourself and include which branch of service etc.

    I am Gomer, aka Doc GOMER to some. I was made a ward of the state & hospitalized when I was 13 (almost 14) because I had quit my usual activities. I quit playing sports because I could not keep up with other kids my own age. I simply did other things I could do. I was in Civil Air Patrol and flying in a Red 1929 J3, looking down at baseball fields from several thousand feet up.

    I was asked at age 17 (1963) if I wanted to be exempt from the draft, I said NO!, I wanted to be treated as "normal". My caseworker (MSW in today’s lingo) said it would be a good idea and I would not have to worry about future medical care (strange IMO at the time)

    I had to get a letter from my teen yrs hospital doc, who stated the circumstances (w/o listing a Dx) and described me as having an ability to persevere and should be given a chance. I became a GOMER even in boot camp (Great Lakes). . I was not even allowed to march in revue at my boot camp graduation, given watch duty instead.

    I made rate even before going to A-school in Jax Fla. Had higher security clearance than most of my fellow airdales, so I pulled a lot of TAD duty. I was picked (labeled a lifer) for a mag interview. I told him I was not going to ship-over (re-enlist) w/#1 reason being poor medical care I had received. I worked mostly in avionics, clean A/C conditions.

    I had MS Sx before and during my enlistment. I developed diplopia at age 18 (before I joined) and had to have my prisms doubled once while on active duty. (one of many items, including possible ON (NAS Pensacola base Hospital, missing from my official med records). I also suffered a documented hearing loss (MS??) while on active duty and was never told. I found out about it just a few years ago. I am service connected for the hearing loss as of 2007, and the VA does provide me with hearing aids and supplies!

    In the late 80s I insisted "something" else was wrong and sent to the shrink dept. They said I was not nuts or depressed, just "adamant" something else was wrong, just not showing up on testing. I gave up seeking an answer for decades. Turned out I was right, and finally formally Dx’d in Jan 2010 with long standing RRMS and probably early stage of going progressive.

    I am getting reasonably good VA care now, too bad they did not listen to me long ago, maybe I could have begun treatment BEFORE my mobility declined. I use a power-chair part time and use a scooter for larger stores, malls etc. I get my non-MS care outside the VA. I am on Copaxone which I do get from the VA, $8/month co-pay.

    Gomer

    #2
    Vet in TN

    I am Dennis AKA "Sailors Song" and was in the Navy during the Vietnam era and spent one tour on a Guided Missile Destroyer off the coast. And just to set the record straight the Sailors Song is not because of the Navy. It is because my two major loves are sailing and music. I am divorced and have 1 daughter and 1 granddaughter.

    I first developed MS symptoms in 1988 and was on disability by the end of 1989. It wasn't until 2008 that I started to get my health care through the VA and applied for disability compensation due primarily for my PTSD. I am still waiting for the hearing on that even though the shrink for the C&P exam stated that I have service connected PTSD.

    After the Navy I worked for various companies in the New England area designing computers and software for them. I use to be able to and up multiple strings of numbers at the same time in my head. Now I'm lucky if I get the correct answer when adding 2 plus 2. Physically I am just about as bad off as I am with my math skills.

    In addition to the MS ( which the VA doctors don't want to officially DX ) I have COPD, IBS, Heart problems ( had 3x bypass in 2006), PTSD, GERD, and I'm sure I am forgetting some of them as the list is longer than that.

    I wish I could say that I am getting good health care through the VA here in Nashville, but I can't. The care is getting worse every month as no one seems to care about the Vets there. Well there are a few good doctors, but I sure have not gotten to see any of them for myself. Even the PA there don't do their job.

    Dennis
    Dennis

    The soul of a song will lift your spirits.

    Comment


      #3
      I hear ya.
      I was on subs during the 80's and 90's. Also a tech from New England and I can relate to the VA's "bad cop" reputation.
      Where I lucked out was talking to an old shipmate buddy and comparing experiences with the VA. After I told him mine, he said "Dude, I think you're getting screwed. Let me make some calls."
      Next thing I know, the VA out here REALLY wants to talk to me and things went pretty smooth after that.
      Its radical, but I basically had to lose everything and move to the center of the county to get treated.

      One of the things I'd like to see in this forum is which states are doing it right and which states are pulling a scrooge.
      Maine was a nightmare. The reaction I always got from the medical folks (both civilian and VA) was "Well, its probably MS but you don't have insurance. What do you think we can do about it?". Then I'd get the bum's rush.

      Have you contacted your congressman yet? Your rep *should* have a vet's rep somewhere on their staff.

      Comment


        #4
        That is a great idea for the rating of care from the VA by area. I think I'll start a thread to start things off in that area.

        I have always gotten the bums rush from the civilian Neuros in even though I have had insurance. It was only when I started to go to the VA that anyone listened to me. This was mostly due to a shrink that got me sent to the Vanderbilt University MS clinic. After that the VA Neuros couldn't just tell me to go away. Unfortunately I no longer see that shrink so I can't just complain to her about the treatment I am getting.

        Yes I have tried the congressman route, but get no answer from them. Of course from my experience here in TN, no one here does their jobs. When I first moved here my home needed a new HVAC system and it took the crew 3 months to put it in as they would only work about 2 hours at a time and only once every week or two.

        Last week I tried a new approach of writing to the president. It has been too soon to see if that will make any difference.

        Dennis
        Dennis

        The soul of a song will lift your spirits.

        Comment


          #5
          You could also try the Senate. I wanted to write Sen. Snowe's office but this Iowa thing happened first. The group I belong to out here (Subvets) has started reaching out to the polititians and we hooked up with one of Sen. Harkin's aides.
          One of the problems we have is that we are The Silent Service and we're accustomed to not talking about our problems, both because it was ingrained in us and because its so easy for the Navy to say "It couldn't have happened because everything with subs is classified and you're not allowed to talk about it". Its a very conveinient catch 22 and we're working on changing it.
          Two of the guys in my chapter have been Dx'd with a very rare cancer in the last year. At this point we're getting tired of being silent.

          Comment


            #6
            Sorry but this thread was started / intended as a list and intro only.

            Since this thread has taken a tangent or side track off its intened use, I am starting a NEW Master Muster thread.

            Thanks

            Doc Gomer

            Comment

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