Thanks for the responses everybody. It is going to be a long drawn out road ahead for me, and I hate to say it, the longer it all takes the better! Upon approval everything will be back payed to NOV 1st of this year... Even if I only get approved for 50% disability, and everything is drawn out for a year, that chunk of change will make most of my bills disappear. But first I am going to need to gather all of the reports of where I was, what happened, and who I was with... Then its off to a long string of government head doctors, a respiratory specialist, a few MRI's, some X-rays, more physical examinations, and more head doc's... Not a lot of fun, its going to piss off the boss at work a bit because for every day I miss the rest of the shop seems to slip 4 days behind schedule! But at the end of it all, I will hopefully get back to being a little more normal with all the medical stuff that will be taken care of, and my pocket will be a bit heavier for the rest of my life.
A respiratory specialist??? Jeeeze...does this mean I'm in trouble for giving you those cigars last summer and at MOTD? :yikes:
Nope, thats for all the toxic smoke I worked around in 2010. Our stockpile we ran dirt in and out of was right next to one of the biggest burn pits we had in Iraq. You name it they burned it... Trash, tires, dead animals, plastic bottles...
Dick, we met at the wellzy compound this MOTD. I linked up with the crew from Denver, to drive the Devils triangle. I earned my PTSD in Baghdad in '03, went back for more in '04, and again in '09 and '11. No good deed goes unpunished. In and around those four, I've done another three deployments during these, my 19 years. I should be retired by this next MOTD. The single hardest thing I ever did - ever - was walking into the clinic in '05 and saying that I needed help. That the weight in my ruck was too much, that I couldn't carry it all myself. I always thought I could carry my load, and I always thought I could carry more. Only, I couldn't. I'd hit a bottom that was so low, it made the ass of a pig look good. But raising my hand and saying I needed help, and using my outside voice to let others - to include AND ESPECIALLY my friends and family - know that I was in trouble and needed their help, that changed things, that changed things almost immediately, and that brought a sense of relief I did not think was possible. If we can't call on our friends in our times inf need, when can we call on them? If we can't call on our friends in our times inf need, why do we even have them as friends? Tell us how we can help, be us your brothers in arms, or your brothers in Minis. I would encourage you to keep talking about it - get it out of you and into words, because that made a huge difference for me, and I've seen that make a huge difference for a number of my Soldier post deployment. And don't go near that hole again - there are more than enough other people walking this earth who will help you with this. -- Art
Annnnnnd, go find one of those vet groups to help with the paperwork. VFW, the American Legion. I've been doing my paperwork with the VA, and I feel your pain, brother - it sucks. But grab ahold of one of these groups, and see who they have that can help - because I guarantee you, they will have someone who can help, both in making sense of it, and in doing it thoroughly. The percentages crap is a mess, and it might as well be a foreign language, and it will make you want to rip out every hair from your body. But having someone there who can help decode that crap, and translate the stuff that is in your records with that the VA is asking, will make it go a lot more smoothly.
Thanks Art. I have been told by a few other army buddies that the DAV was the most help with all the paperwork part than anybody, so I am going to start there now that the first part of the claim has been submitted. What unit where you with in '03? We ran a lot of stuff around Baghdad from July to around November... Who knows, we could have been standing in line next to eachother at one of the chow halls.
Just so long as you get someone to help with the paperwork - that's my recommendation. I've been doing my initial VA Claims, as part of preparing to retire, and good grief, what a mess and what a pain in the ass. In '03, I was in 205th MI Brigade, under V Corps. There at Victory, in the palace. We were hard to miss -- had a crazy-ass antenna that we lifted onto the roof, until they realized how much it weighed. Then they moved us out to the smaller mistress palace and we brought in this crazy tower, and put our antenna up on that. It was strange to be back there again in 2011, to close the place down, and see the same places, again as a ghost down, with tumbleweeds blowing across the streets.
Abuzavi is good to hear stories like yours were you got help and helped your soldiers get help. Just know that if you need anything just let me know. I am here if you ever need me.
I'm 60% through the VA and the paperwork, appointments and TIME re- quired just to find out your status is just wrong. They say its getting easier and quicker but I have my doubts. But hang in there, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
It's not much better outside of the VA. There is a real disconnect between treatment of the physical and the mental in the private sector as well. Rick, I know this will be a tough journey for you. Keep your head up and keep moving forward...
Western medicine is VERY good at mechanical medicine.... But not so good at the mental...that is where some traditional cultures might have us beat... Have seen stories on folks going to Latin america to drink root drinks, kinda like a psydellic mushroom, to try to remember, and "unpack" PTSD.... Works for some, not for others...guess since the "human" experience is so different for all, best suggestion I have is to try different things.... Something will work for you, and then you can pass it on to the next vet in need....it is a shame so many of the homeless are vets that have gone down the same road...discarded in the gutter like trash. It is a good time of the year for all of us to remember that family member, friend or coworker that seems a bit "odd", and step up and be there, cause it could have been us.
So, are you trying to say I should jump a flight with Chris down to Costa Rica, try some "Root beer" and watch the Rally MINI in action?
Just saw that CNN is running a special.. "This life with Lisa Ling" the "jungle fix" episode, #5.... And its Peru...So might not be as fun as Costa Rica! Stuff I guess the stuff is called iwaska.... Pretty interesting show...
Not sure what it takes to get into this but seems like a good program. http://blog.theveteranssite.com/inpatient-therapy-success-combat-ptsd/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=troops&utm_campaign=inpatient-therapy-success-combat-ptsd&utm_term=20141026