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emmak

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Everything posted by emmak

  1. I appreciate all the replys. I just have a problem with the military providing cigarettes and alcohol or beer then refusing to take responsiblity for their actions. In the 50,s and 60's my brother-in-law would bring C rats home when he was on leave. I was a teenager and thought they were the neatest thing around.As I remember, the food was in cans rather than pouches. To this day my husband carries the little can opener in his wallet.
  2. B) Yesterday I ask my husband if he remembered getting small packs of cigarettes in his individual meal packages. He said yes, in fact he told me also about sea rations where the GI's also got cartons of cigarettes. All brands were given out for free. I don't believe this is done today but I question how the VA can refuse payment because of smoking in the military. My husband is a Vietnam vet and he went into the Army at the age of 17. A non smoker until then spending nine years in the Army. He left the military a smoker and continued smoking another 6 years then quit. That was 35 years ago. To me the fact that the GI's were given cigarettes for free with meals tells me that the military actually supported cigarette smoking. I sure would like to hear what all of you think about this I recentlly found out that my husband has scaring, plurel infusions on his lungs. AO,asbestos or cigarettes. I don't know. B)
  3. BETRAYED, LAST WEEK MY HUSBAND HAD A HEARING FOR AN INCREASE FOR PTSD.WE ARE NEW TO THIS BECAUSE MY HUSBAND IS 66 BUT I LIVED IN FEAR FOR 35 YEARS BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW WHAT HE WOULD DO IF I MENTIONED VIETNAM.LAST YEAR HE WAS REFUSED PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS BECAUSE OUR INCOME WAS TO HIGH.HE COULD GET THE 7.00 CO PAY IF WE DIVORCED. THAT WAS THE TURNING POINT FOR ME AND I FIRED OFF AN EMAIL TO OUR STATE REP TAMMY BALDWIN. I WAS TOLD TO TAKE HIM TO THE LOCAL VA REP AND I GOT UP ENOUGH COURAGE TO ASK HIM IF HE WOULD GO.TO MY SURPRISE HE SAID YES.HE WAS AWARDED 50% WE APPEALED. HE WAS AWARDED 70% PTSD AND TDIU TO AWARD HIM 100% LAST WEEK AT THE HEARING. I PUT MY HEART AND SOUL IN HIS APPEAL.HE IS A DECORATED VV AND THE PTSD TAKES HIM DOWN AND ALMOST BREAKS HIM. I DON'T BELIEVE ANY LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP WILL GO BY THE WAYSIDE. WE WIVES HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING THAT IS STRONG AND AS I SAID AT THE HEARING,REGARDLESS OF THE PTSD I LOVE HIM AND MOST OF ALL RESPECT HIM. HE IS A GOOD MAN. HANG IN THERE YOU GUYS AND GALS WITH THE HADIT GROUP YOU HAVE SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING WITH A TON OF RESPECT FOR WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH.
  4. WHILE GOING THROUGH MY HUSBANDS C FILE,I NOTICED A LOT OF PHMEMONIA AND CHEST INFECTIONS THEN LOOKING AT PRIVATE MEDICAL RECORDS IN THE FILE I NOTICED DOCUMENTATION THAT HE HAD PLEURAL EFFUSION AND FIBROSIS AND SCAR AT THE RIGHT BASE AND THERE IS OLD FIBROSIS OF THE SCARRING OF THE LEFT LOWER LUNG. LEROY WAS IN THE CORP OF ENGINEERS AND DID A LOT OF DEMOLITION OF OLD BUILDINGS ETC. 11TH CALVARY/919 ENGRS 1966-1977 VIETNAM. I PLAN ON FILING SOON FOR COMPENSATION SOON BUT WOULD LIKE SOME INFORMATION. 1.IS THERE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AS TO WHAT CLAIMS CAN BE GRANTED BACK TO MILITARY SERVICE? I HAVE HEARD OF CLAIMS WHERE BACK PAYMENT WAS HUGE BUT DON'T KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES. WHEN DOES THE SPOUSE QUALIFY FOR BENEFITS THROUGH THE HUSBAND WHEN HE IS 100% SERVICE CONNECTED?
  5. :D I forgot to add that the doctor told us he was going to add diabetis to the list of problems LeRoy has. For the first time I feel that there are doctors at the VA who truley want to help the vet.
  6. Good morning to all, I want to tell all of you what happend to my husband at the VA Hospital yesterday. We went to the doctor there because my husband is having a lot of bowl and stomach problems. He has had 18 inches of large intestine and fishures removed. During the conversation, I ask the doctor if his ptad/nerves could have anything to do with his problems and he promptly ask if the Pope is Catholic. I guess he must have known i was a little confused when I said yes and he then said "yes,very much so" ( The hubby is PTSD 50% ) I blew a really good chance to get more information on the service connection. A little further into the conversation the doctor was asking about other illnesses and I told the doctor he was glucose intorlant, had been diagnosed with diabetes then lost 40 pounds and got the diabetes under control. The doctor said well, I have bad news for you, once diabetic ALWAYS DIABETIC. I told him that the hubby had been denied compensation and he replied that if he was ever at a conference and said diabetis is not glucose intolarence they would have laughted him out of the room.Now I have to figure out the nexus to ptsd and diverticulitls and fischures. Any suggestions?
  7. :D After reading the posts I am wondering if my husband should check further into his awards.I know he has the bronze star with V and another medal which i think is the gallentry? cross. He was just recently awarded 50% PTSD His service time in Vietnam was 67-68. He has told me he should have been awarded other bronze stars and a medal for helicopter flight time but never received it to his knowledge. is any other medals helpful in filing for compensation? :(
  8. This is Emmak. The question of heart disease with our Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD is very real. The nexus is years of stress which the Vets know is true is the concern. There are many.many articles on PTSD uping the heart disease.For the older Vietnam vets there are also studies that addresses Vets 60 and older. My husband has multipal medical problems and we have not filed on all of them.Didn't have a good VA rep.The thinking was that LeRoy had enough to get a 100% award. He quit working and went on SSD 6 years ago because of multipal knee surgeries. We have not filed for the knees and arms yet but will if need be. When this application process started and I had to help LeRoy fill out the forms,and of course I had to ask about Vietnam. He was standing beside me while I typed and suddenly he put his hand on his chest and said" I have to go sit down" he turned a gray white in color.My first thought was that he was going to have a heart attack. Now take 39 years of PTSD and tell me that it is not a nexus for heart disease.
  9. :o FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH,THANKS TO ALL AND ESPECIALLY1968 ARMY VV AND PETE FOR THE INFORMATION. BERTA, I WASN'T ABLE TO OPEN ATTACHMENTS BUT WHEN MY COMPUTER IS FIXED I HOPE TO GO BACK AND OPEN THEM. I NOW CAN AT LEAST SIT DOWN AND HELP LEROY PUT HIS OWN INFORMATION TOGETHER FOR HIS APPEAL. HE DOES NOT HAVE TO LIE ABOUT ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!! NINE YEARS ARMY, ONE YEAR VIETNAM (COMBAT, DEMOLITION,MINE WAREFARE AND CORP OF ENGINEERS. IN GERMANY DURING THE BERLIN CRISIS, AND ON STANDBY DURING THE CUBEN CRISIS. SEVERAL MEDALS TO INCLUDE THE BRONZE STAR.HE DIDN'T GET THEM FOR NOTHING!!! HE WAS LUCKY, HE CAME HOME MESSED UP BUT ALIVE.
  10. :o Is depression a seperate issue when a person suffers from PTSD? I can see having depression but not having PTSD but my experience is that if you have PTSD depression is a part of it? :o
  11. LeRoy is a calorie controled diabetic. He was diagonised as diabetic, went on a diet, lost weight and so far he has not had to take medication for it. It's a pretty simple to test for diabetes. A fasting blood test will tell you if you have it and how close you are to developing it.
  12. TO ALL OF YOU WHO SUFFER FROM PTSD, MY HEART GOES OUT TO ALL OF YOU. lEROY'S STORY IS YOUR STORY. IT TOOK 10 YEARS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH LEROY AND ANOTHER 28 YEARS FOR ME TO CONFRONT HIM WITH WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM. HE WOULD NOT TALK ABOUT ANYTHING AND VIETNAM WAS A WORD NEVER SPOKEN IN OUR HOME BUT BELIEVE ME THE WHOLE FAMILY SUFFERED HORRIBLY BY THE ACTIONS HE DISPLAYED. WHEN I SOUGHT HELP FOR HIM STARTING WITH OUR MEDICAL DOCTOR HE WAS PLACED ON ANTIDEPERSENTS. THIS OPENED THE DOOR FOR HIM TO JUST SAY A LITTLE AND FOR ME TO GO TO THE VA FOR HIM TO GET HELP. I HAD NO IDEA OF WHAT C&P WAS. PART OF OUR PROBLEM IS THAT LEROY HAS NOT ADMITTED ALL AND IT IS COMING OUT IN BITS AND PIECES. EXAMPLE, OUR FIRST APPOINTMENT LEFT ME STUNNED WHEN LEROY ADMITTED FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR HIM TO SEE FACES OF THE DEAD SOLDIERS. MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS " HE SEES THINGS THAT AREN'T THERE" AT HIS COMP AND PEN THEY ASK HIM A QUESTION CONCERNING SEEING THINGS AND HE ANSWERED NO. I GUESS THE GOOD THING ABOUT ALL OF THIS IS THAT SLOW BUT SURE THINGS ARE COMING TO THE SURFACE. I JUST WONDER WHAT ELSE IS HIDDEN. WHEN ASK IF HE HAD BECOME VIOLENT WITH ME HE SAID NO WHICH IS TRUE BUT HE WAS VERY BAD WITH OTHER PEOPLE. IF WAS AS IF ONLY PART OF THE QUESTION WAS ADDRESSES. ONE THING FOR SURE, HE DOSEN'T HAVE TO LIE ABOUT ANYTHING NOR WOULD HE. I AM GOING TO HELP HIM IN PREPERATION FOR THE APPEAL OTHERWISE IT WOULDN'T GET DONE. NOW! HOW MANY OF YOU PEOPLE WOULD NOT OR COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOUR SPOUSE OR BEST FRIEND TO HELP YOU? THANKS, I FEEL BETTER NOW.
  13. PETE, WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY " SUPPORTED BY CURRENT MEDICAL " BERTA, WHO IS DR. BASCARINI PLEASE?
  14. On behalf of LeRoy, I can tell you that when he filed for PTSD I didn't know anything about the process and the claims officer didn't either. She is no longer there. When we recieved the letter to send in any support of claim, I wrote a letter for LeRoy and he told me what to put on his statement which just stated how he had been awarded the bronze star and just by chance the name of LeRoys commanding officer who was killed placing LeRoy in command to get out of the mess they were in. I just can't describe things like he can but I think you get the picture. I really had a hard time getting information from LeRoy and to make matters worse while I was asking him questions for the letter we sent in he turned pale and said " I have to go set down" so naturally I got scared and backed off on the questioning. I thoought he was going to have a heart attack. He now has had three stints put in his heart area. We also filed on that but have heard nothing on that yet. Anyways he was awarded 50% sc and we appealed it. This time I want to get it right and I truely feel he is entitled to 100%
  15. I HAVE A HEARING COMING UP SOON ON MY PTSD APPEAL. I WANT TO GO TO A PSYCHRIST FOR A MEDICAL OPONION. HOW OR WHAT DO I TELL THE DOCTOR THAT WILL HELP ME AND CAN ANYONE GIVE ME ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT I SHOULD KNOW?
  16. I AM S/C 50% FOR PTSD. I ALSO FILED FOR MY HEART CONDITION AS SECONDARY TO THE PTSD. I HAD TO HAVE THREE STINTS PUT INTO MY HEART AREA. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW THIS MAY BE RATED? I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND THE RATING RANGE.
  17. B) Interesting that some of the medical files were incomplete or missing. The same is true with my son. We got some medical records from off the ship but so far have nothing when he was on a cruise and almost died from the hives. He had to be med flighted off his ship and flown to another ship that was equiped with a hospital He spent 21 days in the hospital then was sent back to the ship and back to the fireroom again where he continued to have more breakouts. Heat is a major factor with hives. No one seemed to care that they actually put his life in danger. To this day he continues to have uticeria. Amazing how things are covered up or hidden
  18. :) Can you tell me if you are refering to June of 06 or 07 and do you know how the attorney is paid? I am confused on the VA paying to attorney fees
  19. Thanks to all who have responded. Guess what? I think I am getting the picture! I am printing out all replys and when my headache goes away I will start a new plan of action in regard to this matter.I will post as I make progress for those of you who care enough to give advise and let me know what worked for you.
  20. For all of you vets who suffer from ptsd my question; How do I get the hubby to go to treatment? It has taken 38 years to just talk a little about it and the last time I tried to get info he turned gray white in color,put his hand to his chest and said"I have to set down" Since he just had stints put in his heart vessels I thought he was going to have a heart attack and i really become afraid. The cover page sent with to us states " To complete your appeal, you must file a formal appeal VA form 9. Then it goes on to say" your appeal should address the benefits you want the facts in the statement of the case with which you disagree and the errors that you believe we made in applying the law." WHILE AT THE VA HOSPITAL YESTERDAY I FOUND OUT THAT A REP FROM THE MILWAUKEE VA OFFICE COMES TO THE HOSPITAL TO ASSIST AND ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING THE VETS ISSUES. I INTEND TO GO AND WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT AS I DID NOT KNOW IT EXHISTED UNTIL NOW AND MY SON HAS GONE THERE FOR 22 YEARS.!
  21. I am LeRoys wife and I am so glad that all of you have taken the time to give me an oponion of what has happened with the appeal for his ptsd rating. I guess I should be happy that LeRoy was awarded 50% the first time around and after a short wait of five months from the start of the claim to the decision. A little background on LeRoy; entered the army at 18,served for 9 years. He is what i and others would describe as a "mans man" as my brother described him. In Germany during the Berlin crisis, on standby for the Cuban crisis and 15 months in Vietnam.Left the military from Vietnam.Among medals he has the bronze star and galantry cross. I knew him prior to Vietnam and met up again with him four years after Vietnam. He did not come back the man he was prior to Vietnam. Our home was run military style and LeRoy had amd still has all the classic symptoms of PTSD. NIghtmares, flashbacks, people at work were very leary of him and his temper and after seeing his flashbacks and nightmares first hand I feared the word Vietnam because I did not know how he would react. He refused all counceling kept everything bottled up and to this day he to sleeps on the couch with the tv on.As he put it " i am used to sleeping with one eye open". He is unable to express love for me or anyone else and Let me tell you that when he was ask during the C&P exam about his ability to have feelings for me he stated no which is true yet I know somewhere in his heart he does 100% he just is unable to express it. He is a good man, honest, and has never laid a hand on me. He was a good worker, if fact he seemed to be driven by his job. Enough for today. Will write more later if anyone wishes more insight.I sometimes think I suffer from ptsd through him.
  22. I did go to the VA office to file for the 70% The rep there was the one who suggested that I file the nod. I will go through the reply again when the anger is a little better. Maybe those raters need to be sent to Iraq and follow some of our GI"S around for awhile. I am a Vietnam combat vet of 1967/1968 and I am just now facing what I and 1000's of other men and women went through to serve our country.
  23. Hi folks, I just got the denial for an increase from 50% to 70% for PTSD. I am really angry and want so much to blast the powers to be for just blowing off what I have gone through and what I still live with today. Because I choose to try and live a somewhat normal life and keep problems to myself and my wife I am not 70%. If I went to the c&p looking like a slob, denied that I do have contact with my sister and her husband it problbly would have made a difference. I intend to follow up on this but I really want to write a letter blasting the raters for being jackasses. Will it do me more harm than good to do so?
  24. Hello to all persons giving me feedback. Have I ever missed the boat as I should have filed for comp years ago. When I returned home from Nam I went to the VA and ask for help but was told I did not qualify for anything so I just dropped the subject.My wife was the one who finally said she had enough and after years of fear of even mentioning the word Vietnam she talked some sence into me. She took me in to the VA office and started a ptsd claim for which I got a 50% rating and it is now on appeal. I was in the corp of Engineers for 9 years and believe me I spent a lot of time on my knees. I have requested my service records and so I don't know what I will find in them. Is medical records the same as the military file or are there two seperate files. Oh am maybe someone would post abbrivations as when I read questions and answers I don't always know the meanings. Maybe T-bird would put together a page to access so other dumbies like me could use them as a cheat sheet!
  25. I have two knee replacements. Was in Vietnam for 15 months. My bones have broken down and are dying. I was in he military for 9 years,army. Does anyone believe it is service connected.Maybe AO?
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