Susan

Congratulations on getting a decision and some good news!! You are right, the vets and their families have waited too long. Good luck on a successful NOD.

Just a few thoughts, perhaps a police report could be obtained. Also court records if this went to court. How long would the military keep the recruiting station reports if they made a report. (I am thinking TAD is temporary duty) at the Recruiting Station. I would think that a District Attorney or Prosecutor would have had the medical information and damages. I hope that you will be able to prove your claim. Also, I have a friend that was getting 30 year old private hospital records sent to the VA. The VA requested it from the hospital and stated that they received it.

I remembered reading last year where several anginas were included in the definition of IHD. I read in the NVLSP Nehmer Training Guide and on page 14 found this: Definition of Ischemic Heart Disease According to Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine (Harrison’s Online, Chapter 237, Ischemic Heart Disease, 2008), ischemic heart disease is a condition in which there is an inadequate supply of blood and oxygen to a portion of the myocardium; it typically occurs when there is an imbalance between myocardial oxygen supply and demand. Therefore, for purposes of this regulation, the term “ischemic heart disease” includes, but is not limited to, acute, subacute, and old myocardial infarction; atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease (including coronary spasm) and coronary bypass surgery; and stable, unstable, and Prinzmetal’s angina. Since the term refers only to heart disease, it does not include hypertension or peripheral manifestations of arteriosclerosis such as peripheral vascular disease or stroke. There is also a rating section in the training guide. I did not find any mention of a stent, balloon, angioplasty or the like. Seems like my brother was denied for IHD stents. His decision stated he was already receiving a percentage because of DMII. I agree with chr49 that the records and doctor are the best way to know for sure.

TXNVYMOM I have had no personal experience in an appeal. Perhaps someone here more experienced will guide you on whether it is better to file an appeal or take another route which might be shorter. I do know that the DD-214 used to be filed with the county where the vet resided. The vet would file it themselves. I do not know how long that takes and whether that would work in time for you. The county courthouse might be able to file it quicker and get you a certified copy if that is what is needed. Is it possible that it was already filed by you or your vet when they were discharged? Recently, I went to a couple of Texas county courthouses and learned with the last document that if it is needed for a veteran claim there was no charge.

I agree with you Berta. There should be no "deadline" because there is very little communication about the new AO presumptives. The VA is not doing their part in contacting the vets or widows who are Nehmer class claims either. Just this week I got two more letters from VA telling me that they are looking at my claim for a "pension". A pension would be good, but when service connection and DIC are involved, I won't give up. I manage to hold up to full time employment and would not be eligible for pension anyway. There have been several times this year that they could have recognized my deceased husband and/or me as Nehmer and they never state that. With help from NVLSP and hadit I continue the claim. Through the years I kept up with Agent Orange and Nehmer. But, it was family members who encouraged me to go to a VFW claims meeting a year ago. I took my best friend who lost her vet husband to heart disease several years ago to that same meeting. With her newest claim she was recognized and as early as January 2011 they were to begin the "decision" on her claim. Our one year is up and she has not heard anything in the past six to eight months. Hopefully, she will receive good news soon. I feel sure there are many vets and widows that are eligible and have no idea about AO presumptives. Even some of those I talk to are hesitant to make a claim. Time is of the essence also. Getting that claim date stamped by August 30,2011 would be necessary. It took about nine or ten days to get the stamp on my claim last year. Or would date on the claim be good enough?

You are welcome, Fanaticbooks. Sorry for the added typing for you though. Like you said perhaps it will be easier to add and revise bits. I like that it spells out who the survivors are in all the prints. I plan to hold them accountable for that. As for the ships Chuck, I had seen lists before and did not remember the designations like LST and so forth on those lists. I mainly looked at the names of ships and where they were on the first lists that I looked at before. Wasn't sure, but hoped this list might help others. That first training guide is what helped me to continue with my claim. The group helping me didn't know what the guide was. The County VSO was new and had no experience with it. He told me that he would work with me, but warned that it would be his first. Susan

http://www.nvlsp.org/images/2011.02.10%20Nehmer%20Training%20Guide.pdf I was looking at the NVLSP site and found two interesting articles. Revised February 10, 2011: The VA's Nehmer Training Guide This guide is 167 pages. VA’s LIST OF SHIPS PRESUMED EXPOSED TO AGENT ORANGE IN VIETNAM (Updated 6/27/2011) note it states that this in no way limits ships to those on the list. http://www.nvlsp.org/images/ShipList6-24-11.pdf

The timeframe that I have experienced with NVLSP has moved along. I spoke with them in January and about a month later I got a letter from the VA about a claim that I filed. Per IRIS it turns out, it was not a claim. It was about NVLSP requesting the file and stated the C-file was being sent soon to the lawyers. Last contact in June, I was told that a complaint might be filed by the end of June. I still look for it to take time before getting a decision. Since you are the veteran, yours may move even faster. Very grateful and happy with NVLSP. Good luck for a speedy decision.

My condolences to you, your DH, and family.

Very happy for your success!! Always glad to see awards for everyone. This one is long overdue.

No, it has not been since forever. It has happened often. Usually at budget time, with those deciding the budget knowing it had to be there and paychecks were held up from the military. I remember it being in September/October usually. I feel good that it will be decided at the last minute. I do understand the feelings of those who worry and depend on their check each month and have no other way of making money because they are disabled. Those are good ideas from Cool Breeze and Pete.

To Interested: If you had understood my post then you would have seen that my only advice was to "investigate" and research. I am sorry that you did not understand that or the original post to begin with. Susan

This interested me, because I had a coworker who had gastric bypass and then diagnosed with hiatal hernia or hiatal hernia was suspected. I know gastric is stomach and CABG is heart. I did a search on the internet of hiatal hernia after CABG and saw this statement...... "the right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) has been used as a second reliable arterial graft for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)" I think you would be right to go over your medical records and investigate exactly what arteries were used in the graft. My guess is that any weakness of tissue or after removal of that artery could cause a hiatal hernia. Also research more on CABG and hiatal hernia. You might be able to find the connection or get doctor statements/IMO. Just my opinion. Good luck, Susan

Since you have been denied twice for Agent Orange/CAD, if the diagnosis or conditions are IHD (presumptive) then I would contact NVLSP.

Sounds like you were a Nehmer class or found to be a Nehmer class claim (previously denied for IHD). I have a friend who filed a year ago and their claim went from Texas to Seattle, Washington. My claim went from Texas to Minnesota, but as yet my claim has not been recognized as Nehmer. Nehmer claims are to have specialized reviews and adjudication. It is possible that the claims will be sent out of state or to a more specialized department. More agent orange,IHD,and Nehmer info can be found here at hadit. Others here will be able to answer and have more details. The Nehmer guidelines were helpful to me. Susan

Please be careful on what you do choose. I saw a program on PBS about some veterans and some of the most advertised colleges were just "recruiting" veteran students. One student had TBI and all were left pretty much in debt, without a degree. Transfer of credits were an issue also. One link might be: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/educating-sergeant-pantzke/ Good luck and you are doing the right thing to check them out.

I made my first trip to the Waco RO alone a few days prior to the beginning of this forum. Even though I had been there over a decade ago, my memory was gone as far as how to find the RO. It was very easy. Going in on I35 the street is marked and the building close to I35. Parking was easy. Inside the people were courteous. The crowd moved much faster than I expected. My reason for being there was hand delivering documents and getting them date and time stamped. I will say that the counselor was discouraging to me. Some of their remarks and the automatic discouragement were the only bad part of the experience.

This quote from kelley: "I challenged the Korean DMZ dioxin inclusive dates with the facts. While that has finally been changed recently to agree with the facts it is still not correct in the ending dates with the environmental half life of dioxins. As well as the starting date seems to be in question by many Korean Veterans." ********* I have wondered if the starting date for Korea would be pushed even further back. I feel it started long before the earliest date that Korean veterans have today. My deceased husband's father was in Korea. As was another veterans father who died young with a heart condition. Susan

Berta, yes I am the one and I did answer the questions. The Nehmer Training guidelines state that the surviving spouse is who is married to the veteran when they pass away. So, there should be no problem. VA just does not want to recognize that fact yet. I am mentioned throughout his medical records and claims as his spouse during the years that we lived together. I made mention yesterday that VA does not recognize common law and the couselor said that depended. They told me that if we had filed a common law document(since it is Texas)prior to our marriage then VA would have recognized the marriage sooner. NVLSP has been in contact with me for several months. I just wanted to see if I could get the C-file,,,,the entire C-file or even just see what they had. The RO sent only one of the two volumes after Don passed away. I do have a box full of his medical records. Don was part of the research studies at the VA for high cholesterol. He spent a week at a time going through the research programs. Then I have all his other medical records, both inpatient and outpatient. I expect it will still take time before a success, but I am very hopeful. And will not give up. That first denial that I got was what made me certain to never give up. I know someone who has been waiting for six months since her claim went to the Decision phase.

Thank you C.B. and everyone with suggestions. The trip went well. The C-file was not there,at least that is what I was told. That is okay. (Good news is it is supposed to be located where I had already asked for it). A lawyer has reviewed the C-file already. I did get all the papers submitted. Everyone was polite, friendly, and helpful. The wait time was very short. Waited perhaps fifteen minutes and spent 20 minutes or so with the counselor. The waiting room was moving at a smooth pace for everyone. Some people came out after their meetings and remarked as though they were getting the runaround. Not surprised at that. The counselor made statements to me like "What I have a problem with is........" The counselor told me that it looked "scarey to them" as to whether I would be a surviving spouse. I feel those statements should not be made to me or to anyone else. Especially when Nehmer guidelines state otherwise. Yes, NVLSP is reviewing my claim. I agree with John999 and Carlie that when someone wants to see their C-file, it is best to make an appointment. I went to the RO knowing that I would probably not see the file (eleven years after Don passed away). Delivering the paperwork as advised and just going to the RO was my agenda. Bronco, thanks for the heads up on being polite and positive. That helped and I remained calm and collected. Brokensoldier244th and S.Hardin have good points about not pulling the file while a claim is in progress and also about the VSO and a claim being offsite. All are important to think about. I will keep you updated.

Thanks all and especially to Pete. Good instructions. Some thing that I didn't think about also was the purse. I can make it easier for the guards to inspect than what I normally carry to work all the time. I feel better about the trip now. I am open to any other thoughts, concerns or comments as this might help anyone else that will be going to their RO. In my case, they just want me to go away :) I went with Don to a hearing at Waco with the Washington BVA or whatever that was. Seems like it was around 1995, but alot of that trip is forgotten by now.

I am making my first trip to the RO on Monday morning. I already know to get the date and time stamp on all documents that I hand deliver and get copies. I am hoping to physically look at my deceased husbands C-file. I do not have an appointment. This is Waco RO. Does anyone think that might happen? Any tips on how to handle the situation if they automatically try to discourage me from seeing the C-file. It is a three hour drive to the RO. I want to be prepared for what might ruin my chances and what might help. One post had mentioned OIG if all else fails. Do I ask for the phone number of OIG or do I need that before I go? Should be an A/O Nehmer widow (but not recognized yet). Will be soon. Will be grateful for any help. Thanks!!

I sent an iris request a few months ago and got a response in two days. The reason that I sent the request was because I had gotten a letter from the VA stating that they had received my claim. As far as I knew my claims had all been denied or put on hold. I wondered if a lawyer was making a claim for me. I asked and they had submitted no claim yet. I wondered if the VA was doing the right thing and had finally sent my claim to Nehmer after all. Iris responded that the C-file being sent was the reason for the letter. It was no "claim" after all, so I knew it was business as usual. Glad they sent the C-file and glad the Iris response came earlier than the normal 5 business days or whatever. TX RO, but not Houston. This is the only time that I have used Iris so far.

Very happy for your success!!! The award did come at a good time. I wish it could be sooner for all.