Caregiverjc

Yes, his injury was post service. That is what is so frustrating about the whole process. My husband is able to answer the questions he is asked about his experience in Vietnam but he forgets that he has even filed a claim for PTSD. He forgets about the nightmares, the anger, the rage episodes, the times when he still feels like he has his flak jacket on and the smell of blood that is only in his mind, etc. With his injury he still remembers everything pre- injury but the new memory is very poor. I don't know, maybe it is a losing battle with the VA.

I didn't mention that he has severe sleep apnea as well. He is taking meds for anxiety and depression. He has major mood swings as well as anger issuers that turns into a huge rage that sometimes last for hours. We as a family have had to deal with this for well over 34 years.

Capt.Contaminate, I'm not sure why you think my husband has some underlying diseases that we are not aware of or I'm not talking about. As I stated in my first post he has severe cognitive problems because of head injury, he is in a wheelchair, and needs full-time help. He has had high blood pressure since he was in his 40, long before head injury. He has a hip replacement when he was 45, not because of accident, he is needing a shoulder replacement all because arthritis. He has had some skin cancer. If i'm not mistaken he started a claim for Agent Orange in the early eighties but got busy in life and didn't follow through. Oh, he has has an enlarged prostrate for several years but thank God no cancer. He is being screened and tested every 6 months for that. I think that about covers it.....

Now that I see my husband needs help with his VA claims my question is should we seek help now or wait to see what is the outcome of his appeal? Just would like to know if anyone has an opinion on the best way to handle this. We are open to ideas and advice. Thank all of you for your support......

I would like to thank every one for their thoughts and advice. I have a lot of information to digest and look into. To answer some of the questions, no my husband was not given any psychiatric or neuropsychiatric testing through the VA. The only help we have had is through our local Veterans Service Office. She filed the original claim for PTSD but honestly didn't tell us what to expect. She made an appointment for us with a VA counselor pretty much in that order. We didn't hear from her again until we called her to let her know the claim was denied. We went to see her again and she sent the appeal. So as you can see we have been flying blind. I think we are in over our heads and need help. My husband went to the counselor for about a year and he suggested that my husband joins a weekly group meeting with a group of vietnam vets. Since he can't drive, I was more than happy to take him because I was hopeful that it would be good for him to be with other vets. He was the only officer in the group and they treated him with respect but because of his disability he didn't feel like he fit in. About 4 months ago he stopped going. As I stated before, the first exam he had was at the Palo Alto VA hospital. A very young doctor talked to him for about 30 minutes than asked him to leave the room and wanted to talk to me. By her questions to me, I felt her main concern was his disability not the reason he was there. About 10 months later he got the denial letter. In January of last year he went to another exam in Palo Alto and this time, different examiner, they had me go into the room while they asked him the questions. In April of last year, he received a letter from the VA that stated they were going to forward his information for review from a VA Physician or VA Psychiatrist for review. That is the last we have heard from the VA.

I found my husbands rejection letter from the VA for PTSD. Here is what it said: " Copy of your DD 214 shows you were awarded the Distinguish Flying Cross and at least one Air Medal for valor. The VA has determined that awards such as the Distinguish Flying Cross and Air Medal with Valor are verifiable proof of combat stressor. There is no doubt you were involved in combat and that you served with gallantry and valor during your Vietnam tour. During the VA Exam you recalled some experiences of combat while in the Republic of Vietnam. You also told the examiner about a helicopter crash in 1991, many years after service, which left you in a comma and possible traumatic brain injury. After review of records, exam and personal history the examiner diagnosed cognitive disorder. The examiner explained that there are not enough symptoms consistent with diagnosis of PYSD and it does not seem likely you have PTSD. With much regret we must conclude that service connection for PTSD is denied because the medical evidence of record fails to show that this disability has been clinically diagnosed"

I have read about that benefit. What I'm confused about it looks like you have to be almost homeless and having no income to qualify for that benefit.. That was what I was getting at with my first post..Should he wait to see if he is reconsidered for his first claim of PTSD or can he apply for that benefit..

Thank you for your post. My husband did go to VA for a couple of years for counseling and group meetings. The VA counselor agreed he has PTSD . He stopped going because he felt it was not doing him any good. Even now he is a very proud and private man. I have not seen any exam result. The VA has record of 2 of his PTSD stressors. I know he experienced several difficult times but the ones that hurt him the most was watching his best friend and fellow pilot being killed by the enemy after his helicopter was shot down. My husband also has pictures of his helicopter after it took 56 rounds and a crew member was killed. My husband was wounded with shrapnel which he just pulled out of his arm and didn't report it. He job was rescue and recover so he did witness injured men and some that didn't make it. He would have to wash blood out of his helicopter after a mission. These are just a few of the situations he experienced while in Vietnam. He is a very modest man and felt like he was just doing his job. He did receive several awards while there but does not talk about what he did to receive them. Sorry, I have gone way off track. It just makes me angry that after all that he did that he could be treated like this. I know people who got PTSD awarded and never put a foot in Vietnam...

Just to clarify, my husband has a short term memory problem because of the head injury but his past memories are more intact than mine are. He remembers all of his experiences, good and bad, in Vietnam.

That is the problem John999, they can't tell. During the first medical exam the doctor couldn't get past the fact that he couldn't tell her what day it was. She sent him out of the room after about 15 minutes and wanted to talk to me. Besides, I have been told that his accident probably resurfaced his PTSD. Especially since his accident was a helicopter accident and he was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. To answer your question, no he does not get a pension from Va.

My husband is a Vietnam vet. He applied for PTSD 3 years ago and has been denied. He appealed, had another exam about a year ago, still waiting to heal. We are sure that they chalk his PTSD to his other condition. A little history: Over 20 years ago my husband was in an accident and suffered a severe brain injury. The catastrophic injury has left him in a wheelchair and I have to take full care of him. He has severe short term memory problems and needs help with every daily existence. He has no VA benefits because of the, I think 2003 law change about qualifying. I think he can qualify for housebound but not sure. My question is should he wait until we hear about the PTSD claim or start a new claim in the other direction. I would like some advice on what to do and where to start. This is all new for me and my husband isn't able to help. If anyone can help I so would appreciate it.