mrs rockman (widow of vet)

Fantastic News!!

CONGRATULATIONS to you BM6546 and thank you very much for your service! Celia

Congratulations on your increase and thank you for your service! Celia

I will keep my fingers crossed for you. It does sound like you may be getting some very good news soon. If so, Flatbroke may not be so "flatbroke" anymore! Celia

Hey, even turtles are much faster than the VA is....this is not acceptable, but this is the "system" as broken down as it is!!! David's SSD claim was approved in 33 days!! We used his VA records and also his private sector records, so approval can be done in a timely fashion...if they want...and we all know the answer to this!! Timely fashion is not in VA's vocabulary...it is in their own sweet time and not to the benefit of the Veteran!! VA's Moto is to wait wait wait..then wait some more and hopefully the veteran will die off and no family member will pursue the claims. Now, the VA has more money for bonuses and more!! So much needs to be done with this!

Congratulations to you SSGmajik!! You can now relax and know your wait is finally over. Just try and put back a little for a "rainy day"! Thank you for your service! God Bless! Celia

Here is a big CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU, Spartan3!! Enjoy your victory and put a little back for a "rainy day". Thank you for your service, Sir!! Celia

I live in West Tennessee and my husband was seen at the Memphis VAMC. We had a friend that was closer to Memphis, but chose to go to Nashville. He kept trying for us to transfer to Nashville mainly because of the excellent care that he received there. We would have had to drive 2 hours to a PCP versus a 20 minute drive, so we had to stay put. Rockman could not handle the long drives. Even though Memphis gets a lot of bad wrap, his doctors and nurses were great and for that I am thankful! The Nashville VA does work with Vandy doctors and they are top notch. I guess I may be a little partial to Nashville, since I was born at Vandy and grew up in Nashville. I do not know much about Murfreesboro, so I cannot comment on it. Murfreesboro is close to Nashville and has grown up so much in the past years and has lots there. You definitely would not be in the sticks. My best advice is to go and visit both of them. Check out the different departments that you would need and just see what your gut feeling is on both of them and then go from there. Also drive around the area and check things out. Best of luck, Celia

I got this earlier today from UT Medical Group in Memphis. I had a hard time getting it saved and I hope that this link will pull it up. The VAMC in Memphis uses UT doctors, but I do wonder if VA will even give this a second thought!?! Celia UT Medical Group Inc. Health Library - Agent Orange Tied to Lethal Prostate Cancer - News, Journal Notes - 857798.htm

My thoughts and prayers are with you, Dan. I also say, Hang in there and keep us up to speed with everything. Celia

Congratulations are headed your way. Take care and enjoy! Celia

All I can say is AWESOME!! I am so very happy for you and it has been a long time coming!! Enjoy the fruits of your labor and just tuck a wee bit back for yourself! It looks like you are putting this retro to good use.Thank you thank you for your service! Celia, Mrs. R

Fantastic news for you, Maset!! A big CONGRATULATIONS are being sent your way!!! What a well deserved victory!! Now relax, let it all soak in, and enjoy!!! As always, spend wisely and try to "tuck" some back! Celia, Mrs. R

Thank you Berta. You are so way more knowledgeable than I am and such a help. I am just going by my own experience, but none the less experiences. Until you mentioned it, I had completely forgotten about requesting a hard copy email of the IRIS. They ask you if you want it by phone, regular mail or an email. I always choose the email option mainly because I can get it sooner and have it in print for my back up files. I guess my brain did not get enough coffee this morning... oh yes, and no chocolate yet in my system! Celia

I can tell you Kimberly, your poem touched me in such a way that I cannot express. Thank you so very much with wanting to share this with us, but I know it was not an easy thing to do, but probably the right thing to do. What an honor to your husband! I can tell you that I am just beginning to learn what things need to be addressed and how not to ignore them. I rely so much on this site and Berta is so knowledgeable and such a good reference. We are so fortunate for her expertise and she has helped so many of us here. By Berta refusing to not give up just tells us widows that we should NEVER GIVE UP!! If there is JUST ONE unanswered question out there....DON'T IGNORE, BUT EXPLORE!! God Bless! Celia

kimmig- 17 months is inexcusable for anyone, even for the VA!! My heart goes out to you and to be honest I had to wait awhile after I read your post to be able to just reply to it. My husband passed away on Sept. 2, 2012, but I waited until I had the death certificate in hand ( the end of Sept.) before I filed. He died from his service-connected disability. When I did my claim, I sent in the death certificate along with a copy of the 100% award letter. My problem was that on the claim where it had "have you re-married", I failed to check this box "no" ( and my VSO did not even see that it was not marked). Right under that showed that my last marriage ended in death, but they have to have every line marked off one way or the other. I called the 800 Peggy line one day and inquired as to what the hold up was. She said that she was going to an IRIS for me. It was about a week or less later and Milwaukee called me on a Saturday and asked me if I had remarried, since that box was not checked. I told her about the IRIS inquiry and she said that she knew about it and then she took my file off her desk and looked at it. WOW, if the IRIS had not been done, it probably would have still sat there. On Monday right after she called, my DIC was approved. You did not mention it, but did you ever do an IRIS inquiry on your claim? Since you have heard from the Survivor Benefits Dept., this should be a good indication that hopefully everything will be resolved and quick!! Please let us know about your claim. A widow should not have to jump through all of these hoops to be able to claim was is rightly due her! This is so sad. As a widow myself, we go through so much becoming a widow by itself, we do not need anymore stress and aggravation piled upon us. Our husbands served their county and then the VA just drops the ball when it comes to compensating us!! Take care of yourself and I hope and pray that you will get a positive decision and SOON!! God Bless, Celia, Mrs. R

"A picture is worth a thousand words." Yes, you are so very right. What a fantastic picture of you and Cinder!! Dogs are truly so wonderful to have around. They know what kind of day you are having and act accordingly I have a Border Collie, Misty, and she always knew when David was having a rough day. She would come up and sit by his chair and would not leave his side except to go and take a walk/bathroom break. Misty was my cue to how he was doing even though he would always say he was fine. Tbird, just keep us up-to-date about you and Cinder. Cinder is so lucky to have you and you are very lucky to have Cinder! What a perfect combination!! God Bless! Celia, Mrs. R

Maset & Berta. "anxiety, fear, anger, the ability to operate only in a small area of comfort," Oh My Gosh!! This really does describe how Rockman was to a tee and to so many of our Veterans here @ Hadit and all others out there. This simply says it all in just 14 words!! Oh how true is this statement !! It really tugs at my heart! Welcome back Maset and good morning to you Berta!! Gotta run, for I am on my way to the college for my Vet Center group. I really look forward to every Tuesday's group! It is my extended "family"! Celia, Mrs. R

"I met with him this afternoon, he's a retired Army Vet. For the year I've been in treatment he's the first individual I've talked with who has served. The psychologist I went through CPT had no frame of reference other than what the VA told her. Finally glad to connect with someone who understands the military mindset of "soldier on"." It is so much better to be able to sit down with your Team Leader who IS a Veteran. They know where you are coming from. The Mental Health lady David had was just that, a Mental Health lady, with really no clue as to how PTSD affects you ( except maybe in the textbooks that she had to read). At least you were able to connect with your Team Leader. "He hosts two group sessions for Vietnam Veterans, and his assistant hosts a mixed group of Vietnam, DS, and OIF/OEF Vets. He said that she is trying to get enough OEF/OIF veterans together to have another group." David's group consisted of WWII and Vietnam Veterans. For a while, I believe there was maybe one OEF or OIF Veteran. The second group is Vietnam Veterans. These two groups are very full right now with not much room for new Veterans to come in. The Team Leader travels from the Vet Center and we meet at a community college. At first she came one day a week and now it is three days a week. They are now looking at adding another day to accommodate more Veterans. A few months ago the Team Leader started an evening group for the OEF/OIF Veterans. "So right now its a toss up whether I'll wind up in a group with the Vet Center or the VAMC, hopefully I'll be able to keep seeing the Team Lead at the Vet Center until I get into a group." Even though you don't know when you will be able to get into the group; at least you have your foot in the door of the Vet Center. I will keep a good thought! Let us know how things are going for you. I know you are on the right track!! Celia

This is just FANTASTIC news and it sure has been such a very long wait for you! Retro back to June 1998, WOW, this should be a very nice chunk of change! Enjoy!! I really do not know how long it will take, but keep checking your bank account. For us, the money showed up in our account before we received any letter from VA. Thank you also for your service!! Celia, Mrs. R