It is heart breaking. I have an acquaintance who is a vet and lost his wife and is being shunted around to different units. The good news is he is likely being moved to a better hospital. The bad news is I sincerely doubt he will ever leave alive becaue it still won't be enough and no one will be able to sneak his little dog into see him where he is going and that is all that keeps him going. It breaks your heart to hear of anyone being mistreated when they seek care, but regarding those to whom we made promises about never forgetting?
We need to change our priorities. I think the whole "Out of sight of mind thing weighs in here and publicity might be the cure. Sunlight on all things bureaucratic, that is all I can think of. Anyone with any ideas, I am willing to listen.
God bless your friend. I hope it turns out better than your prediction.
You are right about the "sunlight."
I wish I had ideas on how to help more Veterans. It's SOOOOOO important for so many and important to me as well. I have had nothing but excellent care at the Indianapolis VA Hospital, but I know of others at other places haven't. They saved my life here. Also, the current political situation is not overly faithful to its' Veterans . (Or in many cases, the whole population, but I don't want get into
that can-of-worms now.)
Face it. It is all about the
Dollar$$$. Congress wants their pet projects to take priority, but proper care for the hundreds of thousands or even millions of us Vets is pretty darned expensive. The Viet Nam Vets had to fight for their rights & treatment for
Agent Orange help. By the time the Government (and consequently VA) admitted to what had happened, a good percentage of the affected Vets were beyond help. It has happened again with the Gulf War Conditions. Heck, 20 years ago, I had an older gent of color who worked for me who, after the Government waited from 1945 to PAST the early 1990s to ADMIT that near the end of WWII they had used an all-black transportation & construction unit as witnesses (at VERY close distances) to an atomic test
BECAUSE they were black. When they finally admitted the deed, around 1993 if I remember (I saw the letter they sent him) about 90% to 95% of those old guys were already dead. It is shameful.
I'm NOT complaining that they do the "tests" they do - the experimental drugs and procedures & chemicals I was exposed to were given to me (us)) to help save our lives. Agent Orange was used so the enemy couldn't hide. Those black soldiers were used to test theories that science needed to know. It was to save more American's lives but they (the Govt.) didn't know all the harm that could/would happen later. The
shameful part is the way Congress and the budget planners (but mostly Congress) drag their feet to pay for treatment. And it's simple tactic: the longer they wait, the more of us die BEFORE they have to start paying for very expensive treatment - but meanwhile, THEY can use that money for their own NON-ObamaCare health insurance, retirement (at full pension for LIFE in many cases
after ONE term, etc) paid-for vacations, haircuts and the like plus projects aimed at certain population folks & groups simply to "buy" votes, all while we Vets suffer.
No, I did NOT twist my ankle in a prep-school football game to claim Veteran's Benefits or Priorities like the asshole subject of this original post.
Jeffry C. Bailey
(Former) Staff Sergeant (Promotable) - United States Army - Armored Cavalry (and other units)
Yes, I'm proud ... and I vote