So glad I found this forum. When my husband ETSd this past May...nobody really told him to what extent he needed to go through in filing his claims. Letters from doctors? We had no idea about ANY of that. He just filled out the paperwork and sent it off. We called month after month asking the VA when the heck his Dr. apt. was, they said "Oh it should be in about six months,just be patient, just wait." So SEVEN MONTHS LATER, we get a huge envelope in the mail, YES! Its about his doctors appt! WRONG! We were entirely SHOCKED to see that it was the VA, denying all his claims, WHAT? Apparently he missed his appt. which was MAY 1ST. So when he called them asking about his appt, they didn't even look up to see that he had missed it? They never even notified by phone email or mail about his appt. So we called, and they did not give us a clear answer on what to even do. Its totally disheartening. So we raced to the Federal Building downtown (45 minutes from our house)after we received the letter and didn't get anywhere with them on the phone, my husband was on the phone with the VA. in rush hour traffic. We rush in, to be turned away by some fat security officer because apparently the VA doesn't accept people 15 minutes before closing time. it was 3:44. I cried the entire way home.
He is an OIF and OEF Combat Vet who has seen a lot of sh*t. ALOT. Has a crappy back now, he can't even bend his toes. He doesn't sleep,like ever. He just floats through each day, somewhat of a zombie. I have FINALLY talked him into going to the Vet Center to get counseling. He stopped taking his anti-depressants. So when we got the huge envelope, we thought we had caught our break. It is hard for him to keep a job. I just can't believe this happened.Honestly. So we called the DAV, and some guy seemed pretty confident we would figure it out. But honestly, I just don't trust anyone at this point. And I am really not sure what we should do, since filing an appeal takes months/years. I had no idea they would take the time to even process a claim without the Vet even being at their Dr. Appt.
Please help us, I am trying to put this into God's hands, but here I am on Saturday night surfing the internet for answers.
-Ann