VetsLady

I tried to fix it but am out of time, doctor appt. Will check in later and see what I can do to resolve my err's.

It takes a few months for the current cases to be listed on the BVA site. Once a decision is made, then it goes to typing and quality control and well, it might be a few weeks or a couple of months. I hope for your sake, the sooner rather than the later. I know all too well the angst of waiting for the decision. Good Luck.

Whatabout the VA for letting this crook slip through the cracks ? With these kindsof disabilities its pretty hard to "fake it" ....... How does aVeteran "fake" TBI ? Who let THAT through ? He should be doingmore time than that AND volunteering in Veterans center so he can see and hear1st hand what a disability is .......just as "Justrluk" said. Disgraceful. Shame on the VA for letting this getthrough ...... I wonder how many more there are ? If there is one, there aretwo. Geez, I got a little shook up and posted in html .....except, now I don't knowhow to delete the prior response. I'mtrying this post one more time …..

Okay, my feelings are very jumbled and my mind doesn't work when that happens apparently.......I can't figure out how to get out of html. I'm fired up for sure. Especially after how many Veterans, including my own hero, fight so long and so hard on their disability claims.

Outstanding news ! Thanks for sharing !

You are entitled to 100% VA medical care and prescriptions when you are 50% or above. Dental care comes with a 100% sc. At 24 years old, you seem to have a strong desire for a positive future. I applaud you and wish you well. And, Thank you for your service...

By the way, the ChampVA benefit begins the day you were effective at 100% - For example, the VA granted an effective date of February 1, 2010, THAT is the date your ChampVA benefits are effective AND you can go back and recoop any covered medical expense, deductibles, medical co-pays and prescription co-pays back to that date. If you didn't have your family covered on a health plan and paid any $ out of pocket, any covered expense can be reimbursed at the ChampVA allowable amount. Let you award sink in a bit, relax awile and enjoy. If you do anything first, let it be the application for ChampVA and the life insurance benefit as the premium is waived for the 1st $10,000. Then, gather all of your families prior allowable medical expenses, you will need the Explanation of Benefits (EOB's) and an itemized statement to send in with your claim form to ChampVA. As the application is being processed I would suggest you gather the documentation of out of pocket expenses as they give you 180 days to submit the claim....even if its not complete (such as a missing statement from a doctor) --- the clock starts over at that point and you'll have 1 year to send in the missing documents (if there are any). I started by getting the insurance company EOB's first and requested a statement from the providers I identified on the EOB's. Chapter 35 benefits for education begin the day you request, they will explain it all to you. And, don't forget, there are base privileges for you now also, like the commissary. You need specific identification to get your base card ID and I would suggest you give your local military base a phone call prior to going down to save an additional trip down if you are missing something. Congrats again !!!

I so enjoy reading these stories...... There are numerous other benefits that go along with a 100% award such as Chapter 35. Absorb your victory and good job on the SS also !

P.S.S. -------- Papa, I did find a few others but the price was in the plus $50 range. The link I sent you for Bed, Bath and Beyond might be worth trying out to see if it will do the job for you. Looks like it's pushing one button. I found one that attaches to the wall also.

Papa, I found something for you and it's $9.99 --- See the link below: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=16719552&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=toothpaste+dispenser&utm_campaign=Broad& And, the VA should reimburse you but for $9.99 it's probably not worth putting a claim in ;-) Plus, you could do a mail-order so you don't have to hassle with the driving. How do you type ? My husband has PN very bad and finds it to be very hard to type, so I bought a computer program called "Dragon" for him to speak into and it types his letters, emails AND corrects them ! My brother has MS and his scribble has never been readable but with email he can speak into it would make it so much easier for him. When he types, it's easier for US to read his writing but it does take him a long time to type. Dragon would work great for him also. P.S. I bet there is a toothpaste dispenser that would "automatically" dispense, just like an automatic soap dispenser would. Let me peek around and I'll send you another link.

Thank your for your responses everyone. He is already sc'd for illness/disease from exposure to AO in Vietnam and in-country service has already been established and responsibility accepted by VA for same by way of a Rating Decision from over 3 years ago. Why they are requesting he "prove" exposure and service in Vietnam AGAIN is outrageous and a huge error on the VA's part. I politely referred them to their Rating Decision. A perfect example of someone pushing print before reading and/or not reading at all. I have GERD now from dealing with all this BS.

Right on John ! He was there, boots on ground, top secret clearance and the military didn't document it however, we did prove it and the VA did sc him a few years back with AO related issues. This latest letter (from VA Nehemer "team" ) requested he prove it and we wrote them and the exposure in Vietnam issue is cleared up. All I did was refer them back to their own decision of over 3 year ago. It's a moot subject and why they asked him again is beyond ridiculous !

Husband is scheduled for QTC exam soon. Fill in QTC form asks a few questions: Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) ? Mycardial Infarction ? Coronary Bypass surgery ? Heart Transplant ? Implanted Cardiac Pacemaker ? Implanted Automatic Implantable ? Cardioverter Defribillator ? Is continued treatment required for IHD or IHD related conditions ? Also, on page one ...... requests to the examiner for an Opinion ? (no) Husband has definitive diagnoses of: right bundle branch blockage, coronary artery disease and hypertension. also, DM2 and AO exposure has been established, although in a recent letter the VA asked him to again "prove AO exposure" and we referred them to THEIR rating decision that clearly establishes AO sc for DM2 and PN. Any thoughts or ideas on this questionnaire are appreciated. Thank you ....,

Berta.....It is ridiculOUS ! They did an exam for the increase of PN in Jan of this year, that claim re-opening is in the decision phase. Now, they are scheduling him for an IHD exam specifically. With the PN exam they did a Doppler, EKG, echocardiogram and chest X-ray. I just got off the phone with QTC and they are scheduling him for the IHD exam as they have questions about his heart condition......, Speaking with the QTC gal was like talking to a wall. What tests do they perform on an IHD claim ?

Imagine the music from Flashdance .....Ready ? OH what a FEELING !!!!! Yippeeeeeeeeee !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like you still have a bit of work in front you but knowing he is now P&T, whew !

Yep, I know what he goes through. My husband also takes the Gabapentin along with a strong pain medication the pain is soooooooo bad. Much worse at night. Good Luck to you too Don. ;-)

I don't have MD after my name but have lived with and cared for my diabetic husband for many years. I'm with you on this......DMII, CAD/IHD -- all related. Sticky blood, shrinkage of the coronary arteries, more pressure on the heart to pump the sticky blood through, build up of plaque, oh my gosh .... the list goes on and on. Add hypertension to the picture. There is no doubt about it, according to the endocronologist my husband has seen for years that his CAD, PN, IHD is all related to the DMII. Connect the dots. It's ridiculous what they put our Veterans through to prove their cases. I get it and get why, but geez...it's really horrible. For instance, here we are, 3 years AFTER he received his sc for DMII and related conditions (which have all worsened), we have proved beyond a shadow of doubt that he was exposed to AO --- if we hadn't, they would't have sc him for it, right ? In the mail the other day is a big brown envelope with a nice long letter " We need you to send us proof you were in Vietnam and exposed to AO".... and this is from the Nehmer team ! It was my sincere pleasure to respond with "Refer to your Decision dated such and such." What the ________ ? I'm just thinking, okay, I'll be kind and courteous.....oh, it must have been a mistake on your part VA, please correct this. And, they did.

Momma said no question is ever a dumb one, so here goes ...... "Do you have any other illnesses or diseases that are sc that ARE related to AO exposure ?" My husband has DMII related to AO and he is sc for PN in all 4 extremities, although his legs and feet have become much, much worse since he was sc for the DMII and he does have CAD & Hypertension, neither of which are sc. We've reopened his claim and there is a claim for the increase in the PN. He takes 2 medications for the PN and some days, he can't walk. The good days he walks with a limp. Worse thing about PN is you can't "see" it .... like a bruise. He has described it to me, saying it feels like his legs are on fire from the inside out. BTW, what do you think the doctor meant --- "treatable cause" ? Funny term, never heard that one. PN is horrible, I wish you well.

My thoughts exactly. They puled anemia out of there also as anemia can be a symptom/side affect of Luekemia. When he filed all those years ago, he was anemic but not from Luekemia, from chemo for another condition for which is he now 100% sc for. The former Rep had us list each and every ailment he had. When I think about it now, it was like throwing in a dozen poles to maybe catch 1 fish. Needless to say, we dropped them like hot potatoes when they didn't show up for his BVA hearing....a person was there, but they didn't have his info, his file updates, nada. Veterans staying as well informed as they can about their claim is the big lesson we learned the long and hard way. On the IHD, they need another examination ........... he had an extensive workup earlier this year. Guess the VA wants to turn over every stone and leaf so they don't miss anything that might come back to bite them in their hind ends. Thank you for the support. At least this time around I have a much better understanding of how the who's do their whatevers !

Here we go, on the hamster wheel ride again. Already established boots on ground in Vietnam, sc for AO related conditions since April '08 and today we rec'd a request to prove my husband was in Vietnam. He is part of the Nehmer action, has hypertension that was denied several years ago (when we had a not so hot VSO who didn't file a Form 9 with hypertension on it, at least they listed the meat of the claim)....so we're at square peg No. 1 on the hypertension again. His recent decision granting him P&T at 100% doesn't mention hypertension however it was reopened with new evidence in August 2010. The P&T decision stated hypertension and increase of PN is deferred. VA is getting around to working on the rest of his claim now. He went through an extensive QTC exam in early this year and they have all of those records. The last VCAA notice we sent in, we told them to rate it now, we have no other information at this time. If he gets a 0% rating on the hypertension that is fine and dandy. It's ratable though, but getting it sc is much more important at this point. His Mets are not too low but his BP is high even on medication. Can he exercise ? Not without severe pain in his feet and legs from the PN. The PN is currently rated at 10% each lower extremity but that was from 2008. Currently, he has to take 2 medications to keep the pain dulled. What and Why could they possible need him to verify and prove he was in Vietnam when it's already been established and rated ? I politely referred them to his rating decision from April 2008 stating so. THIS makes me wonder, Do the Raters really read the pertinent information in the file ? If they missed this, their own decision, what else could they miss from a Veterans claim file ? At least we can hope the double checks and balances the VA supposedly does would have caught this but, then I don't really know. Most importantly, it does prove that Veterans and/or their spouses/helpers, etc. must be on top of the file and know what is going on. I'd be interested in any thoughts anyone might have....?

YES !!!!!!! Woo --- Hooo ! Doing the happy - happy dance for you !

Excellence !!!!!! As someone said earlier, sorry it took this to get you here but you are here now. 100% brings with it many benefits, including ChampVA, base privileges, etc. So happy for you PapaW and for your family ! Let it absorb and then get all the benefit information you can for a 100% sc that you can. Congratulations !!!!!!!!!!!

baca ! Congratulations on receiving your decision and for dealing with your panic disorder. I have a bit of panic disorder myself (I'm not a Veteran) and your church comment made perfect sense to me ....... now I understand WHY I don't like going through drive through fast food places (which is rare, rare) --- I can't get out of line ! But, going through the bank drive through is fine for me as I don't like going into the bank .... I was robbed once and well, thats more likely than not when the panic disorder started. You have full care at any VAMC, dental at the VAMC, no charge for RX, travel expenses paid for round trip to doctor appts at the VAMC, minus an $8 co-pay, not sure what the mileage $ is, someone here might know. I know for us, we get $8.11 for a round trip visit. ChampVA is available for your wife and children. When you get your official notice from VA on the decision, there will be information in there for ChampVA and what to do. You'll have to enroll them into the program AND you can receive retroactive reimbursements for ALL medical and/or prescription costs you incurred for your spouse and children, minus the premiums....or, if they were uninsured and you incurred costs, you would still be eligible for reimbursements. THIS was a HUGE surprise to me when I enrolled......and you betcha, that was one of the first things I did after I was enrolled..... Life insurance, first 10K premium waived. You'll have to apply ..... it will be in your benefit notification. Base privileges - like commissary, base exchange. You will need to get your card first, and when you do...ask exactly what information you need to get a card for your wife and make an appt. Educational Benefits for your family, your wife and children. And, some states waive the tuition and the VA will pay them to attend college. Many states also waive or greatly reduce your vehicle licensing fees and will reimburse you for the prior year. Also, if you own your home, many Counties offer reduced property taxes for 100% sc Veterans. State and National Park pass - no charge. Fishing and hunting license, no charge or reduced. Once Again, Congratulations on receiving a favorable decision and I wish you continued wellness in dealing with your health and the sense of security you now have for your family is immeasurable.

Wonderful - Wonderful News ! Nothing makes up for good health, but at least you have some comfort knowing you are rated at 100% If you have dependents, they are entitled to ChampVA and you have dental with the VA now, plus many, many other benefits. ChampVA will even reimburse you for out of pocket medical/RX expenses (minus the premium) for your dependents, back to the date you were give your effective date at 100% -- If that was 2 years ago, then that is where ChampVA kicks in from. Doing the happy dance for you !!!!!

My heart is with you as well Delta, you have honored your Father each and every day. Thank you for your caring heart and the love you share.