It Turned My Stomach

Yesterday, I fell down.

It hurt.

Today, my ribs ache.

I was talking to a couple of soldiers and mentioned that I had gotten hurt, but was hoping that I'd heal in the next few days. I was surprised by the direction that the conversation turned next.

One of the soldiers, told me to make sure that I go to the doctor and get a report of the injury in my file in case something develops from it. That's good advice, to cover my backside in case complications arise in the coming weeks.

Since I'm coming off of duty soon, the other said to "file a claim" with the VA.

I said, "Why file a claim?"

Then he said the thing that turned my stomach...

"It's like the lottery... You can't win if you don't play."

These weren't my soldiers, so I thanked them for their advice, and went on my way.

I wanted to chastise them for their attitude of trying to "game the system." I wanted to point out how that type of attitude forces the VA to go through the horrifically long procedures that they do in order to determine which injury claims are valid.

It reminded me of how many of our soldiers are stuck waiting for a determination of disability for months or even years as their paperwork works its way through the system. Meanwhile, they wait. And wait.

I have aches and pains from my service that I carry with me. That fall in 1989 that made me limp for weeks... Is the occasional pain in my hip socket related? Probably.

Some injuries can just happen, regardless of your experiences in the service.

Other injuries are clearly combat or service related. The process of determining just how disabling the injuries are takes too long and is too cumbersome for a typical injured soldier who just wants to get back home and get on with their life.

Recent interviews have repeatedly quoted former service members claiming that they signed whatever they were offered just so they could go home.

There are many resources available to help those who are truly injured get fairly treated and get through the system... We'll provide links and information about some of them in our resource guide which will be coming out soon.

To your healing!

Mike