ptsd No Smr;s That I Know Of On This

[auenone]

Hello, all,

Have a cervical spine condition and I don't think there is any record of it. Involved in an ambush in the rvn in may of 69 with purple heart. After all of these years I have finally filed and received 30% ptsd and 10% shoulder and 10% knee, although knee will go up as they finally gave me an mri and showed both menisci torn with high grade tear of acl and edema of tibia and femur. Heavy arthritis. Right shoulder is arthritic.

My question is if all of this is documented by my records and have the treatment records with the VA, how hard is it for my cervical spine to be added to the ambush? There is some major damage with severe arthritis, etc. My left shoulder and left knee show no signs of arthritis. I have never played contact sports or been in an auto accident. I was airborne and had to get out of a few helicopters on insertions at 15-20+ feet when the crew chief said get out. That was with a rucksack, all my gear and a prc 25 radio. I also was picked first to jump off the 4 foot platform in jump school and caught my heel and landed on my head, hearing two distinct pops in my neck. I was so embarrassed I could have broken it and not complained. Never reported it. Waiting for my service records but they are tentatively scheduled for 11-7 from nprc. What is the first step concerning the claim?

Thanks for any help and I hope all of your VA problems resolve themselves.

[Berta]

"My question is if all of this is documented by my records and have the treatment records with the VA, how hard is it for my cervical spine to be added to the ambush?"

It would take a doctor to make a nexus statement with a full medical rationale, that the PH injuries caused this additional disability or directly contributed to it's disabling affects.

Is it possible that you still have the book from BT or jump school, with your unit photos in it , as it might help you identify someone who could give you a buddy statement.about the jump school accident.

Your unit surely has a web site too and they might have a reunion roster or "looking for" section.

The spine condition might be completely separate from the PH injuries and have to be proven on a direct SC basis rather than secondary.

Others will chime in here.... thank you for your service and BTW, PTSD.... how long have you have that rating?

And are you employed or has PTSD caused you problems in the workplace and you are not employed?

It might be a good time to ask for an increase in the PTSD rating as well as file this claim for the spinal problems, because PTSD doesn't have a cure and can get worse over time.

[Philip Rogers]

The VA should be the custodian of your records, now, not the NPRC. Once you file a claim, the records are transferred from the NPRC to the VA.

pr

[auenone]

Thank you Ma'am and Sir,

Thank you for posting on a holiday weekend.

That is one of the reasons I would like my records: to find out which jump class I was in at Benning in Feb. 68. May have been jump class 106 if I remember correctly. Most of my jump class went to the 173rd Airborne and I went to SFTG at Bragg and later to the 173rd. I was with a few of them that were left. I will take a look at the 173rd site. My buddy in my squad got in touch with me by posting on that site.

The ptsd award hasn't even been for a year. When getting off the plane in Seattle coming home they should have had a psych there instead of a free steak dinner. If they had had a psych I would have been in the padded room. I really don't like dealing with the government and will probably not chase the ptsd any further. Another reason to get my records from the nprc.

Thanks again and enjoy the rest of the weekend.