I have the commandment to blog our journey to the VA today for a major medical hearing for a new wheelchair for CC.

Background: Since I have not blogged recently and never told you the outcome of CC's quest to have the VA acknowledge and compensate him beyond the original 1969 classification of his disabilities. PTSD, hearing loss, nerve damage - these are some of the issues the Board was reviewing.

The deal is - they only gave him 30% PTSD. Hah. Hah.  Not enough psychological damage to pay him for it. I am here to tell you, if this man only has a 30% rating for PTSD - I deserve another 70%. Then we need to award each child he has raised (four) another 50 to 75 percent.  

This is the man who was drinking himself to death, decided not to die and got off the booze. Then we had to address the pain he was self medicating.  His narcotic intake went up 10 fold.  And he went on Prozac for depression. Anti seizure medicine for anger management.  He became a walking pharmacy over the last year and a half. He was being compliant.

Too compliant to be compensated for PTSD. And now he is riled up and out to prove he has enough psychological trauma to be compensated.  Try living with that, as if he hasn't already been a bit hard to live with.

 A few weeks ago, he stopped taking the Prozac. He was tired of being semi conscious all the time.  Up my PTSD another 50%. I am up to 130% now, I believe.  

Back to today. We are headed to the VA to ask for a different wheelchair. The doctor ordered him a quickie, but the lady in rehab - Ms Nichol - said, no, no he needed an invocare. Which doesn't fold for flying, doesn't have adjustable legs, etc, etc.  The VA is going to send him to a disabled veterans' games in Denver - but try getting this fellow on an airplane - especially with a wheelchair he can't fold and put in the compartment above him.  And the non adjustable legs - well, he can't bend his knee far enough for that to work for him.

The hearing loss.  They got him a hearing aid, but no compensation. His voice went down 3 octaves as soon as he heard how loud he talked. His 37 year old son exclaimed - "You mean they could have done something about this 37 years ago?"

I have to go now to the VA with an angry veteran to see if he can get another wheelchair which fits his needs better.  See you when I get back.