Just an update

[Libralabsoldier]

I am still around. Still battling the VA about my disability rating (there should be a decision soon, but

I will probably have to fight it. Went to a doc who was supposed to make an assessment of my

mental health status and claim, and the VA sent him TEN YEARS of my old medical records, not in

chronological order. He looked square at me and said, I am sorry, but I am a Christian Family

Counselor, I have no idea what to do with your claim except fill out this form they sent me and ask

you the questions they have underlined. Needless to say, I filed a complaint almost immediately.)

Anyway...my back problems have not gotten better, they only have me on more drugs. I have been detecting maybe a half a dozen times this year. I did find my first silver ring, however.

I posted an ad on craigslist when money got very tight to sell both my detectors. One guy was very interested, so I agreed to meet with him. He had a disability far more severe than mine, so I just gave him one of my detectors for free. He was really moved by it. I realized that I could be a lot worse off. His wife was skeptical, but hey, who wouldn't be?

I finished my BA in Natural Sciences. I will not have my sheepskin in hand until September, but if the two colleges involved can get me my documents I need in time, I can actually have a job and be teaching this fall. It will be good to be able to go back to work again.

My wife and I decided to give one of the two spare rooms in our house to a young couple I met while at college. Little did I know, this was going to put me at the center of a lot of drama. They are good kids. They are both 19. The deal was that they both help out around the house and with the yard work, and they could live here for free.

The young lady has had a rough life, but is still a sweet, generous, and kind hearted girl. Her grandmother is her guardian, and is a real nut. She accused me and my wife of trying to ensnare the girl into some sort of sex cult, and things even worse. The young man has been raised his whole life by his mother, without any male role model around at all. As a matter of fact, last weekend was the first time in his life he had ever been taken fishing. They are really nice kids, and my wife and I are bent on helping them out, crazy parents or not.

Basically, they need to be given the chance to become adults, and they are not getting that where they live. In some ways, I guess we are meddling in family affairs, but I still think we are doing the right thing. I am trying to get the guy into metal detecting as well. It hurts my heart to see my detector standing in the corner, next to my cane, gathering dust.

My exwife is up to her old tricks, and may or may not exercise her visitation with my daughter this summer. All I can do there is let my kid enjoy her summer as kids should, riding her bike, playing with friends, and the other things that kids can do in a small town when school is out.

Sorry this is so long, but all these drugs they have me on these days, along with everything going on in my life, has started to wear on me. My wife has born enough since I returned from my deployment, she should not have to listen to me vent like this as well.

I welcome any replies. Sometimes it feels like my life has turned into nothing but school, then home, then school, etc. My GI Bill is paying my mortgage right now, and I refuse to get unemployment or food stamps. I know I qualify for both, but my pride will simply not let me go that route. We are paying our bills, and I do not want to be yet another burden on the state. There are people who need it far more than me.

I miss coming to this page, even the arguing politics with some of the guys and such. I hope they get my back problem fixed soon. I want to get out and do some detecting. Heck, I would like to be able to do my own yard work without having to be doped to the gills first.

I just wanted to let you guys know I am still around, even if I am not actively detecting anymore. I am getting other people interested in the hobby, and still supporting the hobby any way I can.

Thanks,

Libralabsoldier.

 

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[W6PEA]

I got a call this morning from ODVA (Oklahoma Department of Veteran's Affairs) and they said that my lumbar back condition did not appear to be service connected. They called me back five minutes later and said "Oops, we just mislaid the file. No big deal."

NO BIG DEAL??

It took five years off my life.

Sounds like what OWCP/DOL did to me said I never got injured until I submited a copy of my apass signed and date by my supervisor stating that I would have recieved a monetary award if had not been for a accident at he wrot e the time and date and signed his name. I sent that in an 7 working days I got a letter with my claim number and 14 days later I got a check with 51 weeks of back pay. That was 9 years ago.

 

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[Libralabsoldier]

Got two fat envelopes in the mail from the VA. This is NEVER good. They are now trying to break my disability claims into seperate pieces, and asking me questions that I can't answer. Lucky for me, a DAV advocate told me how to handle this one.

How am I supposed to know if my headaches (three or four a week) are caused by my anxiety condition, or by the head injury I got in country? (Both of these options have been discussed with my doctors, and tested, etc), and the second one is a claim that I did not exactly make.

I called them to ask if the treatment they are giving me for one condition causes another condition, what am I supposed to do about it. They took that as another claim for compensation, so there goes another probably two year's worth of medical appointments and examinations.

This is what I have been telling some of the younger people I know who are considering the military as an option. Basically, it is true that there are all these benefits after you get out (GI Bill, healthcare, VA compensation and pension if you get injured, yada yada yada) but that you have to fight tooth and nail every step of the way to get those benefits.

I understand there are people trying to "game the system". But this system is also full of dead weight, workers who have been there for decades, and treat everyone as if we are faking what is wrong with us, gold brickers and sheisters. It has been really hard for me these last almost 18 months.
There is no end in sight on these claims, just like there seems to be no end in sight on my injuries.

I hate feeling like I am a burden to my wife.

 

[K*E*L*L*Y]

Got two fat envelopes in the mail from the VA. This is NEVER good. They are now trying to break my disability claims into seperate pieces, and asking me questions that I can't answer. Lucky for me, a DAV advocate told me how to handle this one.

How am I supposed to know if my headaches (three or four a week) are caused by my anxiety condition, or by the head injury I got in country? (Both of these options have been discussed with my doctors, and tested, etc), and the second one is a claim that I did not exactly make.

I called them to ask if the treatment they are giving me for one condition causes another condition, what am I supposed to do about it. They took that as another claim for compensation, so there goes another probably two year's worth of medical appointments and examinations.

This is what I have been telling some of the younger people I know who are considering the military as an option. Basically, it is true that there are all these benefits after you get out (GI Bill, healthcare, VA compensation and pension if you get injured, yada yada yada) but that you have to fight tooth and nail every step of the way to get those benefits.

I understand there are people trying to "game the system". But this system is also full of dead weight, workers who have been there for decades, and treat everyone as if we are faking what is wrong with us, gold brickers and sheisters. It has been really hard for me these last almost 18 months.
There is no end in sight on these claims, just like there seems to be no end in sight on my injuries.

I hate feeling like I am a burden to my wife.

im sure youre not a burden to your wife at all... i remember a post you made about your bday like a
year ago..... it made me laugh, and smile... you guys are so crazy in love.... im sure she still feels the same
way.... hang in their kiddo. life will get better.... sometimes you just gotta believe that it CANT get any worse.
TRUST ME.

~kell

 

[Libralabsoldier]

I just can't even mow my own lawn anymore, and just feel useless. I cant use my MD, and had a small seizure the other day, so I am not allowed to drive anymore.....It is really getting to me.

 

[baylorhall]

Hang in there. I hate that you are having such a hard time. Don't get too discouraged. Praying you are feeling better real soon!

 

[Libralabsoldier]

As of yesterday, I am at 60%. I have to have another psych eval, and the idiots at the national VA (not my regional or local, those guys are awesome and helpful) listed me as single, rather than with spouse and child.

Anyway, got that sorted out.

I ended up with SMC (special medical compensation) for a "defect" that I will not go into here, for fear of offending our lady THers.

So the fight still continues, but it looks like the VA is going to do right by me.

On a less positive note, I am trying to get my stepbrother to seek help for PTSD. I found out that he has just volunteered for his fifth deployment, third one to Afghanistan.

I am afraid he is either getting addicted to the rush of living in constant danger, or is trying to "die a noble death". He has done his duty, many times over. I just do not want to have to go to another funeral with a pair of empty boots, a rifle, and a helmet.

Bryan.

 

[Digz]

Hello, Friend.
I'm a newbie on this site - altho I've been lurking for a year or so
I want to thank you for your service and sacrifice, and let you know I am thinking of you and your family, and praying a lot for you all.
Take what is coming to you - I gladly pay taxes for this sort of thing ~ it isnt welfare ~ and I resent paying those taxes to fund welfare of folks who have at least as much ability as I do...and prolly a whole lot more energy than my old @ss has!

You're not in the way...you're standing in the gap.

We wouldnt be "US" without you and those like you.
thank you

 

[TerryC]

You fought your battle, but the war's not over. Hang in there. We need you. I need you. TTC