Posted on 12/01/2006 3:40:11 PM PST by MissEdie
Are there any online support groups of this type? If not, it's easy and free to start a Yahoo Group or Google Group, and the group owner can restrict membership to people who have been verified as appropriate for the group. While there are a lot of benefits to personal contact, a lot of veterans dealing with this sort of thing obviously have obstacles to physically attending a support group -- because of physical disabilities and/or mental condition that prohibits them from travelling around freely on their own. You sound as though you have a natural inclination to be supportive and productive, and are limited in your opportunities for that. If this is a need that's not already being met, perhaps you and your wife could organize to meet it.
No, I had not. But Lance goes to a local school distric for special needs kids ONLY, and they have done a lot with & for him. He is truly our gift from the Good LORD ALMIGHTY! And he is also my little buddy, he & I go no where with out each other. But thank you for the information.
On line does not do it. This kind of work needs to be done in person & by some one who has wwwaaayyyy more education than I have. it may take a little time to find a shrink who fits the "bill" but they are out there. They have to be able to work with the MD types who prescribe the meds and the veteran themselfves & their famlies. this can be rather rough work for the first timer. I do agree with Skippermd that meds have to perscribed but they are not the magic bullet as well. there has to be a lot of work done on the part of the veteran. Just look at the late Audie Murphy and the he!! he went through after the war. And no there should not be a time limit on PTSD claims. the vet. could repress the problems for years masking the problems with booze & or drugs or criminal activity, in an effort to self medicate [ease the pain of their problem[s]. It takes a really trained pro to find and hopefully repeir the vet back to a point where he may function back into a some what normal society. One could look at most of the homeless vets in our country to see this. They have so many problem[s] so they believe that they have turned their backs on the society that they swore to defend, because they can no longer fit in. One of the most common factors in this is a head injury[s] some where in the past. Most people who have this problem usally will have more than one head injury in their life [I fit this fact, haveing at least 3 during my life so far!] This is where a pro shrink comes in, they have to be trusted by the vet first or the help will not work.
This report:
http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/511673/
says that the VA is only recognizing less than half of the PTSD cases presenting to primary care clinics. Two SC facilities were included in the report.
I think one of the problems is that the layperson, and I include in that group medical people staffing the clinics who have not had specific PTSD training, are wont to make the problem in their face, and that is the veteran in mental crisis, to just go away.
I myself, have been talked down to by a nitwit from some foreign country that barely spoke the english language, yet carried the title of Doctor.
I had records lost, records fabricated by incompetent boobs, records destroyed, test results altered.
I know of nurses that participated in pools on the terminal wards, with the full awareness of the patients, as to which patient would be the next to die.
I watched the family members of sick veterans lied to, fed disinformation and purposefully misled; I had it happen to me.
I had medication, prescribed for a service-connected disability, furnished for 6 years, free of charge, then one day I received a bill for $32.00 for the latest issue, with threats to deduct it from my retired pay if I did not remit immediately.
I was "counseled" by one VA representative, that I would lose my disability pay if I did not participate in treatment from a VA center, and when I called him on it and exposed him, I was denied any further treatment.
Many, many more things that I am aware of happening and that also happened to me.
I would counsel any young vet that did not have to participate in VA treatment, to get the hell away from them, as far as possible.
Fortunately, I'm retired, thus I have Tricare and the VA can kiss my ass.
And if they want the damn disability pay back, they can have it.
I really don't get anything from them, as it is deducted from my retired pay, anyway, since it's less than 40%.
To hell with them.
While I wish the military system could be more helpful, he is probably better off investing some money into his helath and use the private health care system.
It strikes me that they don't explain that, it appears as though they are trying to say that he was on his second OIF tour, instead of identifying his prior stint over 15 years ago!
Just another way to make it seem like a 'quagmire', and that 'no one' is responsive to him.
I feel for this soldier. I can't even imagine how bad it is for people when they lose a limb or more than one, have facial disfigurement or are blind, but when an injury robs you of yourself and you maybe can't control yourself and could hurt or kill your own family, man, how much worse is that?
I hope the army meds can help him somehow.
What I am hearing about the disgrace that is the VA has really made me angry. Our guys who have risked all for us need and definitly deserve better. Do you have any idea of who or what to go to in order to expose these scumbags for what they are? Is there anything we can do to take the VA to task and make them do the right thing?
This is a statement of fact, not conjecture IMO, although no charges could be brought.
In the mid-Missouri region in the mid to late 1990s a nurse was committing "mercy killings" of terminally ill patients. Eventually the nurse was exposed, arrested , and convicted.
My DH's grandpa was a patient on that nurse's floor.
He told his family when they came to visit that someone was "cutting off his air" at night. This was attributed to delirium due to his drugs and his condition that drugs were helping to treat. He died after a few days in the hospital.
A few years later, the story about the "mercy-killing" nurse broke in the media.
Grandpa was cremated, so despite suspicions no proof could be made in a court of law. So grandpa was a "freebie" for the nurse.
Write your congressperson and senator.
Write them often and cite specific locations and incidents.
It is what I do and I have prompted two internal VA Inspector General investigations, gotten one doctor fired, forced the VA to reopen one clinic and forced a reorganization of the recently remodeled clinic in a local city close to me.
Is there anything we can do to take the VA to task and make them do the right thing?
As stated previously:
Cite actual incidents and locations, provide names and witnesses.
If you have actual, personal involvement, have someone else document the violations and outrages for you.
And one last thing all can do:
Find the local terminal ward of your local VA.
Visit the old soldiers that are there.
Many of them have no or little family now, and are dying alone and lonely.
You'd be surprised how uplifting a short visit to someone in that situation can be.
No need to be a full-time or even part-time volunteer, but an occasional visit, just to let them know that someone still cares...
I didn't mean to suggest that an online support group should be instead of qualified medical and social work help, but rather a supplement to it. For some, it might also serve as a route for them to realize they need professional help, when they've been avoiding it, or stopped it after an initial bad experience with it.
Many people with serious medical problems belong to groups like this, both face-to-face and online groups, in addition to the receiving professional medical help, and often professional psychiatric/psychological help to deal with the stress, depression, etc. that their medical condition cuases. But while most people with cancer or AIDS or kidney failure, etc. are in a position to go around town on their own to get to meetings, people with brain injuries that have caused serious behavioral control problems often aren't. And the benefit of online groups, even for people who may also belong to a face-to-face group, is that they're always there. Especially once a group reaches a certain size, a message asking for specific advice on how to deal with something that's cropped up, or just asking for emotional support from someone who really understands, can be posted at 3AM and get a prompt response (often from someone in a different time zone). This makes it easier for people to reach out for timely help with matters that don't seem urgent enough or serious enough to rouse a medical or counseling professional on an emergency basis, and that can help relieve stress or frustration or depression before it builds up to a destructive level.
It's just a thought. I hate the idea of brain-injured people -- especially those injured through no fault of their own (by drunk drivers, during military service, etc.) stuck at home, alone or with a stressed-out caregiver, with no convenient way to connect with other people in similar situations.
Thank you for your input & I'll think about it. ;)
But most folks with head injuries need to see & speak with folks in their area for the best support. I am sure that there are probley some on line help out here, but I speak from my own experiance. When we meet we can feel like that we are not the monsters that we have running around our heads! Also we can meet afterwords at a local restraunt to keep up the talk. Sometimes phone numbers are exchanged so we can set up our SAFETYNET[S] that are needed, so we do not go down a very long dark road & or place by ourselves. We need the human contact for our peace of minds & souls.
I know that I have been in some very dark places & my groups have helped save me from myself! This is where the human contact comes in. I can tell these folks what & how I feel more so, than I can tell my wife. They are walking in my footsteps as well and understand what I am going through, & I for them as well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.