pearl

Congratulations Wally, persisistence and perserverence certainly paid off in your case. I'm sure you and your family deserve a long vacation to clear to the VA madness from your minds. Enjoy the win and take care of yourself! Pearl

Debbie, I'm happy that you and your family have gotten some of the things you needed for your home. I'm also glad that life is a little easier for you guys now. Congratulations! Pearl

Sorry it took so long for your win, but you can finally enjoy your deserved benefits. Congrats! Pearl

Congrats Rick, Alaska's a great place for Salmon fishing! I lived there for four years. This is the best time of year to be there, it's beautiful now. Thinking about making it my summer home Enjoy your victory. Pearl

You are absolutely right Berta- SAVE EVERYTHING! Pearl

Pete, I don't know if all the Med Centers offer this surgery. Bay Pines in St. Pete was doing them about two years ago.They had very strict requirements to be a candidate. You had to be referred by your PCP, and have a psychological exam. Also you have to had tried multiple weight loss strategies,( if you are like most of us you won't have a problem with this one)I have done lots of research on bariatric surgery, and the experts seem to believe that it is a really valuable tool for folks with diseases that are exacerbated or made worse by being overweight. You might want to call your closest VMAC to see if they offer it. Take care of yourself and the grands! Pearl

Wow, that's great. Congrats to the Vet and to you for helping him receive what he deserved. Pearl

John, remember that the C& P's and doctors notes are just a tool for the rating specialists. They still get to decide what degree of disability they feel you deserve. It is supposed to be governed by 38CFR, but we all know they can easily circumvent that. At my last C&P the ortho doc said that my rating for cervical radiculopathy would be between 10 and 30%, of course the rating specialist chose 10%. I believe it should be 30%, but I choose not to battle with them any longer over it. I'm not sure that not giving the percentage that you feel you deserve would be a CUE claim. As was stated earlier it must be a legal error that would cause your decision to be different. They've covered themselves pretty well. Also anytime you ask for a reconsideration of something they can legally go through your entire claim file, that is why many on the the other sites advise against this unless you are sure you have an airtight claim. I have Cued two of my past appeals and was successful. On the last one the wrong rating code was used and this caused me to received less retro in 2005. Also they failed to award me a secondary rating for my carpal tunnel syndrome. These both were legal errors. They changed the outcome of my decision and raised my rating another ten points (90%). Pearl

Berta, there always seems to be someone out there trying to get over on someone else. I'm glad you got it straightened out. Allan, I guess all these supposed charities have found another way to get to us. Thanks for the well wish. You're right, I believe the fight is never quite over with the VA. Pearl

Prayer is essential in my life, I'm glad everything worked out. Pearl

I found that by just putting my name in the search engine, posts from Hadit appeared. I found it a little unnerving at first, then I realized I'm not writing anything that I would not want others to read. Pearl

Thanks guys for all your well wishes. It is truly a good feeling knowing that I don't have to follow up on my claims any longer. Mssoup, I have been following your posts, and I'm really happy for your win. Berta, the retro is because I continued to appeal my decisions from my initial claim back in 2001. I will say to all, don't give up if you feel your claim is legitimate. You will surely succeed if you persevere, and follow all the good advice that this site offers. John, I agree with you even though I won't be filing any more claims, I will keep my eye on all VA news. Pete, Tbird, and Carlie again thanks, I will also continue to follow the posts on this site and will try to help where I can. You guys are all wonderful assets to this site and your help to me and others here has been immeasurable. Pearl

Hi everyone I received my decision today on the appeal of carpal tunnel syndrome and hypertensive heart disease. I was granted ten percent on the carpal tunnel and thirty percent on the HHD. I am already 100% IU perm and total so this just gives me some retro back to 2001. Thanks for all the great advice this site offers. I am finally done with the VA, and I'm sure they are glad of that, I know I am. I hope that all your claims work out the way you want and need them to. Pearl

Mike, success is sweet is'nt it. Congrats!! Pearl

:) That is a fast turn around especially for the VA. Congrats!! Pearl

Congratulations Terry! Now for some well earned rest. Pearl

Kirk, Wow that's a good win! Enjoy your new bennies, and do something nice for your wife B) . Pearl

Moe, I am happy for you. I bet it feels good to be able to take a break from the madness. Pearl

B) Great job Carrie!!

B) David you are so right. We all must be proactive if we want to win our claims. It has been said many times before, "no-one knows more about, or cares more about your claim than you." Thanks for helping those Vets with their claims. Pearl

Carlie, you have educated yourself in the practices of the VA. You have a great tenacity for your claim and others, and you have the heart of a winner. I am sure you did well. Relax and wait for your decision. You have already vowed to not give up! Pearl

Pete you are right. It will definitely save your family from some of the anxiety of planning a funeral. I too will be cremated, and like Wings want my ashes sprinkled into a body of water. Planning ahead is a compassionate thing to do. Pearl

Carolyn, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Please take care of yourself. Pearl

Congratulations Wayne! Tenacity and preserverance does pay off in the end. Pearl

Rich, I actually did not mention an age as some children graduate before eighteen and some after. I believe the VA asks you to certify that they are in school or not. I'm sorry that I did not make myself clear. What I was stating is that the Veteran can choose to continue to receive benefits based on the child's dependency(which will give the Vet a higher monetary benefit ) or let the child collect the benefits for college training themselves through chapter thirty-five, if the Vet is permanent and total.(which is the route I personally would choose as it pays more money to the child) I also believe that if your child does not go on to college or some other schooling after age eighteen you are no longer able to get the dependent pay for them from the VA .(unless you are a perm and total Vet then chapter thirty five comes into play) In other words there is a choice to made if you are perm and total as to which route you will choose.I am currently applying for chapter thirty-five benefits for my daughter, she is a sophomore in high school. They have sent me letters twice urging me to apply before she actually goes off to college, I guess even they realize how slowly the VA's wheels turn when granting benefits. Take care Pearl