Posted on 04/24/2017 7:59:58 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Chris May survived Afghanistan. Then came the battle to fit back in to society. May was paralysed from the waist down — an effect that subsided later the same day. But he had also sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The helmet had saved his life. After six months of speech therapy in Canberra May was declared fully fit for duties — but it was ceremonial work, on home soil. Not exactly what May signed up to do.. Our veterans hate DVA (the Department of Veterans' Affairs) because they're waiting for their compensation or claims to be heard from 50 years of backlogged paperwork. "As much as it sucked, I would go through it all again."
(Excerpt) Read more at abc.net.au ...
“I was lucky when I returned to the earth...”
Were you on another planet?
Most assuredly yes.
Also referred to as returning to ‘the world’.
” There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.”...
” they couldn’t possibly understand what her father went through in a real war.”
Whilst in RVN, we occasionally had discussions of how we had it better than those before us.
Yes we received some beer and soda rations, and if hit you usually would expect a quick dust off.
Hot chicks, not so much, but always rumors.
“....’No-one cares, mate...”
I do.
And a whole Hell of a lot of others do as well.
My old man and his brothers were WWII vets.
While I breathe, no one is forgotten.
A perfect response.
Thank you.
I agree, but it is a major stressor and I do think it may be part of the reason for the difference.
I think I’m going to do a little more research about Brits and Aussies. The American lifestyle is unique and may be causing more boots to get it.
Certainly not impossible.
” It is beneficial for vets to be treated by physicians who understand military demands, lifestyle, and roe.”
A close friend was discharged on return from RVN.
A few months later he became VERY sick.
His mother a nurse sent him to her two top Physicians.
He remained VERY sick.
He went to the very busy V.A..
As he walked into sight of the Doctor, he said MALARIA!
Absolutely - the CPSU (Community and Public Sector Union) represents Australian DVA employees. I'm not an expert in that field, but I haven't seen much sign of them causing damage to the care of veterans, but I haven't looked either.
All I can say as an Australian veteran who has been called on numerous times through a role in Legacy to help the families of Australian veterans to deal with our DVA, I have always found them as helpful as possible and really trying to do the right thing. And I've heard only occasional complaints from others, and in most cases, the complaints seemed to stem from temporary misunderstandings. Our public servants do seem to do a good job on this issue - and I don't often praise them.
It is beneficial for vets to be treated by physicians who understand military demands, lifestyles?
100% Hogwash!
I figured naturalman1975 may have been in a different timezone (GMT +10) when writing what he wrote. Gallipoli was pretty horrific.
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