wonky-eye.com

My posts have been few and far between because we have had so much going on.  All good news though…

Travis’s tumor is continuing to shrink.

Travis’s double vision is improving.

I got a GREAT job.

We just got back from a wonderful vacation thanks to Wounded Warriors Family Support.  Check out their website and don’t be shy to donate if you can.  http://www.woundedwarriorsfamilysupport.org/index.htm

I have a lot more to write about but I am really busy.  I just have been feeling guilty about not writting an update.

…coming soon…

I feel so guilty that I have not been able to update the website.  We have been really busy with all sorts of things.  Since my last update we have traveled to Stanford, I have been working on finishing my classes; we opened a kiosk, and did a bunch of other stuff.  I just can’t remember right now.

Stanford Trip

We have GREAT NEWS.  We had an appointment with Travis’s neurosurgeon and he believes that the tumor resection and radiation was a success.  Dr. Adler does not think that the tumor will grow back.  We are ecstatic!!! 

My Classes

I am almost down with this semester.  Many times I have felt like giving up.  We just have so much going on.  But I remind myself that I am a role model to Victoria and that the more education I have, the more I can help others.  Those two thoughts keep me on track.

The Kiosk

Many of you know Travis has started www.tntride.com back in October 2005, just a couple of months before he was diagnosed.  Though he has had some progress he has not been able to fully dedicate himself to it because of his illness and treatment.  If you notice some of the pictures just days after his surgery he still continued working.  Anyway, we proudly opened a kiosk on MCAS Miramar in front of the Exchange.  Travis and I are both really proud of this accomplishment.  So far we have spent two weekends there and both ended being a success.  We are going to be there again next weekend too.  I hope that this kiosk will end up supplementing Travis’s income once he retires.

My Employment Situation

Speaking of income I have had a difficult time finding a job.  I applied to a bunch of jobs here.  I turned down one offer because I was almost guaranteed a position with another company.  After months of negotiations and jumping through hoops I was told that the company has a hiring freeze and they will contact me as soon as that changes but they are not sure how long that will be.  It worries me because without that job we will most likely end up moving back to Los Angeles unless something else comes through for Travis or I.  I hate to think about that so I am just taking things day by day.

Something Else Concerning Me

A Schwannoma brain tumor is a VERY VERY RARE type of a tumor.  Recently I was contacted by another wife whose husband also has a Schwannoma and is stationed at MCAS Miramar.  What are the chances of that occurring?  Travis also worked with another Marine who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  It makes me wonder if there is a link between brain tumors and the military.  I certainly hope not but I am going to do some research and see what I can find.

Speechless…that pretty much sums up how we have been feeling since last week. Speechless followed by thankful. The last two years have been filled with many challenges, difficult days and nights, and lots of worries and stress. It seems like if anything can go wrong it will go wrong and we have not been given any breaks. That was until two weeks ago.

We were at Balboa Hospital for follow up appointments. We had also planned to meet our new counselor advocate. We met with him and he was very patient and pleasant. The three of us sat together and Travis and I told him about everything that we have been going through. He gave us his undivided attention and listened to everything that we had to say. He advised us of different ways to get help and offered us suggestions and advice. He mentioned a program called Computer/Electric Accommodations Program (CAP). Taken from their website, “CAP provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors, IT professionals, and Wounded Services Members. We buy it, we pay for it, we get it to the users, it’s just that simple.” Our Counselor advocate noticed Travis’s memory loss and felt that Travis would benefit by using a PDA. The counselor advocate, Mr. V told us that there were other devices that Travis may benefit by using. Mr. V sated that he would do his best to get Travis a PDA and informed us that he would contact us when he received the device.

After meeting with Mr. V we couldn’t believe that we had met this person who showed so much concern for what we were going through. Mr. V has a huge heart and we are so thankful that we were fortunate enough to meet him. We walked over to the pharmacy to wait him Travis’s prescription. While we were waiting Travis received a call from Mr. V. He said that he wanted to meet us in the pharmacy. Mr. V found us and asked us to fill out a one page application form for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. I filled out the application for Travis and Mr. V explained to us that this organization may be able to get us the same PDA that we discussed minutes ago but that this organization could possibly get it to us quicker. We sat and chatted with Mr. V for a while until Travis’s prescription was ready. Then we went home. This was on a Friday.

Monday morning Travis and I were on base at Travis’s unit doing some paper work for our upcoming Trip to Stanford. When we finished in his unit we got in Travis’s car, and then he got a phone call. It was from a lady named Sondria. She was calling from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. She introduced herself and asked Travis a little bit about himself and our family. He shared about the last two years; the surgeries, radiation, complications, our family, as well as my resignation from work. She asked Travis for his address and told him that she was sending him a check/grant as well as getting the PDA for him. Travis finished the call with Sondria and explained to me what had happened. Travis was in shock. He was not used to anyone doing anything for him. We went home and had dinner.

The next day we took Victoria to one of her medical appointments. On our way home we check the mail. There was an envelope from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Travis became nervous and did not know what to do. We sent Victoria upstairs so that he could open the envelope privately. Travis sat on the sofa with the envelope, he asked me to sit next to him. I patiently waited as he carefully opened the envelope. There was a signed letter from the organization and a check. Travis looked at the amount on the check and tears started to fill his eyes. I looked down at the check and noticed the GENEROUS amount. We were both speechless. About 24 hours after talking to Sondria, a check was in our mailbox. It has been a week today since Travis received this check and typing it today still brings those same feelings back. It is hard to put those feelings to words and it is hard to explain how my body feels. It is unbelievable that someone that we never met could do this for us and it is even crazier that there are many people who donate and contribute to this organization and makes gifts like this possible.

I am so thankful for this check because it means so much to my husband. These last few years have felt like everything was going wrong. After two years of trying so hard and fighting with all that we had left in us, we finally got a break. I can’t ever replay the people who made this possible. I wish that I would have video taped my husband opening the envelope because then everyone would have been able to see the beauty of his happiness.

Travis sent Sondria an email to thank her because he could not get through to her on the phone. She called Travis back on Wednesday morning. Travis thanked her over the phone. We were both still in shock over the generous gift. Sondria spoke with my husband more about our living situation and the sprung another surprise on us. She wanted us to go to Sleep Train, pick out a comfortable mattress, and have the invoice sent to her. Again, Travis got tears in his eyes. He is not used to anything like this. He has been supporting himself since he left home at 18 years old. Everything he has, he has paid for with money he has earned. Large gifts are not something he is used to.

This all seemed too good to be true. After two years of struggle we have been blessed by meeting these wonderful people who have lifted some of the stress off of our shoulders.

On Thursday we went to Sleep Train. We tried out many mattresses in the store and we found one that was like sleeping on clouds. Travis LOVED the mattress. It made me really happy to see him enjoying himself. We had a very nice salesman who we shared our story with. Travis like the salesman so much that Travis took a picture with him. The mattress was set to be delivered on Friday.

Friday Travis and I went to Balboa for some medical appointments. He had to see his oral maxofacial surgeon, the pain management clinic, neuro-opthamology and we met with Mr. V. We went to Mr. V’s office. He presented Travis with the new super cool PDA device. Needless to say we were very thankful for everyone’s generosity. We spoke to Mr. V about other things going on and without hesitation Mr. V offered us more help and advice on some issues that we were dealing with.

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I had a hard time writing this entry. I was having a difficult time finding the right words to accurately describe the feelings that we were feeling. The support and generosity still seem unreal to us. I will do my best to accurately update and hopefully I can make a video soon to share with you Travis’s true reaction to daily events.

Please take some time to read about the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. The website tells about who they are and has testimonials about what they have done. I am not trying to pressure anyone but if you are interesting in helping this organization to help others, you can donate by clicking here.

So much has been going on in our lives I do not even know where to start. Travis is currently in the MEB/PEB process, in civilian term this means that he is in the process of being medically retired from the military. It also means that he must attend different classes as well as additional medical appointments. We went to a week long class to learn about VA benefits and to get him enrolled in the VA system. The class was long and a lot of important information was given to us. Luckily I was able to attend the classes with Travis because it was impossible for him to pay attention due to his pain medications. Travis has five upcoming appointments to be evaluated by the VA.

We will be traveling up to Stanford for a follow up appointment with Travis’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Adler. We have to stay over night for that appointment and luckily my sister offered to take time off from work to watch Tori. With so much else going on I have not really had time to think about what we might hear from Dr. Adler. Travis is getting an MRI when he is up there and I hope that we get good news. To be able to function I have been thinking positive. In my mind Travis is on his way to getting better and we are on our way to living a more “normal” life. I hope that we are told that the tumor has not grown.

I have been doing my best to keep up with school. I was really looking forward to starting classes again but I did not realize how hard it was going to be to fit them in our busy schedule. More than once I have wanted to quit the classes because I feel so overwhelmed. What keeps me on track is I remind myself of special people like Travis’ Flight Surgeon and a few other individuals who have really made a difference in this difficult time. I want to be able to give back someday and I want to be able to help out other people and other families the way that we have. When I remind myself of these goals and of my mentors I get the strength to continue with my schooling. I am nearing the end of my first semester back and I can’t wait to finish so that I can feel that accomplishment. This last weekend I took three quizzes, one exam, watched a foreign film, wrote a two page essay, and read my textbooks. I could not have found the time for this if I did not have the support of my family.

Today we had plans to go to base to get our orders for our trip to Stanford. After getting our orders we were going to go grocery shopping and then to the bank. Well as usual, things could not go as planned. While we were at Travis’s unit getting his orders Travis bent down to fix his shoe and he had a back spasm. He described it to be just as painful as the time that he was hospitalized initially for his back problem. We finished up our business with his unit and then Travis drove to Base Medical. Why was Travis driving and not me? Well he just started driving again, he was driving his car and it is stick shift and I can’t drive stick shift. So we were stuck. Anyway, we made it to Base Medical and he was seen by the doctors that we on duty today. They assessed the situation and gave him some pain medication and a shot so that he could be comfortable. We walked down to the pharmacy and waited to be called. We ended up sitting next to a nice man that struck up a conversation with Travis. He noticed that Travis was in pain and started asking questions. One thing lead to another both Travis and the man were sharing there horror stories from Balboa Hospital. This man suggested that we write to our Congressman and Senator about what happened and gave Travis a great pep talk about standing up for himself. The pep talk really touched Travis’s heart to know that a stranger took the time to listen to what Travis has been going through and that this man actually cared.

Also I should mention that today Travis got a call from a stranger. When I use the word stranger I intend no negative connotation. I use the word simply to imply a person that has no relationship to us, someone that has no obligation to us. And it overwhelming to us when a stranger opens up their heart to us. Back to what I was saying, a woman called him today from the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. She got our information from a case worker and called Travis to tell him how her organization could help him. Something this woman said really touched Travis’s heart and after he hung up the phone with her he was speechless. I hate that Travis has had these health conditions but considering the situation, nothing could compare to the way that we feel when we are approached by caring people. It really means a lot to us. Nothing can take away his tumor but caring people can certainly make living with it a lot better. The feeling these people give us also is a motivation and a reminder of how important it is to give back.

Click here to read stories of injured services member and how the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund assisted the service members and their families.

Tori was dressed in her new leotard for gymnastics; she has not gone to her gymnastic class since the holidays.  She was really excited to start her classes again.  The three of us were sitting down for dinner.  Her class was about an hour away.  Travis took a bite of his dinner and a “lightening bolt” of pain shot through the left side of his face.  His eyes got watery and he said that he felt dizzy.  He sat quietly for a few minutes but the pain did not subside.  Tori grew concerned and offered to skip her gymnastics class so that we could take Travis to the hospital. 

Travis went upstairs and called his flight surgeon to let him know what had happened.  Tori and I stayed downstairs to clean up dinner.  Tori started to cry, she told me that she hates seeing Travis and pain and she is tired of him not feeling well.  I explained to her that I felt the same way but that Travis has fought through 2 major surgeries and that he can fight through this new obstacle.

I send Tori upstairs to change into comfortable clothes and suggest that she pack a backpack with a blanket and some things to keep her occupied.  I check on Travis who confirms with me that his flight surgeon wants him to go to the hospital.  I pack my backpack with one of my textbooks and a highlighter and a couple bottles of water.

We arrived at the hospital and went directly to the CT Scan area to meet Travis’s flight surgeon.  As always, seeing the flight surgeon brought me a sense of comfort and safety.  We spoke with his flight surgeon for a while and he told us to have the radiologist call him after the CT  Scan was complete.  The three of us waited patiently for about two hours before Travis was called for his turn.  Tori tried to get some rest while I studied for my class.

After the CT Scan we headed down to the emergency room.  We checked in and took a seat.  The ER was FILLED with people, mostly parents with ill babies.  Tori found a seat and again tried to get comfortable with her blanket.  The waiting room was bright and loud.  It took hours for Travis to be called for his turn.  When we checked in we gave a detailed description of Travis’s medical history and the new problem Travis was having but all the clerk would note was, “patient has headache on left side.”  We believe that this is the reason that we were left sitting for HOURS in the waiting room of the ER.

When Travis was finally called to go back we left Tori in the waiting room and followed the nurse to the bed.  We sat and waited for a few minutes and then was approached by a doctor who asked Travis, “how is your headache feeling?” We explained to the doctor that Travis did not have a “headache”.  We told him about Travis’s medical history and gave him a detailed description of what brought him to the ER.  The doctor advised us that Travis could not be helped in that area and that he would need to be moved to another area because of the seriousness of his condition. 

All the while, Tori was sitting alone in the ER waiting room.  It was now late at night and it was a school night.  So Travis gets put into a new bed in a new area of the ER.  Another doctor came in to see Travis and ask him what was going on.  Travis and I explained to him how Travis was feeling and the doctor advised us that he wanted to do a spinal tap.  We were not happy about this because twice before doctors had mentioned doing this painful procedure to Travis and then later decided that it was not needed.  So I talked to Travis about it and we decided that if the doctor wants to do it then we should probably let him.  Then I ran back to the waiting room to check on Tori and give her an update on Travis.  A lady at the reception desk advised me to limit my trips to check on her because the hospital does not like people going back and forth.  What was I really suppose to do?  We do not have a babysitter for Victoria and we were not comfortable leaving her home alone at night for who knows how long.  We did not want her going back to see Travis getting treated because it would have been too traumatic for her to see Travis and other patients being cared for.

So after I check on Tori and tell her that Travis is okay, I return to Travis.  This time another doctor is checking on him and asking him questions.  This doctor informs us that a spinal tap is not necessary (thank god) and that they wanted to do blood work on him.  A corpsman (military nurse) comes in and starts an IV on Travis and draws some blood.  Travis sits there for a while and I began feeling very uncomfortable leaving Tori alone in the waiting room so I return to the waiting room and tell Travis to call me on the cell phone if he needs me. 

When I return to the waiting room I see Tori sprawled out across three chairs (the chairs had arms) with her blanket over her face.  She somehow managed to fall asleep.  I sat next to her in the waiting room and stared at her and started thinking.

I am so proud of my daughter for the strength and maturity she has gained from this entire experience.  She has also learned about sacrifice.  I hate that she had to give up her gymnastics class that night. And I hate that she has had to give up so much because of Travis’s brain tumor.  The whole thing is really not fair to her.  But she has never complained about the sacrifices that she has had to make.  Rather, she is always concerned about Travis’s well being.  I love her so much and I hate that she had to learn these tough life lessons but I am proud of her for the ways that she has adapted and grown through these last two years.

And in case you are wondering what the outcome of the whole ER trip was…  We left the ER at about 3:00am, the diagnosis…TMJ.  They could not figure out what caused the pain or why it suddenly came on when Travis now bites down or sneezes so they said that all it was is TMJ.  Something the we already knew that he had.  So the entire 8 hours in the ER was pretty much a waste of time.  Luckily, Travis did not have the spinal tap done.

We are approaching the two year mark to the day that Travis was diagnosed.  I still remember that day.  He was sitting up in a hospital bed.  I walked in the room and there were some doctors in there with him.  Then they explained to me that Travis had a brain tumor.  There was no way to prepare for that news.  I had no idea that anything serious was wrong with him.  I knew he had some problems with double vision and I knew his mouth was tingly but I NEVER expected to be told that he had a brain tumor.  The moment I heard the news I felt like the world had stopped.  It seemed like a bad dream.  A few minutes later we walked down the hall to view the MRI and CAT scan.  That is when it really hit me.  Looking back on that hour of my life still brings tears to my eyes.  After we looked at the images of Travis’s brain and the large tumor we attempted to get up and leave that room to return to Travis’s hospital room.  I was so overwhelmed by the images and the news that I had just received that I started to panic.  I tried my best to hold myself together but I could not.  I felt light headed, hot and then cold, and I felt like I could not breathe.  I was trying so hard to stay strong but nothing I could do would stop my body from reacting.  I am embarrassed to admit but I had to be wheeled out in a wheelchair.

So that was almost two years ago.  There has been many tough days and nights.   There has also been a lot of rewards.  That day really changed me.  I have built up a lot of strength and I am now able to do things that I never imagined I would be doing. For example, this is what I did yesterday:

• woke up
• baked cookies
• did laundry
• ironed my shirt
• took a shower and got ready
• went to the bank
• put gas in my car
• went to a second bank
• went grocery shopping
• stopped to by myself some flowers
• played tennis with Victoria
• took Victoria to the pool
• painted my nails
• went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy a few things I needed for dinner
• went to World Market to get some containers for Travis’s tea
• made cheese ravioli from scratch with Victoria

Now that is everything those are the main things that I remember but there are also little things that I accomplished as well.  My point of sharing a day in my life with is…”The Show Must Go On!”

That cliche came to me this morning when I was washing the dishes.  Sure I could have spent the last few years feeling sorry for myself, sad, and angry.  I do have those days.  There are plenty of days when I cry and when I am frustrated.  But I try my best to remind myself that I have to keep going.  Feeling sorry for myself 24/7 and not going to make my life any better.  So I have to find the strength for myself and my family and do my best to carry on. 

Reflecting over these last two years I realize how much I have changed.  I am not so materialistic because I realize that in times like these even a designer purse or a fancy car can’t bring long term happiness.  I cut back on drinking.  I RARELY ever drink anymore because I am the only driver in the family and I have the responsibility to take care of my family.  I have found my passion in life.  Helping people and health-care.  I have had an interest in health-care for years now but it was more a curiosity, rather than the desire to learn and help people.  I have started my classes again at school. I am highly motivated to finish college (my goal is to graduate college before Victoria graduates high school) and submerge myself in the medical field where I can touch the lives of needy families much the way that Travis’s flight surgeon touched ours.

I hope that others will also find the silver lining in the dark cloud may have parked over their family.  Rather than blaming a “part of life”, be productive and push yourself to the limit.

Sign the petitionhttp://www.petitiononline.com/fd1950/petition-sign.html

The Feres Doctrine,I probably read about it on high school but I don’t remember.  Now, years later it is haunting my family as well as many other military families. (Taken from Wikipedia) …Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the United States is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries to members of the armed forces sustained while on active duty and not on furlough and resulting from the negligence of others in the armed forces. The opinion is an extension of the English common-law concept of sovereign immunity.

The practical effect is that the Feres doctrine effectively bars service members from successfully collecting damages for personal injuries, whether or not they were suffered in the performance of their duties. It also bars families of service members from filing wrongful death or loss of consortium actions when a service member is killed or injured. The bar does not extend to killed or injured family members, so a spouse or child may still sue the United States for tort claims (such as medical malpractice), nor does it bar service members from filing either in loco parentis on their child’s behalf or filing for wrongful death or loss of consortium as a companion claim to a spouse or child’s suit.

What is basically means to us is that because my husband is active duty, he is required to seek medical treatment from the military, and regardless of the outcome of the treatment, the military is not financially responsible.  The military can make any sort of careless mistake with his medical care which can result in death or permanent damage and we cannot file a lawsuit.  We are not looking to profit off of the unfortunate diagnosis my husband received.  However, the fact that he did not receive proper treatment which resulted in a subsequent brain surgery and eminent premature retirement does not seem right. How does it seem fair that because the military messed up they are pushing my husband out of the service?  My husband is not well enough to work and he faces multiple future surgeries and other medical treatment. Because he is going to be forced into retirement he will receive a significant cut in pay.  How are we supposed to make up for this pay cut?  I must return to work, which I have no problem with but who is going to drive him to his medical appointments and take care of him during the day following his surgeries if I have to return to work to financially support our family?

Now I understand that once you join the military you give up a lot of your rights.  However, how is it that convicted criminals…murders, child predators , and others on death row have more rights than those serving and protecting our country?  People in prison have a right to file a malpractice lawsuit but people protecting our freedom do not?  That does not make sense to me.

It is sad and very alarming that we are not the only family affected by this.  If you search the Internet there are many service members who are haunted by the Feres Doctrine. Below are stories of some others:

http://forum.rscnet.org/archive/index.php?t-127565.html

Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977247314

LT Clark and CDR Lamoreaux  

On Feb 18 1996, LT Clark and CDR Lamoreaux died in an explosion caused by a GE engine defect the Navy brass knew about but chose to ignore. The Feres Doctrine prevented their widows from suing GE for wrongful death. Feres is a license to kill our own service members.

http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/104505.shtml 

(spouse) Alexis Witt

“I have just taken my husband off life support at Travis AFB David Grant Medical Center. He had a routine appendectomy performed, he went without oxygen for 12-15 minutes after surgery because the staff tried to revive him with pediatric equipment…. many other mistakes were made that contributed. You can read about it online with the Salt Lake Tribune. ”

sincerley alexis witt
alexiswitt@hotmail.com

SPC Richard Jackson

“My husband is currently in the United States Army. He loves his country and is now getting medically chaptered out because of an acident he was in on October 22,2002. While he was loading a round into his tank while at gnnery, the new AIMS device caught him in the side of the head and crushed his skull. When he went into surgery 2 days later, he had both of his eyes working, undeleivibly. The doctors from BAMC hospital came out to tell me that while the surgery was successful, my husband is now permantly blind in his right eye and woudl never fee the side of his face again. The eyesight was lost because the docotrs went in too soon and caused severe sweeling. This was told to me by the doctors, they addmitted the fault. Now my husban who was a career soldier is being put out. He has nop other job skills then driving tractor an trailors, and that is not advises or leagal wih one eye and when we spoke to a lawyer they said nothing could be done because of the “Feres Doctrine”. Where are the rights fr the soldiers and there families. What help will we recieve now that he has to start over. What compensation is out ther for the families that have been hurt and whowill take the people rsposible to task for what they did? This document is a farce and it is fr the government to hide bhind. My husband gladl would give his life for his country beause he believes in it. Now the government wont help him. If anyone knows anything that can be of help please let me know and I will gladly help anyone who needs it. ”
Alexis and Spc Richard Jackson
Ft hood Texas
jaxkitten24@aol.com

(mother) Dorothy L. Bundrant dbund65371@aol.com

“FN Darion A. Price USN, KILLED MY SON, Cpl. Andrew R. Franco, on April 1, 2001, our Government knows and does not care. It happened on the USS Portland, during routine training. The sad thing is I believe my son was not the only one that died during that 6-month training.

        My name is Dorothy L. Bundrant. My 25 year old son is/was a Marine. My son, CPL Andrew R. Franco Jr., fell 25ft through an open hatch on the catwalk, which was carelessly left open by FN Darion A. Price USN, on March 29, 2001. My Son was in a coma for 3 days in Ramstein, Germany; while Andrew’s father and I were waiting for the Marines to obtain all the paperwork needed so that we could be with our son, he died, it was April 1, 2001. We never had the chance to tell him that we love him, or to say goodbye.

        At any other time this incident would be called negligent homicide or wrongful death but because my Son died in the military it was called a safety issue. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE that Andrew’s brothers, Father and I deserve? To my knowledge FN Darion A. Price USN has never once shown any remorse for his actions that caused my son’s death. He definitely never told my family or me that he was sorry.

Because it happened in the military both FN Darion A. Price USN and our government are immune; we will never receive the justice that we deserve”

I found this story online and it breaks my heart.  I strongly disagree with the fact that there is a law that prevents any sort of medical malpractice lawsuits againts the military.  I know that life is not fair but these two cases are unexceptable to me.  The fact that both of these young men could be here alive today is the received the proper medical care just breaks my heart.

Click on the link to watch the video.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3776975n

There is so much that goes into a military medical retirement.  Lots of acronyms (ie. PEB, MEB, VA, DOD), lot of appointments, lots of paperwork, and lots of organizing.  The whole thing is very overwhelming to me.  It is stressful enough to know that Travis is going to get a major pay cut but making sure that he gets all of the benefits he deserves is not as simple as it seems it should be. 

There has been a lot of controversy in the media with the VA including their rating system.  It is hard to know what to do and who to trust.  I started searching online for information and I found a WONDERFUL website/message board that is filled with hundreds if not thousands or retired veterans and their family members.  There is so much valuable information on the website as well as a lot of friendly helpful people.

Anyone looking for help with a military PEB, MEB, medical retirement, or medical separation should check out http://vets.yuku.com/directory.