hunter22375

I am a disabled veteran, after waiting almost 2 years to get my first rating of 30%, I used the services of the VFW to help in getting 100%, though not total and permanent. I was told at this time that 2 years from this 100% designation I would get a review and if my condition had not changed I would most likely be given the total and permanent so that my wife and children would have medical coverage. Shortly before the 2 year mark we moved involving a change in VA regions and because of this my 2 year review was pushed back 5 months. During this time I was having issued having my medications delivered to my home as they always had been, my records went missing, various offices were telling me I was assigned to different regions, and nobody would give me a straight answer about anything. One month before my 2 year evaluation I began calling to find out the appointment date and time since I had not been mailed the usual appointment notification letter, I was told by several people that I had no appointment on record and continued calling through the end of the month the appointment was supposed to take place in. Now one month ago I get a strange letter in the mail from the regional office I left more than 18 months ago, it was a summary of benefits and it stated that I was in fact total and permanent. I submitted to ChampVA for care for my wife and children and continued calling my current regional VA office to find out why I had not been notified of the sooner and to get an official award letter for future reference, again they were confused as to what region I was assigned to. Now I have also been told that as of yesterday (01-11-2001) I have a future appointment for my evaluation in August of 2009. Today I call the DVA to see if there is any way they can assist me in getting the paperwork I need and in informing the VA that I have in fact been living in my new region for quite some time only to find out that this letter saying I was total and permanent was a mistake sent out to numerous veterans and that the VA knows where I am and when they are ready they will find me. As far as I can see this is just a cruel joke that both the VA and DVA has been playing on me and my family. Like many others I have thousands in medical expenses for my family that have gone and will continue to go unpaid further destroying my credit and making it so that I may never again own a home, consider buying a new car, or have the security of having an emergency credit card. Additionally one of my children is classified special needs and her needs are going unmet, my wife has an ulcer that is going untreated, and my other child is anemic, also going untreated. What is even worse is that we are not eligible for public assistance in health care because the disability check we get puts us $1000/yr over the income limits. I am sure I am not the only story like this right now, I would guess I am one of hundreds if not thousands. Is there no help for people like us? Are we supposed to sit here broke watching our families suffer knowing that with each day our situation gets worse. I feel that I have done everything possible short of hiring a private lawyer to help but obviously a family of 4 with only the disability income the VA provides cannot afford a lawyer.