| Author | Message | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 83 Registered: 3-2004 |
I want to thank those of you who are in the military or have been in the military at this time. This is Memorial Day Weekend and all of you military men and women have given of yourselves when you joined the military. My son, an Air Force captain, reminds me that freedom is not free. The Military has helped maintain that freedom and I thank you very much. Because of you we have freedom of religion, freedom of speech and other freedoms. God has used you in the military and out of it. God is in control and always will be. He won that battle at the cross. So, where ever you go and whatever you do in and out of the military Jesus promises to always be with you. (Matthew 28:19, 20) So, I pay tribute to you and God this weekend as we remember our military. God is awesome. Diana | ||
| Dennisrainwater Registered user Username: Dennisrainwater Post Number: 89 Registered: 8-2000 |
Thank you Flyinglady! As a former Air Force member who served during Desert Storm, I deeply appreciate your message. God bless America, Den <>< | ||
| Gatororeo7 Registered user Username: Gatororeo7 Post Number: 140 Registered: 4-2002 |
Thank you for those touching words. God bless! Airman First Class Joel London Active Duty Air Force 9th Civil Engineering Squadron Beale Air Force Base, California | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 580 Registered: 11-2002 |
Doing some bragging here-my 19 year old son took his physical last week to go into the US Coast Guard. Now he is just waiting to get the confirmation in the mail. I have an older son who has been in the Navy now 13 years. It's a wonderful cholic that my sons and the rest of our military personelle have made. Just last week I read the book of the Jessica Lynch story. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 100 Registered: 3-2004 |
Hi Susan_2, Tell you sons congratulations. You must be very proud of your 2 boys. I can hear your buttons popping!! As a military Mom, we have so much to be thankful for. We could worry about our boys but I do not. My son is doing what he wanted to do since he was 12 years of age. I just leave him in God's hands, as I am sure you do also. Tell you boys I say thank you for their service to our wonderful country. Diana | ||
| Jerry Registered user Username: Jerry Post Number: 421 Registered: 6-2002 |
Congratulations, Susan_2! May your son's duty be safe and rewarding! | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 582 Registered: 11-2002 |
I really am happy about the choice of The Coast Guard. I truly realize that our military personelle need at this time to be in harms way. At the same time I'd just as soon it not be my sons. I believe the Coast Guard is the safest branch of the service right now. But, maybe not. They get shot at and are in harms way every day. They are the ones who go out on little boats that protect the big navy ships. Nonetheless, I am now saving up so I can travel to N.J. for his bootcamp graduation. The oldest son, the one in the Navy, him and me plan to go to the graduation together. 13 years ago I went to Florida for the oldest ones bootcamp graduation. I was so happy and proud of him. He says he plans on being in at least 10 more years. Diana, where is your son a Chaplin at? I recently stayed at Hickam AFB for several days. It is a lovely base. I paid my respects to our fallen at Pearl Harbor. It was a very solomm experience. When we go to Vegas we get a room at lodging over at Nellas AFB. Have any of you stayed at the Hale-Koa Hotel? If so, please e-mail me abot it. susanan@webtv.net | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 102 Registered: 3-2004 |
Susan_2, My son is a navigator in a C130 Hercules at Dyess AFB in Abilene, TX. The way I see his career choice is, first he prayed about it and seeing as God led him into the military I am not fighting it. My younger sister has two sons. Both are policemen and so is her son in law. After 9/11 we were talking about our children's choice of careers. We both agreed that our children are doing what they want to do. Therefore we will just pray about them and leave them in God's hands. Our worrying about them will do neither them or us any good. Do you come to Las Vegas often?? Next time you come, let me know and we can get together. I live in Henderson, next door to Las Vegas. It would be so nice to meet you and thank you in person for your support in my walk with Jesus. My email is DRL-OTR@juno.com. Diana | ||
| Sharon2 Registered user Username: Sharon2 Post Number: 17 Registered: 6-2004 |
I have spent most of the day watching President Reagan's funeral and I have been struck with how the Lord is using this event to call the nation back to him. Every person that has stood to speak has proclaimed salvation through Jesus and faith in the resurrection. It has been said over and over. It was a clear call for our nation to put their hope in Jesus. The military bands and choruses played and sang the most beautiful hymns. The color guard was so stately. It made me proud to be an American and so thankful that Jesus has conquered death. One of the last speakers at the graveside was a Presbyterian pastor who powerfully proclaimed, "If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." I could not help but think that God had chosen this time to take Pres. Reagan home and this time to call our nation to turn back to him. | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 623 Registered: 11-2002 |
I'll put my post here. My 19 year old son took his physical two weeks ago for the U.S. Coast Guard. Now we run to the mailbox every day hoping for the letter that he's in. He scored extremely high on his ASVAP test and he's hoping to get into electrition school. The Coast Gurad has ts bootcamp in New Jersery at Camp May. I'm saying so I can attend is bootcamp graduation. I went 13 years ago to Pensacola, Fl. to my oldest sons bootcamp graduation from the Navy and it truly is an awsome experience. I am so extremely pleased with this decision my son has made. BTW, when I mention on this forum my son did this or my son did that I want you all to know I have four sons. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 141 Registered: 3-2004 |
Susan_2, I went to my son's graduation from officers candidates school and it was inspiring and heart warming. I was so proud of him. I still am. I thank God for my son every day. I can tell you feel the same way about your son. I will be praying that he gets into the Coast Guard. Diana | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 624 Registered: 11-2002 |
Is Dyass AFB anyhere near Galvastan? | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 144 Registered: 3-2004 |
Dyess AFB is in Abilene, TX. That is way inland. Diana | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 894 Registered: 11-2002 |
I just thought I'd let you all know that I received an e-mail from my son. I don't knw where he is but he's fine. He said that as far as he can see in any direction he looks all he sees is water. He is due back in mid-Nov. I'm glad we will be able to have Thanksgivig together. BTW, he's in the Navy. | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 80 Registered: 10-2000 |
Disabled veterans canít flag a ride By Steve Jahrling/The Daily Times Sep 25, 2004, 09:44 pm Dave Watson/The Daily Times\ http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_14234.shtml From left, disabled veterans Clinton Waggoner, Dick Choquette, Chuck Mulniy and Doug Miller pose for a portrait in Aztec Tuesday. They are concerned disabled veterans with the greatest medical needs cannot use a van to travel to Albuquerque for acute medical care. FARMINGTON ó San Juan County disabled veterans in wheelchairs canít use a van service to get treatment at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Albuquerque because federal regulations require that they be able to get on and off the van under their own power. The 15-passenger van service, a joint effort between the VA and the Disabled American Veterans and staffed by local volunteers, gives ambulatory veterans a ride to and from the Duke City for medical treatment, surgery or therapy at the specialized VA clinics. But nonambulatory veterans in wheelchairs, who are bedbound or rely upon oxygen tanks, face daunting obstacles in getting to Albuquerque for their regularly scheduled visits. While they can get transportation down there in an ambulance or helicopter for medical emergencies, their elective care visits are something else. World War II veteran Edward Greene of Aztec is housebound, having both legs amputated due to his worsening medical problems. He is not a man given to complaining, but he said that he relies on a friend to drive him down there and back. ìIím no war hero, but Iíve served my country,î Greene said Friday. ìThe VA has been very good to me, but itís hard to get down there.î After his last leg was taken in December 2003, he called the DAV to see if he could use the van to get to the VA hospital. The volunteer drivers, all veterans who are themselves disabled, had to tell Greene that because of rules approved by the VA and the nation DAV offices, they couldnít transport him unless he could get on and off the van by himself. Itís a situation that has veteran Douglas Miller of Bloomfield, and some of his fellow DAV members, pretty steamed. Miller said that he has heard that there are about 17 veterans in the county who cannot use the van, but that number only represents ìthe tip of the iceberg.î ìThere are many veterans on the Ute and Navajo Reservations and throughout the Four Corners, and unless by chance they contact us, they canít be transported because we simply donít know about them,î he said. ìBut once we discover their problems, we try to aid them as best we can.î The biggest problem that Miller and other local DAV members have, they say, is with the VA itself. ìThe veterans in most need cannot be transported by the DAV van because of the VA rules stating that if they cannot get in and out of the van under their own power, we cannot transport them,î Miller said. ìThey sent Ed Greene home with no aftercare, and it turns out thereís no way to get him out of the house ó he has no ramp,î Miller said. ìHe is totally housebound ó he has no way to bathe himself, to cook for himself ó his wife is his only caretaker ó and sheís 81.î The problem, Miller said, is that there is no ramp or wheelchair lift to get patients into the van, and that federal liability regulations prevent them from physically lifting a veteran on and off. ìWe have another gentleman with asbestosis ó heís totally bedridden ó and thereís no way to transport this man out of his home,î Miller said. There are a lot of social resources in the Four Corners area, such as air ambulances, he said, and most of the veterans can qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, but the tough thing is getting the local services coordinated with the VA hospital. Veteran Don Gill spoke of the irony of the VAís arranging doctor appointments for patients who canít get there. ìWhat do you call it when the VA makes an appointment for somebody 200 miles away from the hospital and thereís no way to get them there ó what do you call it, ineptitude?î Gill asked. ìThat would be bureaucracy,î said fellow vet Dick Choquette. Another problem, Choquette said, is that the VA has cut back on its accommodations program that puts veterans up at a hotel room if they needed to travel more than 150 miles away from the nearest hospital. Sonja Brown, chief of Volunteer Services at the VA Medical Center, said that she is well aware of the difficulties that wheelchair-bound vets face, but that the regulations exist in order to ensure safe patient transport. ìThe drivers are all volunteers, and there is a huge liability in asking them to lift patients,î Brown said Friday. ìSome of the volunteers are young, but we canít expect the older veterans to have the strength to do the physical and the mechanical tasks.î She noted that the regulations have been approved by the national DAV as well as the national Veterans Affairs administration. ìWe have to ensure that veterans are provided with safe travel,î she said. ìItís OK for a volunteer to put out their hand to steady a patient, but if itís more involved than that we canít ensure their safety.î Miller said that the main issue is neglect, and he came back to the case of Ed Greene. ìItís pure negligence for them to remove a manís leg at that age and not send anyone out to check and see if he can get to the bathroom, if he has a ramp to get out of his house, and that is pure, absolute waste, fraud and abuse,î he said. ìThereís no reason that our veterans are being hurt like this.î Gill added that Greene got a letter from the VA after his last operation. ìAfter they took his last leg, they told him he didnít have a disability any more, that they took care of it,î he said. ìBoth legs are amputated high above the knees, so now he doesnít have a problem with his legs any more.î The VA Community Clinic in Farmington provides basic health care for veterans, such as treatment for colds or influenza, and can contract out for limited testing services that includes X-rays. The physicians there can only make referrals to the VA hospital for advanced testing, therapy or one of the specialty facilities such as the spinal cord injury clinic there. Health technician Crystal Markhart said that it is ìheartbreakingî to see nonambulatory vets come in and tell the staff that they cannot go down to Albuquerque. ìThereís nothing we can do for them,î she said. ìWe do the best we can but our hands are tied.î Another resource for veterans is the Vet Center in Farmington, where a VA Readjustment Counseling Service is provided, primarily for vets with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. ìI see primarily Vietnam-era veterans, and some from World War II,î said counselor and Vietnam veteran Tom Smith. ìI have yet to see any vets from Iraq or Afghanistan, but Iím sure that I will.î Readjustment counseling deals with combat-theater veterans who have recurring issues relating to their wartime experiences, he said. ìThe public still doesnít have a good conception of what PTSD symptoms are,î Smith said. Once the veterans and their families learn about the condition, and that behavior can be modified, they can emerge with a better understanding. ìI have 30 years of military service ó I served in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines in Vietnam in 1968 and I have PTSD,î Miller said. ìI hate the protesters, but I hate federal bureaucrats even worse.î Miller said that itís the future veterans serving overseas now that concern him and his fellow veterans. ìMy son is in the Navy now, so I have a vested interest,î he said. ìThey are over there protecting us now, and if they treated us this way, what is going to happen to them? If they can fight for us, I can fight for them right here.î Gill asked a reporter a question. ìHave you ever heard the motto of the VA? Itís a quote from Abraham Lincoln,î he said. ìItís ëTo serve those who have borne the battle their widowsí arms.í Thatís something that they have bastardized.î The veterans said they have had some limited success in alerting federal legislators to the van issue, but that the most tangible help has come from local volunteers. After a local TV station ran a story about Greene, some people responded to help him. Pam Smerglia of Farmington saw the segment, turned to her husband, and said ìWeíve got to help this man.î She called her pastor, Dave West, of the Crossroads Community Church, and he responded ìLetís do it.î They contacted Construction Supply for materials donations, and the church will provide the labor to build Greene a ramp he can use to get out of his home and roll into a van. ìThey have fought for our freedom,î Smerglia said. ìWe feel the need to respond to the people of our community.î Glen Loveland, press secretary for Rep. Tom Udall, said that Udall has sent a letter to the VA about the local veteransí plight, and is waiting to hear back from the agency. ìCongress is still not appropriating enough money for the Department of Veterans Affairs,î Loveland said. ìThe VAís hands are tied by their lack of funding.î The central location of veteransí services in Albuquerque, combined with the great distances people must travel to get there, and the high price of gasoline compounds the problem, he said. ìItís one thing for the Bush administration to praise the contributions veterans have made, but they need to put their money where their mouth is,î Loveland said. In the meantime, veteran Clint Wagoner is trying to raise money for a specialized van that can carry the nonambulatory vets, and is seeking donations from local individuals and businesses. The local DAV chapter is also looking for volunteers to help drive the van they now have. ìWeíre always looking for volunteers,î Miller said. Disabled American Veterans: Don Gill at (505) 325-5357; Doug Miller at (505) 632-0743; Clint Wagoner at (505) 325-9789 DAV Helpline: (505) 599-7709 Farmington Vet Center: (505) 327-9684 VA Community Clinic: (505) 326-4383 VA Medical Center: (800) 465-8262 Steve Jahrling: sjahrling@daily-times.com | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 942 Registered: 11-2002 |
There are some VA Hospitals that are exclusively for long term care. Actually nursing homes. There is a huge one in Yountville, Califonia. There are others scattered throughout the US. Maybe these men and women can pack up and move into one of the Verteran's Homes. I'm sure that is not necessarilly the response you were hoping for but often times he wheels of justice turn slowly and and a Veteran's Home might be just the thing to opt for while waiting for what is really hoped for to happen. | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 81 Registered: 10-2000 |
Susan, Did you read the article? If so, did you read that they opted to live in a nursing home? Surely they know about them. Especially WW2 Vets. How about this: They get to live in their own homes but the services that are needed SHOULD be provided by our government? You know the "Money Follows the Person Act" implemented by our government? That is so people who are disabled, whether that be short or long term can live at home and not be shoved away into some nursing home. Sometimes I just don't get people. What, just because someone is disabled they now need to live in a nursing home? And this because our government is too cheap to pay for the men and women who fought for their freedom? And others who never was in the service but are disabled? We can spend over 87 billion dollars on war that kills our own and others, plus let's not forget the civilians but we cannot afford a hydraulic lift for a van? Inhome services? Ramps? How about equality? Inclusion? Accessibility? No offense but why don't you just call one of those men and tell them that. Come back and let me know what they say to your idea. Tell them that they can always pack up, leave their wives, their homes and head for a nursing home until one day perhaps our government will get its act together. Infact, just ask me how I feel about living in a nursing home. Afterall, I use a wheelchair, am currently fighting for accessibility such as ramps, curb cuts, sidewalks, courthouses that are accessible--you know, without steps...things of this nature. And I need and currently have long term care. And....I used to work in those nursing homes you so casually mention. They are hell holes. Here's a few links for you in hopes that the institutional bias that is prevalent in our society will soon lose it's grip. http://www.freeourpeople.org/indexx.htm http://www.mouthmag.com/says/candacesays.htm http://www.freedomclearinghouse.org/ http://www.raggededgemagazine.com These are a few links. There are tons more that I will post here. And I'm sure that's not the response you expected. | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 82 Registered: 10-2000 |
Susan, Here's a short article also that may be useful. ""News from the September 2003 Mouth. ----------------------------------------------- APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS INTEGRATION MANDATE, SLAPS STATE If your state cuts Medicaid waiver benefits because of ìbudget shortfalls,î hereís news to use. The U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit, has slapped Oklahomaís Health Care Authority (OHCA) for such a cut, and taken a swipe at the judge who approved it. Last September OHCA announced to beneficiaries of Medicaid waivers that they would henceforth be entitled to only five prescriptions per month. On the day the cutback went into effect, three brave women who live at the mercy of the stateís health care services filed suit against the state. Their attorney? The redoubtable Steve Gold. How did three impoverished women happen to find him? Carla Lawson and Jeff Hughes, two directors of Oklahoma centers for independent living, did the honors. STATE WINS FIRST ROUND Gold, who brought the original Helen L. suit (foremother of the 1999 Olmstead decision) based his case on Olmstead and on a clear HHS/Social Security regulation: that a state cannot change the terms of a waiver without advance approval from the feds. James H. Payne, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma, heard the arguments and ruled in favor of the state, saying the ADA had no bearing because the stateís expenditure for all required drugs would constitute a ìfundamental alterationî of the program. Say what? But wait, thereís worse. He ruled that Olmsteadís integration mandate could not apply to people who were not institutionalized. In order to exercise their rights under Olmstead, theyíd have to sign themselves into an institution. Perhaps coincidentally, Judge Payneís ruling came down on Halloween. Gold and co-counsel Morris Bernstein of the University of Tulsa filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Districtóa court Gold characterizes as ìa very conservative panel.î "HOLLOW INDEED" On July 15 the Court of Appeals reversed Payneís decision. (Note: Judges never live that down.) It cited Olmsteadís ìmost integrated settingî mandate, saying that Payneís interpretation of the ADAís fundamental alteration provision ìcannot stand up to logical inquiry.... If every alteration in a program or service that required the outlay of funds were tantamount to a fundamental alteration, the ADAís integration mandate would be hollow indeed.î The court added that since ìthe cost of institutional care is nearly double that of community-based care, it seems unlikely that... elimination of the waiver program would have solved Oklahomaís fiscal crisis, because it could have served only to drive participants into nursing homes.î Even after this momentous decision, everyone who relies on the waiver do without the prescriptions they need while the state delays doing what the court says must be done. ó L. Gwin"" | ||
| Denisegilmore Registered user Username: Denisegilmore Post Number: 83 Registered: 10-2000 |
Uno Mas, mouthmag.com 2003 ""The Rogue of Rogue Bayou ï How the mighty are brought lowónow that the FBI has got the hang of prosecuting health care fraud. Melville Borne of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, was indicted in July for bilking the residents of his three nursing homes, misusing his employeesí retirement savings, and ìdivertingî $6.5 million in Medicare and Medicaid for patient care to upkeep of his homes and estates, one of them a 150-acre estate on Rogue Bayou that has four ponds, exotic swans, and two groundskeepers. Meanwhile, residents at his nursing home hellholes went without air conditioning, hot water, and clean clothes. Borne bought himself a corporate jet, too, although all his nursing homes are located in Louisianaís backwaters. He faces as many as 125 years in prison and $16 million in fines"" See nursing homes are not all they are cracked upped to be. I could tell horror stories of nursing homes. That's probably why men and women do not want to go to them. Let's factor in there also the most 'intimate' type of care be given to you by some stranger in a nursing home.....no thanks. True, some folks choose to go to them but I've never met anyone yet who chose that route who was truly happy with their decision. They just didn't have any recourse. That happens also and that's a sad situation as well. | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 943 Registered: 11-2002 |
Actually, if you read my response above you will see that I was agreeing with you. I was not contradicting you at all. And, yes, I have worked in nursing homes, I have had kinfolk in them and I have been to one of the extremely large Veteran's Homes. As with most things there are excellant facilities all the way down to the deplorable, with most being somewhere in the middle. And, yes, often our disabled soliders are lacking greatly for the care and services needed. One thing in this area of consideration is the extremely high rate of birth defects of the children born to the Gulf War veteran's. And, Uncle Sam's lack of addmitting the link of this to that war. Again, I am not saying it is right. I am saying though, that often the wheels of justice trun slow and if justice isn't served immediatelly then the case often is that other arrangements have to be made until the right situtation is available. That's all I said. BTW, my uncle who was quadpralegic was actually hospitalized four years until he (they) could figure out a course of action so he could get into his own living quarters. I know from experience with loved ones and others what a frustrating thing some situtations can be. And, I know too that patience is not necessarilly the answer. However, expecting government and government agencies and government employees to act swiftly, well, forget it, it just won't happen. There are too any hoops to go through and that's just the rules. As far as that limit on perscriptions-well, in California Medi-Cal has a six perscription limit. I know a youg man who had a kidney transplant several years ago. He certanily needs to take more than six perscriptions. He also had his water turned off no long ago for lack of paying his water bill in full. His water bill comes to around $600 per month. I guess the dialysis machine that he hooks himself up to several times per day uses a lot of water. It is illegial in California for the water department to turn off the water if the person needs it on to sustain lfe. It caused a BIG hassle for his family to get the water turned back on. It also is a monthly hassle to get all his perscriptions. As I said, it is not right but it is the way it is so we deal with it while at the same time lobbying and promoting a better way/system. |
