Apparently, he had a recent surgery, then started having complications a few days after returning home. When he tried phoning his doctor, all got was the answering machine with no return call. So he takes a cab to the emergency room, where they give him a 'once over' and send him on his way. He then expires in the back of the cab on the ride home. I am so SICK of hearing about our veterans being treated this way. It happens way too much and it's not only infuriating, it's an absolute disgrace. Distressed veteran died in cab after VA release - Biloxi - SunHerald.com On a side note, I can't help be think this is the way ALL medical care will be unless ObamaCare is repealed.
There was a really good documentary on last night on HBO called Wartorn, and it was mostly about PTSD. One of the families on the documentary, was a father who had 2 sons, one of which was in the military. The military son had complained about PTSD over and over, and he was given a psych eval, and he even told the military doctor he was having thoughts of suicide. The military doctor pretty much pulled an R Lee Ermey from the Geiko commercial and told him to be a man, they then sent him back to his barracks with his weapon and ammunition and told him to clean his rifle, and instructed his mates to stay away from him. He then killed himself.
It's beyond pathetic, almost criminal, for them to be treated like this, after being asked to endure the hell of war, separations from the people they love most, and in many cases, seeing their brothers that they've fought side by side with being blown to bits. Then, to provide substandard health/psychological care for them when they return is unfor-fukkin-forgiveable. Pardon my language, but this is BS!
The case of the guy in the cab is really sad and yes you are 100% correct that this is exactly what nobama care will lead to. The PTSD stuff, while equally tragic is a lot more of a slippery slope. I finished my last tour of Iraq in 2006 and PTSD was just becoming a huge deal. While all units are different they are not that different. There are screening stations prior to entering and when leaving the AOR. You get screened when you return to the US and then they screen you again. I caught a little bit of that show "intervention" the other day and this guy had a son that was a Marine who returned home and went coo coo for cocoa puffs. From what I saw the guy was just a puss who was just looking for attention. Unfortunately the DoD, the VA, and everyone else involved handled the PTSD stuff all wrong. While it is very serious, and certainly needs to be dealt with they made it really easy to "get it" and with it and nice disability payment from the VA upon leaving the service. My opinion is there were so many claiming to have it, it made it hard to find the real ones. Another thing is the military doctors, while most of them are good there are a few that well, may not be on top of their game. When I was on Drill status we sent a kid to see "the wizard" (thats what we called the shrink) because he was all flaked out. The wizard sends him back with a fit to train stamp on his paperwork and a week later the kid stuck the business end of his M-16 in his mouth and... Bottom line is yes, there are far too many stories out there of vets being treated horribly and it really does need to end. The flip side is there are a good number of vets who are trying to find a loop hole or a way to cheat the system as well.
