How Veterans Live

by jangy in Issues, December 24, 2008

This is our story. Please read it and talk about it and if you have time, reply to the government officials. Thank you all.

We followed the instructions for his care to the letter. Two pain pills every 6 hours were not working. He called our PC Dr. Johnson (who is your only saving grace at your hospital!) and she said she would change it to 2 every 4 hours as Charles is 6’6” and 300 lbs. She would send the meds ASAP. He ran out of the ones he had too soon, so he took the Ultram which really did not work. Remember that was on December 9, 2009 in the early morning. We received the medication on December 18, 2008 long after the pain was the King! We can’t run in to your ER or Triage care for a shot. We can’t go to our local 20 bed Hospital ER for you take up to 4 years to pay them and after Charles; Heart attack in Nov. 2003 our Credit is shot; Another gift from your broken system. So he suffer far too much, it is so sad that Veterans who have fought in battle under fire and seen their companions killed in horrific ways have yet another battle to wage; one they KNOW they cannot win.

I thank God for our free health care, do not get me wrong. Still to feel as a second class beggar due to your system is humiliating.

I am still waiting for my evaluation for a motorized wheelchair since the arthritis and CNS disease prevents me from wheeling myself in the regular chair I received. Dr. Johnson; put in the request in September. With Charles (my caregiver) in a sling for the next 6 weeks and PT for 6 months (how we will manage that from here will be a miracle) He cannot push me so I SIT, or crawl, to get things one. I am in chronic pain 24/7.

Here is what we have suffered through:

Knee replacement March of 2000, with a permission letter and agreement to do at Tomball Hospital (distance and surgery turn around was 18 months) He was at risk of losing the use of his left leg, a combat injury. We used our savings to pay for the 38,000.00 surgery with the promise of reimbursement. We are still waiting for the lifetime savings to be given back to us.
Eric Smith turning us down for many things we needed. Like the Open MRI because Charles is so large. He is not FAT! He is 6’6” tall and his shoulders alone do not fit in your machine. He needs one for his neck for his back. He has lost 82 lbs. Dr. Allegeri did nothing to expedite the MRI…so they x-rayed and found at the time of his shoulder surgery how bad his neck was.
Charles says he is getting ill in his chest in 2007… told to take over the counter stuff which he did…almost one year later seeing Dr. Johnson whom he changed to he finally is getting to see the allergy clinic and medication he needed. He was so sick for that year…a whole year going back an forth and no relief.
Endless pain relief that we have NOT gotten. There has to be medications to help.
My going to the Neurology Doctors and Charles was right there as my witness, I told them I would fall without my walker/or wheelchair. They told me that they would catch me, they did not, I went home with bruising on my shoulder, knee, etc. My Medical records state that I “stumbled and recovered”; I fell and grabbed the door jam as I went down. I have not been back for the Neurology care that I need, because I fear them.
I am changing from my Rheumatology Dr. Lidsky in the Specialty care Clinic as he is always LATE. I wait with others for 3+ hours to see him. I wrote up a complaint and a request for a new Dr. Also I am Obese due to my lack of activity due to pain, and Dr. Lidsky requires you to disrobe. There were NO large size gowns in the dept. so I was humiliated by having to stand without a robe, and take off the robe I tried to wear was stuck on my arms and I in pain; how humiliating is that?

How Veterans Live

This is our story. Please read it and talk about it and if you have time, reply to the government officials. Thank you all.

Here is what we have suffered through:

Now all of this… We have had enough!