Public Service Announcement: VA Medical Treatment…Have you had yours lately?

Are you a military veteran or know someone who is? Do you/they have a slight or mild combat related injury? Have you/they received treatment for such injury? Well if you/they have not done so, do it now. Did you know that the longer you wait to go to the VA Medical Center and start a claim for what ails you, the harder it can be to get treatment down the road. The more time that passes by between your injury and the time you begin to really suffer the effects of it lessens your chances of getting service connected medical treatment because it takes more “evidence” to prove it is really combat/service connected. This is an issue facing soldiers now even if they are coping well with what they feel is a simple inconvienece.

For example: A soldier is in the turret of a vehicle while serving in Iraq and that vehicle hits something on the road. During that moment the soldier is flung around and twists his/her back. After returning to the FOB (forward operating base) that soldier feels the back muscles tightening and getting rather sore. As any tough soldier, they may shrug it off because they wouldn’t want to be weighed down by going to sick bay and putting something this small on record. So time goes by and that soldier deals with the discomfort on a day to day basis. Finally the unit returns to the States and the soldier returns to his/her everday job whether they are a reservist or on active duty. The pain begins to increase and it becomes more and more difficult to perform daily activities. Mind you years may have passed since that day in Iraq for that soldier. Finally they go to their family doctor and have it checked out. It is at that time when they learn that their back pain is a deepr rooted issue from trauma that had been sustained. Hmmm, the only trauma ever sustained would have been that jolt in the vehicle that day. Wow, now that veteran goes to the VA Medical Center nearest them and tries to get the VA to handle the treatment. “Uhhh, wait” the VA now tells that soldier, “how do we know you didn’t do this playing a game of football in your back yard?”

They certainly do not want to take on a case when there is nothing to show that it happened while they were still serving their country. There are enough medical issues in this country, not to mention the VA’s limited budget for medical treatment. They must be sure that the services they provide to our veterans are related to the services they provided to our country. Granted there is a ton of red tape to go through and “witnesses” could be recalled and asked to write a letter stating that they saw or were directly involved somehow to the situation the veteran is claiming happened. It could be handled and things could turn out for the benefit of that veteran.  But it is a long battle most times and often times it is not won.

If that same person would have gone to the VA Medical Center when they had first come back from deployment and filed a claim they would have been better off. Even if no treatment was needed right away, at least the case would be filed. It is far easier to re-open a case down the road when problems arise than it is to create a case after so much time has passed. I deeply encourage anyone suffering from anything combat related to see your nearest VA Medical Center for treatment or to at least file a claim. You may not be looking to get percentages of your disability increased (or started), but get that case filed!! You should file for anything from a combat related pulled tooth to PTSD. Get the help you deserve. It is out there and there are people willing to help you cut through the red tape as well as walk you through the process you must take.

The DAV folks help these veterans get the care and treatment they need and should have. They will also assist in placing claims and filing for disability percentages. If you or someone you know has any service connected injuries they really should see the DAV reps for help in processing claims. Yes, even for things as silly as getting a prosthetic tooth because your had to be pulled before you were able to depart for your deployment. It may sound stupid, but the military pulled your tooth to allow you to serve your country, why should you have to pay your dentist to get one after you have returned from duty? That would be the silly part.

This is something of a secret in most VA facilities because they wouldn’t watn everyone to know that. Granted, they will take care of our veterans, by they wouldn’t want to promote something like that either. I encourage all veterans to seek appointments with the nearest VA Medical Center for all related injuries. It could save you money in the long run. You served our country, now let our country help you.

Click this link to find local facilities:

http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/vetcenter_flsh.asp?isFlash=1