Urgent Prayer and Help Request for MistyCA's Hospitalized Vietnam Veteran Brother

MistyCA

[Jim Robinson]

Here is the request from MistyCA:

I need help. My brother is in the hospital in Santa Barbara. He is dying. He has 10% heart capacity left after having (since Vietnam) three surgeries to replace infected valves and a resection to remove diseased tissue. The most recent surgery was done in Palo Alto by Dr. Burdin two years ago. He has chronic infections and needed a transplant but the VA denied the transplant.

Now he is sitting in the hospital in Santa Barbara waiting for the VA to get off their butt and get him in a VA facitility so he can get the care he needs. Here is his story in his own words.... dang...I can't remember how to make a link.. http://members.cox.net/jkk/vet.htm

This vet needs some freeper noise and help. Is there anything anyone can do here to get someone to move the VA to help him? Please. :( Can someone help me do a thread for my brother?

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Any news Misty??

Prayer bump.

[MistyCA]

Thanks, Colleen. It's nice to see you again! Hope all is well with you and yours. It's been a waiting game with us right now, but I hope we get an idea soon of what is going to happen. I get anxious with the waiting game.

[MistyCA]

No news. They have been doing testing.

[JLO]

Hey MistyCA, let me know privately by freepmail if I can help, ok? My partner was diagnosed 100% P&T and we have dealt with it for mant years. A good place to start is to check out www.hadit.com - but it's complicated to navigate - but most all info is there.

Best to you, and talk private, if you want. JLO

[MistyCA]

Thank you. The bad news is that they are already going to release my brother from the VA. He has only been there for less than a week, which is unheard of for him!! He is still functioning at 10% and the VA is going to put him in out-patient status so he will have to travel the 90 miles to appointments. They are writing him off. They do not intend to do a transplant. I am numb. I am feeling very defeated right now. :(

[MistyCA]

BTW, they are not re-evaluating him for the transplant. They are accepting what the dr said two years ago about it when they denied him. They did it because he had an active infection at that time. The dr in Santa Barbara who said he is a good candidate said there was no active infection. I just don't know what to think anymore. Santa Barbara is not equipped, imo, for that type of surgery. Even if they support it, I don't know who would actually do it. So much to find out and so little time to do it. I wish I had known all of this much sooner, but my brother was trying to deal with it himself all this time.

[JLO]

Your brother should have a VSO (veteran's service officer, who is linked by the county he lives in. Sorry, I don't know counties in CA, but here's a generalized link. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22santa+barbara%22+vso

Your brother may also be a member of a veteran's organization, hopefully, who can step in. One such place in MN is the American Legion. Maybe your brother joined up there; they help too.

Another thought is the DAV (Disabled American Veteran) association - but I'm pretty sure he has to be rated by the VA first.

I meant that to write privately was by freepmail, which I've done. But, I'll copy/paste/post it here, too. JLO

[JLO]

Hello MistyCA, I hope things are going ok; I'm sure they aren't, but I hope and pray they are.

That's why I think it's imperative he has a VSO who will go in and fight for him!!! They know the ins/outs. My earlier response to this thread should guide you there.

Again, write privately, if you want to. (just put it as private response.)

JLO - My thoughts and prayers are with your brother and you.

[JLO]

MistyCA, Just wondering about how your brother is doing. My prayers sent to your whole family. Talk privately if you wish (Reply privately to me, and not to the whole board, if you want to.) My partner has been 100% P&T since 1996. JLO

[ladyinred]

So sorry Misty. I can't understand this lack of caring for your brother by the system. I know they are bad, but this is just not within the realms of common decency. Prayers for him going up. God can change all of the best laid plans of man.

[JLO]

Re: I really don't think they don't care -

I disagree somewhat; I think they do care for the most part!

Some places just don't have the resources available they should have. The VA has made some major strides the past few years; but I think many places have a long road ahead. Pretty sad that past veterans don't get what they should sometimes.

I've said this here, there and everywhere I could think of that the vets need their VSO (Veteran's Service Officer" located within the county they live in) to stand up and fight for the vet's rights. That's their JOB! And the one I knew, Harold Novatny from MN was the best in the state at the time. He's retired now. I'm sure there are others who are also dedicated too, though.

JLO

[MistyCA]

Thanks so much for your help. My brother is very active in Vietnam Veteran organizations and served as the laisson between the Vietnam Vets and the American Legion, etc. Last time he had surgery he was still trying to help coordinate a dialog between the various organization representing the vets because in our neck of the woods there was a lot of disagreement about how to best serve the vets. Nothing new....politics as usual! :o) He has just lost his will to fight the system on this anymore. From my point of view, as long as he is up for the commotion of battle I will be his biggest warrior, but when he says it is taking too much out of him I have to respect his desire to have peace. That's pretty much where it stands right now. I have to back down because doing anything else might cause him too much stress. I will continue to fight for veteran's issues and support them in the best way I know how, and hopefully our society will see fit to do the right thing for all those vets out there who continue to run into frustration and redtape just trying to get their due. It's pathetic. We all need to remember to say a lot of extra prayers for all the guys who gave up the fight because they just didn't have the energy or will or know how to maintain a front.

[MistyCA]

Thanks, Lady. Just keep supporting the troops, sending money to the various organizations that have taken on their battles, and pray a whole lot for wisdom in the masses. Whew! That's a big order! LOL. This society is full of morons.

[MistyCA]

I am not sure why, but California has it's own organization which seems to be run separate from the National organization. They don't have a national veteran's service officer, but rather a California service officer. I honestly think that had my brother stayed in Minnesota while he was here (immediately before his hospitalization) instead of going back to California, he would have had better treatment and medical care. He went back to California and was stuck in a local hospital for 2 weeks before the VA lifted a finger. That would not have happened here, imo. But that is water under the bridge and my brother made that decision to be closer to home. Can't blame him for that, I guess. I am feeling bitter about the whole thing right now.

[MistyCA]

I am trying to respond to everyone who has been so kind to extend their wishes and prayers for my brother. I have what might be great news!!!!

First of all, my brother called and talked to us for over an hour last night! He was able to maintain the conversation without sounding out of breath which is incredibly amazing to me since he was only at 10% of his heart capacity when he was released from the hospital.

What he said is that the doctor who was working with him at the VA initially was a very new intern (1 week on the job) and unfamiliar with the complications my brother has been dealing with. My brother went in there needing to be dehydrated and they were so aggresive about it that they actually dehydrated him quite severely. The doctor was also discounting him for a transplant because of the fact he had been turned down after his last surgery. The fact is that he was turned down at that time because of the extensive infection they needed to get under control first. That being done, he is actually now a candidate.

He has been told unofficially that he is not accepted for transplant at Palo Alto. If this is true, our prayers have been answered! It has been a difficult struggle this time around, but I know the help of all your prayers and the response of so many wonderful people is what finally cut through the redtape and unresponsive posture of that new doctor! In fact, one of the doctors who had worked with my brother for years at the VA came out of a 5 year retirement to get over to the VA and make certain that my brother was being handled appropriately. My brother said he was so excited just seeing her face! He knew he was not being handled appropriately and as soon as the familiar old doctors began to come in, he knew the right thing would be done.

I am see happy right now because the course of treatment that he is under now, even being at home, is the right thing and he is showing significant improvement.

Thank you all so much. I hope I did not miss anyone who had asked me to keep you posted because this truly is wonderful news. Please KEEP YOUR PRAYERS coming for all the vets who need this kind of attention and don't have the know how or ability to put up the right fight to get it!!!

BTW...THANK YOU everyone who sent my brother an email. He has not been able to read them all or respond, but so many were sent to him that his 10 meg account was flooded! :) OMG, you freepers are just the best! You count in a big, big way and you are appreciated very much.

Please use your ping lists to let everyone know this turn of events. I am forever indebted to your kindness and compassion.

[Unknown Freeper]

Thanks for the good news, Misty. Continued prayers for your brother.

God is good.

[MistyCA]

OMG, in my haste to get the message out, I made a mistake and said he is NOT being considered for transplant when I should have said he is NOW a candidate for the transplant at Palo Alto. I am so happy about this.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Looks like good news but did you mean Now rather than not when you typed:

He has been told unofficially that he is not accepted for transplant at Palo Alto

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Sorry, should have waited a minute! Good news, and I will continue to pray. Do we still push the VA through our Congressmen?

[umgud]

Prayers on the way.......