Lagin02

I know it can be extreme, it’s just that it’s like he lost his mind completely. He just stares off it space, sometimes for close to an hour at a time. The C&P examiner asked me if he was on drugs, which I know for a fact he’s not because he doesn’t leave the house.

I just got news earlier this evening that the C&P was turned in today. I am really hoping this gets the ball moving. Plus, I checked his e-benefits and his portal is finally fixed. They said last week they the C&P was all they needed to make a determination. I just hope it’s in his favor because I know a lot of veterans fight for years to get their benefits.

The VA is saying it’s PTSD, I’m not sure. It seems too extreme. I think the therapy that aggravated it instead of helping. This form is what pisses me off the most. He filled this out within a year of getting home from that deployment. It literally says on the form that he should have been sent to behavioral health. He could have gotten help back than and instead they did nothing. The psychiatrist said the longer they go like this the harder it is to treat. It so frustrating.

I was reading that too. I’m going to check into this tomorrow. I just have to figure out who to call. Transitional assistance maybe? Or his command? I don’t even know who that would be. He just transferred to a new unit a couple months before all this. He was fired from his job so I don’t know if that makes a difference. He had worked there for 8 years with no issues but according to his boss, customers started complaining he was “unfriendly” and “off-putting.” I think it was the staring off that scared them.

He is being paid for the drills he can’t attend. It comes out to about $320 a month. I am thankful for it though because it is the only reason our electricity hasn’t been shut-off and my son has diapers.

The forms they gave him are below. I’m not sure if this is TDRL.

I’m not sure what TDRL is but they gave him a paper signed by his commander that said Disability Counseling and it required his initials on about 16 statements. One of them said that “you incurred or aggregated a condition during training.” I’ll see if I can find it and post what it looked like. They are working on getting him something called an LOD? I did get some good news about an hour ago. The C&P was finally turned in so hopefully we will see some movement soon!

In that circumstance I would agree that an abortion is justified to prevent further suffering to the baby. However, I believe that this is more of a question related to the moral question of euthanasia to prevent suffering than it is to abortion. Fetal abnormality is a relatively rare circumstance. Even if it wasn’t, I do not think it should be used to justify a blanket law that allows late-term abortion for any reason. Why not specify that late-term abortion is only permitted in circumstances of fetal abnormality or risk to the mother’s life? After all, “right to die” laws do not allow a perfectly healthy adult to be assisted in committing suicide. Late-term abortion related to fetal abnormality is not even among the top five reasons cited by woman who have them according to a study done by Guttmacher Institute (A pro-choice organization). The statistics tell a much different story than what is being used to justify the need for such a law. In 2013, 1.3% of abortions were late-term (<21 weeks) according to the CDC. This number is probably very low considering there is no national requirement to data submission or reporting. According to the Guttmacher institute, approximately 926,200 abortions occurred in the U.S. that year based on a study utilizing surveys. While on the surface 1.3% seems like a small number, when you compare it to the number of abortions it is equivalent to approximately 12,000 abortions that occurred after 21 weeks. To put this in perspective, by 21 weeks a baby can recognize its mothers voice, is often seen in the womb sucking on its thumb, has established its gender, and can feel pain (while some say this is not true, a premature baby born at this point in development is given pain medication in NICU). A mother can feel the baby moving and even feel when the baby has hiccups. At 22 weeks, a baby has a 23% survival rate with medical intervention according to the New England Journal of medicine. By 26 weeks (the cut-off for late term abortion in most states) the baby has an 80% chance of survival outside the womb and is practicing breathing, has hair and eyelashes. By 28 weeks, a point in which a few states still allow late-term abortion, if not killed before removal, the baby would have a 96-98% survival rate. Additionally, some argue that the 1.3% is a very low number as most states do not require reporting of abortion statistics. Some states even allow infants born after failed abortions to have care withheld from them. From 2003-2017 the CDC reported 143 cases of failed attempted abortions. This number is ridiculously low because most states do not report these numbers and even the ones that do only report the ones that are given a death certificate. According to Arizona Health and Human Services from August to December of 2017, 10 babies were born alive after abortion attempts ended in live births in just Arizona. According to the Agency for Health Care Administration, from 2017-2018, 15 infants were born alive after attempted abortions in Florida alone. As science as advances, we understand so much more about fetal development. In addition, infants have much higher rates of survival when born premature and are allowed medical intervention. The initial ruling on abortion by the Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade allowed for abortion until viability but it was also made with a fraction of the scientific knowledge we have today related to fetal development. A baby at 21 weeks looks like an infant. It is not a tadpole, it is a human life worthy of value and protection. My argument is simple: if late-term abortion is necessary for cases of fetal abnormality, than why not just craft the law to only allow abortion in such circumstance? This argument is one of euthanasia to alleviate suffering, if anything else. If it is a risk to a mother’s health, they would simply induce labor and it is called “premature birth.” My son was born premature because I developed preeclampsia. I strongly feel that we are on the wrong side of history with this one. A society that justifies the killing of it’s most innocent members is not headed in a moral direction. References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reproductive Health. Data and Statistics: https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm Guttmacher Institute: https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2013/11/who-seeks-abortions-or-after-20-weeks Arizona Numbers: https://azdhs.gov/documents/preparedness/public-health-statistics/abortions/2017-arizona-abortion-report.pdf Florida numbers: https://ahca.myflorida.com/MCHQ/Central_Services/Training_Support/docs/LiveBirthsByCounty_2018.pdf Foster, D. & Kimport, K. (2013) “Who Seeks Abortion’s At or After 20-Weeks.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 45:4 Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1363/4521013

I am sorry it took so long to reply, I have been on the phone constantly. Senator Stabenaws’s office never responded to me. I am waiting to see if I hear from Senator Peter’s and the governor’s offices. The Detroit Regional office said they would look into and get back to me. The C&P’s office said to follow up with them if the report is not complete by the 31st of August. MBHV (on one of the resource links you provided) is willing to pay my gas bill but I’m waiting to see if the VA gets this resolved before it gets cold. I really don’t need gas now but I will in the winter. I don’t want to use up a resource that unless it’s actually necessary. It’s just a waiting game.

This is exactly my point. You and Geeky Squid are able to have two fundamentally different opinions on religion but still respect the others right to believe in what they choose to believe. I also agree with the political notion that my rights end with they violate yours and vice versa. I am also a believer but I do feel that it is a personal choice that I shouldn’t try to push on others. I don’t oppose late term abortion on religious grounds but on moral ones. Because I view it as a life, I feel that it grants it the same constitutional protections as the mother, one of those being the right to life. Just as I would if a hospital wanted to remove someone from a breathing machine because it was inconvenient to pay the medical expense for a couple months before the person was able to breath on their own. These are the types of discussion we should be able to have freely and respectfully with each other. How will we ever progress as a nation if we close our ears to opinions that differ from ours and label those with opposing beliefs as evil? Im not saying you or geekysquid are doing this but this is what our political landscape has turned into. It is the far-right and the far-left that have monopolized the conversation and taken it to the extreme. I think most people believe in taking care of those that are vulnerable, protecting individual freedom, and creating an equal society. The disagreements tend to stem from what policies and laws should be in place to ensure we balance these things. We will never be able to come to a consensus without open and respectful communication.

I am definitely more liberal in regards to social safety nets, protection of vulnerable populations, and issues related to equality. When I say far-left I mean extreme left polices like teaching kids there is no such thing as gender or making college classrooms “safe spaces.”

I wish this was my experience! Perhaps it was the school I went to or the field that I choose that colored my experience. I still think that education is essential not only for your future endeavors but also your own personal growth. I also don’t believe that my professors had evil intentions but I do feel that they were inundated so extremely left that they started to take opinion as fact. The same way those that are far-right take things to the extreme. A couple examples of my experiences: I was called a “gender traitor” by my crisis intervention professor for requesting that I be excused from signing the pre-course contract because it stated “I agree to respect and abide by the following rules and universal truths: which listed stuff like this class is a safe space and agreeing to use trigger warnings. The only one I disagreed with and the reason I felt I couldn’t sign was “abortion is a basic human right.” I requested to be excused because I don’t believe in late term abortion expect in situations where the mothers life is at risk. I didn’t feel like that was a super conservative statement. I just personally feel that this is the point during fetal development where the fetus is not a “clump of cells” and is a human life with the ability to feel pain. I guess because I view it as a human being at this point which in my mind grants it certain rights that are not morally superseded by the convenience of the mother In my cultural diversity class our syllabus stated “if you are male, cyst-gender, white, and/or straight, please check your privilege at the door”’ I do not feel that these things guarantee you any form of privilege. I am white but I grew-up poor, I was extremely physically abused (broken bones at the age of 6 level abuse), and was not gifted with natural intelligence. Reading was my escape as a kid which and is probably what saved me from the same path as my parents. In my social psychology class it was a requirement that we let “students of color” (*their choice of wording not mine) speak first because their will be “zero tolerance for marginalization of vulnerable groups” and one guy was removed from the class for stating “he doesn’t see people as colors” because this is somehow inherently racist. Im not saying it’s all my professors, some of them were great! I am a firm believer in the importance of education and it’s not that these issues made it impossible for me to be educated but I learned quickly to keep my mouth shut when I disagreed in certain professors classes. I just wish that we had been able to have open dialogue because I believe that is an important part of learning.

I always felt that the rest of our society could learn something of tolerance from the our veterans and service members. My degree is in Human Service (probably the reason I can’t make enough to pay for daycare) and when I was in school it was like they try to indoctrinate you into the far left. I’m not far right either but I do fall conservative on some issues. There is absolutely zero tolerance for such beliefs in liberal academia. It just breaks my heart to see how our country is tearing itself apart. How can we come to any sort of compromise if we can’t even be respectful to each other? Somehow our veterans and service members have found a way to work together for a common purpose despite their many differences.

Oh my goodness! That is hilarious!

Thank you! I have added this to my list for tomorrow: Email leadership at Detroit Regional Office Contact clinical director for C&P & Call several of the resources you suggested I haven't tried. If all else fails, contact the media. You both have been so kind and helpful . Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I will let you know what happens!

Thank you! I am going to do everything you suggested. You have been an angel!

That is what scares me the most about this situation. Stuff can be replaced but my husband and my kids father is irreplaceable. I feel selfish for not just sending him to the in-patient program for his safety but I am afraid of going to a shelter alone with my kids. I have no clue what to expect and I won’t survive if something happens to one my kids. If I lose him over this, I will do everything in my power to make sure someone is held accountable.

I did call once a couple weeks ago but it was a Tuesday and the operator said they are in training that day. I didn’t want to throw the guy under the bus because they said he was at the doctor when I drove there after not being able to get in contact with him which is why I think he may be sick. I’m going to call them first thing Monday so I can try to sort this out. I’ll also make sure they know we have children. As soon as my computer charges I’m going to forward the letter I wrote to Stanbinaw on to the other senator and the governor. I just keep telling myself that each dead end is just one step closer to a solution. You have been so helpful!!! Thank you sooo much!

The DAV. I think the VSO may be sick. He was a Vietnam veteran and he said he was in kidney failure from Agent Orange. I don’t want to throw him under the bus because I can only imagine how terrible that must be.

I did that too! The girl on the White House line I spoke to told me she’s so sorry and she doesn’t know what to tell me to do. She couldn’t put in a complaint because “technically the VA didn’t do anything wrong.” There’s just no program for this. I’m going to follow up with the governor and the other senator like you suggested. I wrote to Stabinaw because met her at a Vetfest I was a resource provider at last year but that was shortly before election time so I think she was just putting in an appearance. Thank you so much for the advise! I sincerely appreciate the time you took to read and respond to all this.

The guy I talked to at the VA on Friday said “it’s not like we’re sitting here twittling our thumbs. It’s already been flagged for hardship, you just have to be patient, the ETC is November.” At that point, I started crying because it was September before I expedited it. I told him it’s hard to be patient when you children are about to be homeless and I asked him if there was a process for contacting us when we are homeless since they won’t be able to mail anything to us and he just said “no, is there anything else I can help you with?” I don’t know who was worse, this guy or the lady from the VA homeless line who said that they could put my husband in transitional housing but me and the kids would have to “find somewhere to go.” How is there no program for this situation? I’m assuming it happens pretty frequently with the wait times.

SSVF requires that you are able to maintain your finances after they assist you. I tried contacting them when our gas got shut off last month (not a super big deal because only our dryer runs on gas and I can hang dry clothes) and the HUD-VASH program requires you have income. Veteran support grant takes 90 days and they also require you be able to support yourself if they pay what’s past due. Volunteers of America is the one that gives out HUD-VASH certificates which we don’t qualify for due to not having any income but they can place my husband in a shelter. I have found two that can help but one takes 6 months which I don’t have (VFW homes) and the other (Vets Returning home) is a shelter but we can stay there together however there aren’t any woman or kids that typically stay there. My only hope is that he gets his disability approved before the end of September. They are estimating it at September until I filed for it to be expedited for hardship then they added 2 more months so November. Do you think there’s no hope it could be done before September?

I didn’t think about that! I will send it to them tonight too. We live in white lake which is in Oakland county.

I’m sorry for the delay in my response, I still need approval by the moderator. No, he is not rated. This is his first and only claim. He is already in treatment at the VA which is what aggravated the symptoms initially and now they want him in-patient because of the suicidal thoughts but in a program funded by wounded warriors in Chicago.