# Anything good to say about the VA?



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I know we have quite a few veterans as members, anybody have anything good to say about the VA?

I'll try to keep it short, but the father in law was at the American Legion and wasn't feeling well, they were afraid it was a heart attack, ambulance takes him to the hospital in Marion then they transferred him to the VA hospital in Indianapolis, they kept em for four days ran a bunch of tests, shocked his heart as it had an abnormal rhythm and sent him home.

Same BS about three weeks later, VA hospital in Indy was full so Marion sent him to Lutherans in Fort Wayne with the VA footing the bill. Lutherans ran a bunch of tests and found not only should he have a pacemaker but also found a few partial blockages that the VA in Indy missed and should have stents put in. VA said nope, shock him and send him home.

Not sure who's fault this one is but was supposed to be released Friday afternoon, didn't actually get out of the place till Sunday afternoon.

my mother in law doesn't drive so my wife headed to Marion (2 hour drive each way) each time to act as chauffeur, needless to sa ythe wife is beyond pissed off and had some choice words about both the VA and Lutherans. Normally the wife wouldn't say sh*t if she had a mouthful but if the NSA was listening in on the last phone call she made to me Sunday somebody would have their ears burned right off.

I personally haven't had much experience with doctors, hospitals or the VA, last time I personally seen a doctor was for a DOT physical, time before that was for a tetanus shot ten years ago. The guys at the American Legion and the VFW haven't had anything good to say about em either. Is it just Indiana's VA Hopitals that suck or is the incompetence evenly and fairly distributed around the country?


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

My brother is a Vietnam Vet. His kidneys shut down several years ago, so the VA 'put him on the list' for a transplant. I said then they would mess around until they didn't have to do the transplant. Yea, they kept messing around, one thing after another, now he's had a heart attack last year & a stroke about 3 months ago....so nope, he's not strong enough after the heart attack. It really hurts to see him in the shape he's in now...he spent about 30 years as a firefighter/EMT helping other people, now can't walk in the yard without a walker and somebody close.

Yea, we have plenty to say about 'em, too.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Damnable Doctors (not VA) almost crippled me about 10 years ago. Started with getting some "pre-cancerous" skin keratosis removed, which lead to an duodenal ulcer, which lead to Vitamin D & B12 deficiency, which lead to nerve damage, which lead to $47,000 in insurance bills and hundreds of trips to specialist for "tests", which lead to me researching and solving the frigging problem.

One specialist said said I had pre-diabetes, One said I had Barret's syndrome. One said I had heart disease. One said I needed to be on blood pressure medication for high blood pressure. One said I needed to be taking an anti-depressant for the nerve damage. One said I had peripheral neuropathy. One said he couldn't find anything wrong and I would just have to live with it.

I'm guessing I spent over 2,000 hours reading and researching what was going on and figuring out what happened and what the chain of events were.

NOT ONE of them suckers could put together 2 and 2 and come up with four!

My guess is that they are so specialized that they only see things from their specialty--kinda like if all you've got, and know how to use, is a hammer, then everything becomes a nail. You drive screws, cut wood, mow hay, etc., with your hammer.

To answer your question, I don't trust the medical and pharmaceutical industries any further than I can throw. And I consider the VA the worst of the worst.

Had my coffee, getting off my soapbox, going to go mow some hay.

Ralph


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Our town doctor was an osteopath, that guy was one sharp cookie. My mom had all kinds of problems in her early fifties, OB/GYN said early menopause, eye doctor said glaucoma, her family doctor was claiming vitamin and iron deficiencies, another claimed lupus, a psychologist said it was all in her head.

Dad finally got her to see the town Doc, within ten minutes he told her she needed to see a neurologist NOW. Guess the psychologist was closet out of the previous quacks as it was all in her head, was called a brain tumor.

I've been having anything I need done by a nurse practitioner in the next town over, he's more than capable of handling a tetanus shot or a DOT physical and doesn't seem to be completely full of sh*t either. Wife also sees a registered NP and is very happy with her for normal run of the mill stuff.


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## dubltrubl (Jul 19, 2010)

I've heard mixed reports from a lot of people regarding the VA, but most of has not been very good. Some swear by 'em. My brother-in-law who is a doctor and an ex Army doctor and Green Beret told a few years back, "You wanna get a glimpse of nationalized healthcare? Just take a look at the VA!" And he wasn't meaning it in a positive way. I do think many of the doctors that work with the VA are well meaning, but the system seems to suck.

Steve


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

It's a crying shame the way we treat our veterans...especially in regards to healthcare, nothing at all good to say about them, nothing....
Here if you don't have a job, on assistance with no end in sight, have several illegitimates you can go to the big hospital right downtown, vets have to drive two hours away to what appears to be an old infirmary....pathetic


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

dubltrubl said:


> "You wanna get a glimpse of nationalized healthcare? Just take a look at the VA!"


I've heard that said on talk radio as well.

I think the staff means well but they are hamstrung by rules and regulations wrote by people who know nothing about medicine or the running of a hospital....kinda just like the people who wrote the Affordable Care Act.


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

I've got one cousin who was in Vietnam when I was. He goes to the VA for everything and thinks they are great. However, he lives in a rundown trailer, and is pretty close to being a hermit. They may be the only people he interacts with so he likes them, but every time they've messed with him he's had complications. I guess he thinks that's normal. I'll take my chances with Medicare. The bad news is it doesn't pay very much, the good news is that because of the low pay, the doctors aren't going to order a lot of tests and mess with me very much. Given that medication errors is the leading cause of death.....I'll stick with my roots, berries, and wine.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

My brother was also in Nam and he sounds exactly like your cousin....he could just never get his head straight afterward....too proud to ask for help...sad


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

somedevildawg said:


> My brother was also in Nam and he sounds exactly like your cousin....he could just never get his head straight afterward....too proud to ask for help...sad


Our post commander at the V was also in Nam, doesn't mess with the VA if he doesn't have to and had insurance thru the operating engineers.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Mike120 said:


> Given that medication errors is the leading cause of death.....I'll stick with my roots, berries, and wine.


Yes it is, far more than gun deaths as a matter of fact.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Heard today on a local talk show....about baby trevon....that in Chicago in the last 4 years, more deaths on the streets due to violent crime than all the american casualities of the Iraq/ Afghanistan conflict in the same time period, even factoring in the fact we weren't in Iraq for part of that time (in great numbers).....so, we have a flippen war zone on the streets of Chicago and it ain't ****** killin ******...or Hispanics killing blacks, it's blacks killin blacks, where's the uproar...the media....Jessie, rev sharpton, Cosby has been singin the song but no ones listening.....to easy to just make it racial....

Also heard today, zimmermans mom-dad are bi-racial, he dated a dark skin girl in high school, don't sound like a leading candidate for grand wizard to me......


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Here's the rest of the story. Did fine on the meds the last hospital had him on. Went into the VA for his procedures. A couple of stents put in, an ablation and a pacemaker. Sent him home, less than a week later he was back in Marion General with serious complications. Turns out the good folks at the VA didn't bother to check if any of the new meds were going to interact with the ones he was already on. Took a week to get his system cleaned out, back in again a few days later, no more than absolutely required to get him stabilized then they release him again, this is the regular hospital in Marion. Not sure if the VA is telling them no more days in than absolutely required or what, but not looking good.

One of the older guys at the V said most likely the VA will be the end of your father in law, I'm starting to agree with him.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

mlappin said:


> Here's the rest of the story. Did fine on the meds the last hospital had him on. Went into the VA for his procedures. A couple of stents put in, an ablation and a pacemaker. Sent him home, less than a week later he was back in Marion General with serious complications. Turns out the good folks at the VA didn't bother to check if any of the new meds were going to interact with the ones he was already on. Took a week to get his system cleaned out, back in again a few days later, no more than absolutely required to get him stabilized then they release him again, this is the regular hospital in Marion. Not sure if the VA is telling them no more days in than absolutely required or what, but not looking good.
> One of the older guys at the V said most likely the VA will be the end of your father in law, I'm starting to agree with him.


Terrible...perhaps they should offer an amendment to allow the vets to have the same policy the senators and congressmen get....thnk that one would go over?


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