is good news...right?
Well, we got news and it isn't so good. Soldier is more damaged than originally thought, which means the land in Nevada is a no-go for right now. No-go as in we won't be going there and starting from scratch. Instead we will be heading home to MO, finding a place there and starting from not-so-scratch. Soldier won't be doing any heavy lifting, building of big things or the such for quite some time. He will be getting Medical Out, we just don't know when that will start or how it will work with new regs. They (Garrison, I think) are trying to get a new regulation written that all Med Boards get sent back to the States to finish out. That means homeward bound we shall be...eventually.
We've found a few places that have caught our eye...small homes, acreage, areas with no to few restrictions...not all that close to family but closer than we are now and not as far as Nevada. We will be keeping the Nevada land...just in case. It'll make for a nice backup and/or long family camping trips (really long).
Since we are now aware of the inevitable, the waiting is horrible. Soldier has it the worst...unable to do much of anything...morning walks to the company (because he can't drive with the meds he's on and refuses to wake us all up at 0dark30 for me to drive him) wipe him out for the entire day. The meds are pretty heavy and he's tired/hurting all the time regardless. There is very little I can do for him to help, so we just plug away at the time we have left here. I'm keeping an eye on him...watching for signs of depression and the like. But I know what he's thinking...'what good is a Soldier that can't soldier?" Not sure how much it's affected him, he talks but not a lot. The good news is that he has a fantastic doc that really cares and goes to bat for her Soldiers. This woman is an original and I adore her.
Alas, that's all the news from here for now...chilly night air is creeping in (we're having an Indian Summer right now) and the dog needs to pee.
Well, we got news and it isn't so good. Soldier is more damaged than originally thought, which means the land in Nevada is a no-go for right now. No-go as in we won't be going there and starting from scratch. Instead we will be heading home to MO, finding a place there and starting from not-so-scratch. Soldier won't be doing any heavy lifting, building of big things or the such for quite some time. He will be getting Medical Out, we just don't know when that will start or how it will work with new regs. They (Garrison, I think) are trying to get a new regulation written that all Med Boards get sent back to the States to finish out. That means homeward bound we shall be...eventually.
We've found a few places that have caught our eye...small homes, acreage, areas with no to few restrictions...not all that close to family but closer than we are now and not as far as Nevada. We will be keeping the Nevada land...just in case. It'll make for a nice backup and/or long family camping trips (really long).
Since we are now aware of the inevitable, the waiting is horrible. Soldier has it the worst...unable to do much of anything...morning walks to the company (because he can't drive with the meds he's on and refuses to wake us all up at 0dark30 for me to drive him) wipe him out for the entire day. The meds are pretty heavy and he's tired/hurting all the time regardless. There is very little I can do for him to help, so we just plug away at the time we have left here. I'm keeping an eye on him...watching for signs of depression and the like. But I know what he's thinking...'what good is a Soldier that can't soldier?" Not sure how much it's affected him, he talks but not a lot. The good news is that he has a fantastic doc that really cares and goes to bat for her Soldiers. This woman is an original and I adore her.
Alas, that's all the news from here for now...chilly night air is creeping in (we're having an Indian Summer right now) and the dog needs to pee.
4 comments:
Good luck and blessings for all of you. The military sure takes it's toll on a body, even in peacetime. I saw that quick during my sleep deprived stint in the Navy, seeing all those fixin' to retire 38 year old chief petty officers that looked like they weren't a day over 50. I got out of there...
Start your VA paperwork right away. I started mine in Germany and had a fairly short wait for benefits compared to a lot of folks. Start making copies of everything from your LES, orders certificates to all medical records you have on hand. Sign up for VetSGLI you won't get a better deal on insurance. Get your VA home letter right away. You don't have to use it but it's great to have on hand.
I had a medical discharge in 2003 after 13 years in service. If you need advice or help give me a holler
ASR~ They got this spiffy new system that is "supposed" to trim the time down on all the VA stuff. "Supposedly" you VA packet gets dropped the same time as the Med Board packet...since they've changed the MEB regs to the effect of a Soldier getting the MAIN issue as the reason for the MEB and the VA handling the rest. Our sticky part is 'what is the main issue'...Soldier's back or, now, Soldier's neck. He's lost a significant amount of movement in both and we don't find out until next week what the MRI on his neck looks like...the back we've got and it ain't pretty. Can we say 'whoa, that's all not right'?
I've started the paperwork on SSI but am wary about submitting it...who knows what they'll (the docs) come up with, ya know. The CoE is on it's way, but the credit will have to finish getting cleaned up before we'll even try to apply for a VA loan. Plus Soldier technically has in almost 6 years (next June) and will be eligible for severance pay...that will make for a nice down payment of 20% or more with a little left over.
We have copies (and copies) of EVERYTHING with the exception of his records from downrange...those we need BAD but for some reason I doubt very seriously the PA that f'd Soldier over down there will be willing to hand those over.
Where ever you decide to settle down contact the local DAV they can be a huge help. I know my local VA hospital in Boise Id. is darn good. They treat Vets as good as they can/allowed and respect service to the country. I think flyover country, away from major urban areas will be your best bet for a good VA hospital or annex.
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