diabetes New Claim

[dlowa]

Hi Folks,

I just had my first C&P exam. I am interested in finding out where this claim will lead. It seems to me that most initial claims have to be appealed. So I would like to get in front of it a little.

Here's my story. I'm afraid that it will be a little long. Stick with me.

I was stationed at Philadelphia Naval Hosp. #5 in 1966 - 1967. I was a corpsman and 17 years old. Philadelphia was a major receiving point for a lot of Willie Peter burns and gun shot wounds, particularly to the face. Any wound where the round or shrapnel or burn destroyed a big chunk of meat. The unit I worked on took anyone who needed graft work and after the doctors set up the graft my team was responsible for the nursing. Particularly keeping the grafts vital. Burns were the worse because they not only looked horrific but they smelled like burning flesh.

At any rate, after about a year of offering continuous care I began to display some real serious signs of PTSD. Of course they had no idea what PTSD was in those days so it all went down in the records as a personality disorder. The big problems for me were not sleeping for 72 hours at a time and visual hallucinations. I was being seen by a military shrink, but I was not released from duty. After one of those particularly long periods of no sleep, I was driving into work one night (I lived off base)and I either fell asleep or I passed out, but I wrecked my car. I hurt my back pretty bad. I was put into a civilian hospital and then transferred down to the Naval Hospital via military ambulance (remember those old grey Pontiac's). If I remember correctly I was laid up for another three days. I don't remember what they did to me but I was put on light duty out in the dependent wards.My discharge shows three extra days of leave. I think that was the time I was in the hospital.

The first 15 years after discharge I drank a fifth of Jack Daniels a day until it stopped working and I lost total control again. I joined AA and beat the compulsion back. The problem then was that I turned to food. My weight went to 360lbs. in the next 15 years. When that didn't work anymore I became very suicidal and began not sleeping again and began hallucinating again. This time I was beat and I turn myself into a shrink who really wanted to put me away for a while but I wouldn't agree. Two years of therapy later we finally found a medication that seemed to keep me together. I went and had a bariactric bypass and my weight dropped to 230lbs. The diabetes that I had squired became much more manageable. There have been times since then when I have run out of meds and have felt myself slipping into that no sleep cycle and I know that the hallucination are not far behind. The PTSD had followed be as a result to this day and I am sure will be with me for the rest of my life.

Now that I am older, recent x-rays show that the accident in 1966 actually fractured two Lumbar vertebrae and I have treated the pain and muscle spasm with non-steroidal anti-inflamatories and physical therapy all of those years. Now it takes Oxycontin or Percoset. At this point I can't drive my car more than a 100 miles without having to get out and walk around. I can't sit, stand, walk or lift too far or too heavy.

All of this went into the C&P. So where do you folks think this claim is going to end up. What should be the final rating after all the appeals are over.

Sorry this took so long but I don't know how else to get this question out.

Thanks

dhl