I just LOVE "needle work" at the VA...

Heli-gunner Tom. http://heli-gunnertom.blogspot.com/

Here is a pic of my Nurse Practitioner giving me a shot in each knee for some serious arthritis pain-- but he can only do this every 90 days by the Milwaukee VA rules. I would be in very bad shape with out the injections... and I am tough and skilled enough to block out the pain of the long needle with my brain [imagery], but the right knee has bone on bone damage and you can hear the 'grinding' when I walk. His name is Mike Ryan,NP, and he is a nice guy and very skilled in his trade. The VA stopped giving the Veterans Bextra, Celebrex and Vioxx because those "meds" were thought to be responsible for strokes and heart attacks--- so we were left up stream without a paddle. The doctors at the VA have strongly suggested that I have knee replacement-- but I heard too many of my close friends tell me that half the time that surgery just makes things worse. I have been under the knife enough to know that I would rather avoid it if possible. Last year in a CA VA Hosp. a Veteran had his testicles removed by ACCIDENT! This stuff gets swept under the run more than we would like to think. And when I die I will keep all my 'body parts' too!! But nowdays there is news about an underground market for stolen body parts! Nothing is sacred! There are a few great doctors and nurses who work at the Milwaukee VA Hosp., but in my humble opinion [over he past 30 some years of experience] most of the staff are there strictly for the paycheck and nothing more.
And i believe that I know enough about the lies, mistakes and 'mis-action's, or lack there of -- to get me killed/ murdered. I was going to write a book about this subject but decided to just let it go. I realized that I can't cure all the WOES of the world anymore, and let some of the 'young warriors' carry that burden for a while. We Vietnam Veterans already 'walked point' , knocked down big walls and barriers, but even so-- the Va is pulling the same dog dung on our new younger troops all over again!
If you want to know more-- email me, confidentially. tschuckman@aol.com

Tom S