This is a letter that I have e-mailed the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs. I Fucking swear these people are going to make me go insane before it's all said and done.Dear Sir:
I'm writing to you today so that you may be aware of some (just some) of the problems that I am having with the VA.
1) I can't get in touch with anyone that can answer questions for me. When I call any of the VA 800 numbers the hold time is more then I have allotted to spend. As of lately, when I go through the prompts, the recording says, "we are experiencing a high volume of calls, you will now be disconnected". Allotted time being the time in between groups and classes during business hours.
2) Since 24 Mar 17, I have been in the ER, medical ward, psych ward, SARRTP unit, and finally here at the VA Ft. Thomas Domiciliary with one day on the streets in between. During my stay at 7n in Robley Rex Med Center, they were not going to let me transfer to the SARRTP unit due to caffeine use. We are talking about a substance abuse treatment program and they are worried about my caffeine intake??? I had to do another interview with them and the questions were all about how much caffeine did I use before entering the hospital? How much am I going to use if the Treatment Team decides to let me in? etc... It was only when I demanded to see a Patient Advocate that someone came and told me that I could obtain treatment there. BTW, I'm still waiting on the Patient Advocate.
3) While at the SARRTP unit, there were several problems, some of which I've tried to get the office of my Congressman to help me with but it doesn't seem to be productive. I'll explain the major ones here: I suffer from PTSD. I have been diagnosed with PTSD from several civilians and VA Doctors alike. During my nine week stay at the SARRTP unit they would not let me be seen by the unit's PTSD Doctor, nor would they let me go to the PTSD Clinic in the main building. This is after my VA Psychiatrist has diagnosed me with PTSD and has it linked to Combat in his notes, along with the Doctors in 7n at the main hospital. I was however; allowed to see the PTSD Doctor's intern for about twenty minutes at which point, he told me that I had "No Trauma". I applied to several VA Treatment Centers so I could continue Treatment and in the hopes of getting help for my PTSD, which I believe is the root of my problem. The VAMC's that I applied to are in IN, IL, NC, MS and OH which is where I am at now, Ft. Thomas just happens to be in KY but falls under Cincinnati, OH; all of which, I've had little or NO reply whatsoever. Ft. Thomas being the exception. Ft. Thomas denied me TWICE. They denied me the first time because I didn't make enough money. I didn't make enough money to go to a VA Homeless Substance Abuse Domiciliary. (Please help me with that one) They denied me again after I reapplied and said I'll do whatever it takes to go back to work. Maybe I didn't explain myself properly but the reason was SSDI which I am not receiving. They only allowed me entrance to the Dom after I was approve for the VA Non Service Related Pension of $1075 per month.
4) I arrived at Ft. Thomas on the 7th of June and the next day I meet with my primary Counselor (Kendra McMullen, who is great BTW) which among other things set me up with a PTSD orientation. Ft. Thomas was where I really wanted to be for the simple reason that it is said to be the best in the Nation for PTSD Treatment. The reason that I was told is because I don't have PTSD. That I haven't been diagnosed because I apparently failed the 1000 question test. I have also been told that as Honorably Discharged Veterans we are "eligible" for treatment at the Dom but we are not "entitled" to treatment.
5) Do we believe a handful of Therapist and Doctors or one Nurse Practitioner that allowed me to take the test DRUNK. I didn't even see the questions. She read them to me. All of my C&P Exams were taken under the influence. All ten/twelve hours of them. Since then I've been trying to retake the exams but to no avail. I am sorry that I wasted the VA's time and money but I've been self medicating since I started jumping out of airplanes. It only got worse after DS/DS. There are a lot of things I won't list here because I'm ashamed or simply don't want it out in public.
In conclusion, I sincerely hope that you can help me out with this situation. Sir, I have a small black backpack in my room and I'm so very close to putting what little clothes that I have in it, signing out before walking across the street for a shot and a beer. Then living on the streets. I would also direct you to my blog where this will be posted. There are several post there about the VA and at last count, readers from over 30 countries. Please keep in mind that the majority of the post concerning the VA are not favorable.
SSG Gajewski, David S.
(Should Read Med Ret)
