Wounded Georgia vet gets help nearly a decade after he was shot in the face

Fox 5 Atlanta ^ | Apr 13 2016 12:11PM EDT | Beth Galvin

[suthener]

CANTON, Ga. - Dusty Kirby is so ready for this next big step his life. "It's a long time coming,” Kirby says. "I would push a button right now and make it happen, if I could."

[suthener]

I just picked an article about this off the web. I saw an interview with the guy on Fox News this morning. He was shot by a sniper 10 years ago in Iraq. He suffered severe pain and disfigurement since being shot. He recently received surgery to repair his jaw and face. He mentioned in the interview that the surgery was very expensive. My first thought was "whoever at the VA who even mentioned how much this cost should be fired". Then I found out that the government did not provide this surgery, a private foundation did. I was flabbergasted. Our government let this wounded veteran suffer for 10 years without providing effective treatment. That is totally unsatisfactory to me. A wounded vet should expect to receive the best care available, whether within the system or not.

[Does so]

I've still got the VA card issued to me during the Cold War. I got "Sorry, you don't qualify for treatment" when trying to keep continuity with iritis treatments between addresses.

[Robert DeLong]

A wounded vet should expect to receive the best care available, whether within the system or not.

I agree, however, I think the system (which includes every American taxpayer and citizen) owes this man, at the very least the best within the system. Furthermore, it should be immediate and not a drawn out process that takes 10 years to even begin.

[SandRat]

Suffered under 2 Pres’s, 2 years under GW Bush and 8 years under O’Bama

[Hot Tabasco]

It should be mentioned that Rush Limbaugh is closely affiliated with this organization and proceeds from his Two if by Tea go to this charity.

Additionally, back in 2007 he got into a verbal fight with Senator Stinky Reid who subsequently penned a letter signed by 41 fellow Democrap senators condemning Rush for a statement he made about phony soldiers.

In retaliation, Rush put the letter up for auction on EBay which sold for over $2 million and Rush matched it and gave all the proceeds to the MC LEF......

Rush is also one of their many directors......

[suthener]

My ex-wife’s father served a couple of years during Vietnam but did not go over, stateside duty only. He is basically indigent and the VA is treating him for diabeties, high blood pressure, etc. etc. I think we have our priorities misplaced. I had always thought the VA’s mission was to treat lifetime service related injuries and only found out recently that they treat indigent veterans for personal health problems.

[suthener]

I remember the Harry psycho Reid issue but didn’t realize this was the organization Rush supports. Thanks.

[CrazyIvan]

I hate to sound like one of those “for the price of one B-1 Bomber” types but how many guys like this could be restored to normal with the work that went into Michael Jackson or Bruce Jenner’s self mutilation?

[Hot Tabasco]

I had always thought the VA’s mission was to treat lifetime service related injuries and only found out recently that they treat indigent veterans for personal health problems.

The VA provides benefits to ALL veterans who sign up.

I think one of the reasons the VA is overwhelmed is due to individuals such as myself who have employer sponsored insurance but utilize the VA because it may be cheaper.....

[HotHunt]

"....The VA provides benefits to ALL veterans who sign up...."

Not true.

My wife is a veteran and she can't get care at the VA because between her SS check and a small pension, they say she makes too much money to qualify for VA care.

[firebasecody]

One of the key qualifiers for veterans is whether the condition is service related or not. The VA uses fuzzy math to determine the total of service connected conditions. There is a process to go through to get rated for any service related condition. It is not easy or consistent. Generally speaking, you need to be 100% service connected to get all of your health needs met at the VA at no cost to you. Those Vets considered very low income, can also get treatment. All others will pay something or be denied. Is that clear? ;-)

[originalbuckeye]

The VA AND Social Security are means testing? This is disgusting. Our veterans deserve the best treatment available.....THE REFUGEES DON’T! I hope Trump addresses the fact that too many resources are going to non-Americans....and the money’s coming out of the programs WE have been paying into for decades. ENOUGH! Our veterans all wrote a blank check to the American people......THEY GET TREATMENT BEFORE NON-AMERICANS!

[Uncle Sam 911]

God bless these doctors and this vet too. All making America better.

[oh8eleven]

The VA provides benefits to ALL veterans who sign up.
It does, but the cost of the medical benefit to the vet is means tested - based on the vet's income and net worth.
Personally, I think VA health care should be limited to service connected problems only. That it isn't is half the reason the VA h/c system is so screwed up.

[DaveA37]

“That is totally unsatisfactory to me. A wounded vet should expect to receive the best care available, whether within the system or not.”....

As a veteran myself, I totally agree. Remember when odumbo wanted our military people to buy their own insurance since they “volunteered”? There is NO EXCUSE for this to take 10 years to address and at his own expense. (Bless those who made his surgeries possible).

[oh8eleven]

she makes too much money to qualify for VA care
That's just not true unless you mean she doesn't qualify for free VA care ... I don't believe dental care is covered at all.

[blueunicorn6]

My Dad thought that maybe his leukemia had returned.

He went to the VA Clinic for a blood test.

They wouldn’t release the results of his blood test until he told them about his finances.

I love his phone call to the VA.

“There wasn’t anybody on the dock asking me how much money I made before I got on the troopship. If I made too much money, would they have stopped me from going to Korea?”

He died from leukemia.

Screw the VA.

[marron]

If a guy wounded on the battlefield can’t get help from VA, what exactly is their purpose?

[oh8eleven]

My Dad thought that maybe his leukemia had returned.
If your father had been diagnosed previously by someone other than the VA, why did he go to the VA when he thought he was having a recurrence?

[conservative cat]

I have been shocked at what I have been hearing (otherwise qualified for civilian insurance) people getting care at the VA for- these are people with access to decent current benefits and very financially solvent, and they will take themselves to the VA when they stub their toe.