Veterans Blog - January 2010
Douglas Karr, Petty Officer Second Class, United States Navy Veteran
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Thousands of vets may receive "upgraded" benefits from the military
Following a judge’s order in a lawsuit initially filed by seven veterans suffering from PTSD, the military has agreed to review the benefits extended to combat vets who are dealing with the disorder. The lawsuit suggested that the seven vets were denied benefits over a six-year period, which ended in late 2008, by the military because they had been diagnosed with PTSD.
Now almost 5,000 letters are being sent to veterans to notify them of an “opt-in” period [now until July 24th] during which they can file suit against the military, much like the seven veterans who originally filed. Attorneys for the seven vets believe that “millions of dollars” could be paid to vets following a review of benefits.
If the review determines that the military did in fact illegally deny veterans their benefits following a discharge and diagnosis of PTSD, veterans could end up receiving hundreds more in monthly benefits.
Former Army Sgt. Juan Perez of Michigan said that the new developments related to the lawsuit were a “relief.” Perez served two tours in Iraq, temporarily leaving behind his wife and five children. He now suffers from migraines, nightmares, PTSD, and an eye injury stemming from a combat-sustained head injury. He takes medication to stabilize his moods.
Perez has been forced to file bankruptcy after he and his wife lost their jobs since leaving the military.
“I’m glad that they are finally reevaluating the soldiers…and doing the right thing,” Perez told the Washington Post.
Former Marine Corporal Tyler Einarson, who is just 28 years old, was one of the seven veterans who filed the original lawsuit. He was shot twice while in Afghanistan back in 2005 and also suffers from PTSD. He believes that a reevaluation of benefits could make a “significant” financial improvement for many veterans like him.
PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder, develops in combat veterans who have suffered particularly disturbing situations during their time in the military. Symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks, nightmares, mood swings, detachment, hypervigilance, and difficulty sleeping. PTSD may be successfully treated using one of many healing resources for veterans, including equine therapy and complementary therapies such as yoga.
In terms of the lawsuit filed, the military has taken issue with the “disability rating” assigned to each of the seven veterans who filed suit. Each was assigned a value of less than ten percent, and according to the military, an individual who suffers from PTSD and is discharged must receive a rating of fifty percent or more. Since October of 2008, veterans who are discharged with PTSD have received the appropriate rating, according to a spokesperson for the National Veterans Legal Services Program.
This higher rating ensures that veterans receive their lifelong disability payments each month, as well as free health care for the vet and their spouse. Minor children of a veteran who receives an appropriate rating also receive health care benefits.
In addition to vets suffering from PTSD, veterans who developed PTSD as a result of a non-combat-related event, such as a rape, may also qualify for reimbursements following the review of the military’s previous benefit extensions.
In addition to developing PTSD, veterans may also face the risk of developing mesothelioma, a fatal cancer attributed to previous asbestos exposure. Military men and women serving or who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan may not have immediate worries, as mesothelioma has a latency period of as many as fifty years, so it is imperative that veterans monitor their respiratory health as they age.
USNS Comfort arrives in Haiti
The USNS Comfort arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday to assist the Haitian people in the wake of a 7.0 earthquake that all but destroyed the port city. USNS Comfort personnel were faced with a constant procession of wounded, some brought by helicopter and some carried on board on stretchers.
Lt. Cmdr. Dan D’Aurora, the director of the USNS Comfort’s receiving ward and an officer in the ER at Bethesda, Maryland’s National Naval Medical Center, told the Baltimore Sun that he had seen “more patients in six hours” than he generally sees in a typical day.
Nevertheless, Lt. Cmdr. D’Aurora was glad to be in Haiti.
“This is what we train for. This is what it’s all about for us,” he said.
Patients were flown in by the Coast Guard, the Navy and the Air Force. A fleet of 30 helicopters transported ill and injured Haitians all day yesterday, and will continue to do so. About 70 Haitians were still on board the USNS Comfort, waiting to be triaged Wednesday evening when the helicopters landed for the day.
The United States military had planned on also running a boat shuttle, but transportation by water was not feasible following a 6.0 aftershock that “jolted” the USNS Comfort and badly damaged a nearby pier that USS Comfort personnel had planned on using to get patients on board.
True to the Navy, though, an alternate landing area for a boat shuttle had been determined by Wednesday afternoon in an effort to get as many patients on board and treated as possible.
Despite this, operations on board were slowed somewhat due to late arrival of another 350 crew members, most of who were scheduled to arrive by boat. They will trickle in within the next two days. Once all of the crew arrives, the USNS Comfort will be fully equipped to handle patients in need of treatment.
The USNS Comfort has 1,000 beds on board, and twelve operating rooms. While the ship has the capacity to treat thousands, the crew was overwhelmed yesterday. Helicopters had to wait their turn to land on the decks of the USNS Comfort.
When Haitians finally made it on board, they were transported to the main deck via elevator. The sight, one can imagine, was unforgettable: injured people – some on stretchers, carried by family members or strangers, some even wounded themselves – tumbling out of the cramped elevator to receive medical treatment from strangers.
A triage team assessed injuries before sending people into the elevators. Some patients wore stickers or tape with messages like “left leg” or “renal failure.” Before noon, the crew was prepping for a handful of surgeries, and at least twenty more had been scheduled by the end of the day. The crew faced difficult decisions: should they open another OR before the remaining crew members arrived? What if a patient came on board in need of extreme emergency care and the doctors were tied up in surgery?
Like any military man or woman in the face of a disastrous situation, there wasn’t much time to debate. The elevator doors kept opening, and the wounded kept coming.
Jeff Brown, a Navy Corpsman from Columbia, Maryland was assigned to the USNS Comfort almost three years ago, and has already been in Haiti twice. This time, though, it was much different.
“It’s a 180-degree turnaround from the last mission,” Brown said. “The desperation you sense in the patients..we’re here to take care of people and make a difference.”
The attitude on board the hospital ship, according to Brown, remains upbeat.
“Everyone is very motivated,” he said.
While the USNS Comfort is extremely well-equipped to treat individuals who have been severely wounded in a disaster, some patients required additional care. One Haitian man will be transported to an Army hospital in California, which specializes in treating combat-sustained injuries. The man was pumping gas when the earthquake hit, and the gas pump next to him exploded. He was badly burned and required amputation and burn-specific treatments.
The arrival of the USNS Comfort in Haiti has given the people there a sense of hope. Haitians shouted “USA! USA!” upon seeing the faces of American soldiers. While the recovery efforts are underway, Cmdr. Tim Donahue, head surgeon on board the USNS Comfort, reminds us that the process is just beginning.
“Haiti…is still dangerous,” he said. “A number of them [Haitians] have been injured in the last few days by walls falling on them. It shows how much work we have to do.”
Asbestos exposure fears in the aftermath of the earthquake
Following a natural disaster such as this, concerns about exposure to carcinogenic asbestos are high. Asbestos materials are often damaged as buildings crumble and fall in the wake of a high-magnitude earthquake, and during aftershocks. Exposure to asbestos may not present immediate concern, but in the long run, exposure may lead to the development of mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer. The Haitian people, as well as those who have traveled to Haiti to assist with relief efforts, must be mindful of the fact that asbestos dust can linger in the air and be inhaled for days and weeks following the collapse of buildings.
While it may not be on the top of their priority list, those who may be in areas where asbestos has become airborne should wear a mask that adequately covers their nose and mouth in an effort to prevent inhalation.
If you would like to assist in the relief efforts in Haiti, Google has created a “Crisis Response” webpage to provide information for those who wish to make a donation. Please visit http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/.
Google has generously agreed to donate $1 million dollars to relief-focused organizations such as CARE and UNICEF.
Taco Bell founder, WWII Veteran Dies at age 86
Best known as the founder of the largest Mexican fast-food chain Taco Bell, Glen W. Bell Jr. died Sunday at his home in Rancho Santa Fe. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease since 1986 though the cause of death has not been released, he was 86.
"Glen Bell was a visionary and innovator in the restaurant industry, as well as a dedicated family man," Greg Creed, president of Taco Bell, said in the statement posted on the Taco Bell Web site.
After witnessing the success of McDonald’s Bar-B-Que, Bell launched his first restaurant, Bell’s Drive-In in 1948 in San Bernardino. He took advantage of the southern California car culture and served food through drive-in windows. Restaurants like Taco Tias in Los Angeles, El Tacos in the Long Beach area and Der Wienerschnitzel, were all launched by Bell as well.
Taco Bell got underway in 1962 in Downey and quickly spread throughout Los Angeles. He sold his first franchise two years later and eventually sold his 868 Taco Bell restaurants to PepsiCo for $125 million in stock in 1978.
Glen Bell Jr. was not only an extremely successful entrepreneur, but also a World War II veteran. He joined the Marines soon after his high school graduation. He served as a waiter for top-military brass in the South Pacific.
Sadly, the veteran community loses members every day to natural causes and illness. A growing issue has been the occurrence of veterans being diagnosed with military-caused diseases. Veteran mesothelioma cases occupy the largest group of those stricken with the type of cancer caused by asbestos inhalation.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer occurs when tiny asbestos fibers become embedded in the body’s chest and abdominal cavities as well as the cavity around the heart. The frequent use of asbestos in various locations within all branches of service has had fatal effects on the members of the military.
As a veteran and the creator of Taco Bell which serves 36.8 millions customers each week, Glen Bell has touched many lives in many ways. He is survived by his wife, Martha, three sisters, two sons, a daughter and four grandchildren. A private funereal is planned.
Brigham and Women's Hospital to conduct face transplants for wounded vets
According to a December 23rd press release from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, the DoD has awarded the facility with a $3.4 million dollar contract that will fund face transplants for U.S. military veterans that sustained facial injuries while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. The DoD estimates that a minimum of 200 veterans may qualify for a face transplant procedure.
One of two contracts awarded by the DoD as a part of a new proposal to incorporate pioneering medical procedures into conventional practice, the funding will cover the cost of between six and eight face transplants within the next year and a half. This could potentially double the total number of face transplants performed in our country since the very first, accomplished about four years ago.
In addition to vets, qualifying civilians will also be permitted to undergo face transplants at Brigham and Women’s. In order to be deemed eligible, a recipient must be missing a minimum of twenty-five percent of their face, and must not have benefited from customary reconstructive surgical efforts.
In April of last year, Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a plastic surgeon and director of the Brigham and Women’s Burn Center, completed the first face transplant at the hospital. Dr. Pomahac’s surgery was the second of its kind in the country and only the seventh in the entire world.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital – which happens to be a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical Center – is also unique in that it serves a great number of mesothelioma patients. The International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women’s has been serving individuals diagnosed with this rare and aggressive form of cancer for over two decades, and the center houses some of the most cutting-edge mesothelioma diagnosis tools.
Led by Dr. David Sugarbaker, the Chief of Thoracic Surgery, the team at the International Mesothelioma Program continues to diagnosis and treat patients – some who happen to be veterans – with mesothelioma cancer. Although less than 3,000 individuals are diagnosed with mesothelioma on an annual basis, this cancer is still an extreme cause for concern, as it is linked to previous exposure to asbestos. Asbestos, as you probably know, was found in a number of products up and was unregulated until the mid-eighties, when the Environmental Protection Agency and federal government devised usage guidelines in an effort to protect people from the carcinogen. Items such as attic insulation, drop-down ceiling tiles, and drywall contained asbestos, and for veterans, exposure often occurred on board naval vessels, in military aircraft and in base housing.
Veterans who served during World War II are considered to be at the highest risk of developing mesothelioma cancer. The number of navy vets who suffer from mesothelioma is quite high, in fact, and while the public may believe that vets who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are not at risk of asbestos exposure, this is not the case. Asbestos is still imported to several Middle Eastern countries, where its use is virtually unregulated.
For veterans who have been wounded in combat and are eligible for a face transplant, the DoD contract may provide them with an opportunity to change their life. As a veteran myself, I am pleased with the DoD’s decision to award this contract to a hospital that has a history of serving veterans, including those who suffer from an incurable and service-related disease like mesothelioma cancer.
One-stop shop for war veterans at Salt Lake City VA clinic
A hot topic that has been reoccurring throughout the veteran community for years now is the issue of adequate and sufficient support. Support in all areas: medical, physiological, emotional and so on. Recently VA hospitals across the country have been digging into this topic and making significant headway in recognizing veteran’s needs.
Providing service to more than 4,000 veterans throughout Utah, Colorado, Nevada and Idaho, Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System is on the forefront of offering ample services to veterans. This clinic is establishing new programs and protocol in hopes that no vet will slip through the cracks.
Here, a standout clinical substance abuse counselor, Dan Murchie, spends his time helping the nation’s latest generation of veterans transition into civilian life. Known for persuading, prodding and pleading to get veterans into the door, he figures after they’re in the VA will sell itself.
For Tyson Mortenson, who had received medical care for his broken back and crushed hand (both injured during a roadside attack in Iraq’s Anbar Province in 2005), wasn’t keen on coming in to talk with Murchie. "I didn't want the help. I didn't need the help, and I didn't want to talk to anyone," Mortensen recalled. "But he kept pressuring me, so finally I said, 'Fine, I'll come in and talk.”
Feelings like Mortenson’s are extremely common many veterans; they don’t want to admit to any underlying issues that could have been caused during their time in combat. Murchie also understands the stereotypes about the bureaucratic VA and the resentment that veterans, especially of the Vietnam War have, regarding the head-of-the-line treatment to the recent vets of Iraq and Afghanistan. “It creates a lot of heartburn with those who weren’t given the same level of service and respect,” says Murchie.
"Here's the new philosophy at the VA: If these guys need anything, and they're not getting it, it's my job to get it for them. Not just tell them where to get it, but take them by the hand and take them there and make sure they don't hear the word 'no,'”
Efforts like Murchie’s play a key role in the well being of vets across the board. The variety of cases that come through the door of this and every other VA clinic are unique and each case is just as fragile as the next. For victims suffering from psychological illnesses to those with acquired physical injuries and serious disease, this new system will work to help reduce long-term issues and push for ample care from the very start.
Ailments requiring serious attention and medical treatment like the asbestos-caused cancer mesothelioma, have found their place in many VA clinics because of the high case rate among the veteran community. It is extremely important that the support is there for those suffering from this fast-attacking cancer.
Mental health case Manager Jeff Hunter has been able to witness the system first hand, “I’d say it’s pretty comprehensive.” Creating a one-stop shop for veterans, Iraq vet Andy Figorski explains the ease and relief he feels in being able to access a spectrum of VA services and he knows he’s not alone, “You can see the necessity on their faces,” when speaking of how the other vets are benefiting.