Page 15 - Sonoma County Gazette July 2017

VETERAN cont’d from page 14
abuse survivors....these included Brian’s personal journey as a Vietnam War Veteran seeking explanations for mental health symptoms/behaviors he &
his peers were having... This was during a time when earlier the VA & other medical providers had not yet acknowledged PTSD or its devastating a ects upon returning war veterans & their families. Brian was a man of courage, deep insights, respect for those he served, always balanced by a sense of humor”.
In a shocking ironic oversight, Brian and his family received no help with
his care despite his history as a Veteran. He experienced back pain and had a fusion in his neck, and had diabetes for 20 years. Additionally, he su ered from pneumonia, shrapnel in the eye and typhoid while in service.
A Warning for Veterans
This January, he was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer to the bone and liver. During a home visit from a social worker (who was also a veteran and worked at a Vietnam Veteran Center back east) he was asked about his service and if he had received veteran services. Brian had been erroneously denied because of income restrictions; that was not the correct criteria to be used for eligibility because he served in Vietnam. He should have been getting medical services without any regard to income. He had never applied for any bene ts in the belief that he would not qualify.
The social worker then dropped a bomb - explaining that lung cancer and diabetes are presumptive conditions resulting from agent orange exposure which Brian had experienced. Under revised “dates
of exposure” Brian now quali ed for exposure to both and had never been advised this.
His wife was told by a Veterans Officer (VSO) that Brian’s DD214 discharge forms did not re ect “boots on the ground” service, but only identi ed him as a Vietnam era Veteran, unbeknownst to Brian. He was forced into a very painful in-person visit a month before he passed, and three months later his family is still waiting for correct records.
Brian could have received assistance throughout his illness and potentially discovered his cancer sooner, as more frequent lung x-rays are part of Agent Orange follow up. The family would have received assistance with his care including home health care, nursing, transportation for free instead of paying
a $5500 deductible and an hour visit each day - all that was o ered through private insurance and hospice.
Brian could have been receiving bene t payments for having diabetes 20 years ago. His children could have received a free college education and
no point VA loan. His family would have bene ted from additional income throughout his life. Pamela says, “I would encourage every veteran to make certain their DD214 re ects their service correctly and meet with their local VSO and veteran’s clinic”. She says she will receive no retroactive medical reimbursements and no bene ts prior to their belated ling date.
Brains life’s work stands as an extraordinary example of empathy, service and caring, and as a call to alertness for all veterans to check and double check their paperwork status. VA reform has begun, but has a long way to go.
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