Wednesday, November 12, 2008

More VA BS.

The 2 meds still didn't come today [as promised-- again] so I called the Milwaukee VA this morning to track them down. They have "tracking numbers" to keep track of what actions they take-- or not take. Initially, a gal named Dawn L. dropped the ball by failing to submit my monthly request to my doctor/ Nurse Practitioner. We depend on those VA Pharmacy staff to do their jobs, because our health and in some cases our very lives are at stake! I am sure that they have fun and frolic and make private phone calls, listen to the radio at work and maybe TV.

Let's face it, flipping burgers at a fast food place is important to keep your job, but medicine is MORE important, IMHO [in my humble opinion] for the afore mentioned reasons....duh. This is not rocket science nor a hard concept to envision. My legally blind mother in Burlington, WI had a close call too, when my wife and I discovered that she was given the wrong medicine by her Pharmacist. Sure we are all human and err, but SOME JOBS AND OCCUPATIONS ARE NOT SO FORGIVING WHEN PEOPLE DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY DO!

In Army Aviation, they have a "tech inspector" who checks the mechanics' work before it is OK to fly. Well, by nature aircraft/ helicopters cannot pull over to the side of the road when they have a problem, and they can drop out like a rock out of the sky if things get locked up or in-op, and 'chopper' crews do NOT carry parachutes! Reason: the turning main rotor blade would chop us all up if we tried to bail out.... OUCH! Well, we have nick names for the ship's parts and the huge nut on the main rotor blade is called the "Jesus Nut." If that main rotor blade were to come off in flight the crew would most likely say, "Oh Jesus!" So that nut is 'safetied' with special wire a certain way and then the E-6, well paid 'T.I.' [technical inspector] must OK the procedure according to some TM [technical manual] before the ship flies. In the Army, everything had to be done 'BY THE BOOK', so to speak. Lives were at stake, and if someone was killed out of negligence, the T.I. might well go to JAIL !

I am sure you all see my illustration/ point. That is why G.I.'s come home from war and battle 'wired', hyper-vigilant, and hyper-critical. they can't just 'shut it off' and they carry that 'must do' mentality for the rest of their lives. Some soldiers like me, with serious PTSD, are some what impaired the rest of their lives so that jobs and relationships suffer. By the Grace of God, I am so grateful that God allowed me to get my 30.5 years in at Chrysler for my full pension! PTL! But my relationships sure suffered and are still a source of great sorrow and humiliation. It strips me of my sense of self worth for sure, no matter if the women left ME for a false, dog doo reason. [speaking of dogs, our Rotty needs a bath.. lol]

So the VA Pharm staff told me today that my med's 'would be finally shipped out today and be here tomorrow' -- right when I am supposed to be far away to have Sharon's power chair repaired in Waukesha,WI...lol. Someone has to be here to sign for the meds, so my wife opted to stay home.

Tonight I plan to give my short talk to the AWANA kids' group at church-- so I better practice and rehearse now--try to clear my mind or all my troubles and challenges. Manypeople with combat PTSD have a hard time doing just that and become dysfunctional so that they cannot keep a job! They just cannot forget the 'trauma' of battle to function correctly in society or at work. Yes, some dishonest G.I.'s fake it to get the money even when they were never in combat-- the the VA goes over the line so as to 'screen out' real disabled combat Vet's to hurt and screw them royal. As many soldiers and Marines have commited suicide after coming home from the war -- as were actually KILLED in the war in Vietnam! And thefigures and reports say that our young troops back from Iraq [having done too many forced tours!!] are taking their own lives! The VA just loves to DUMP on it's Vets! Shame! Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of sitting on their fat asses and doing nothing except getting their pork barrel $$$ !

Have a great day, and I hope you don't live in Northern WI where the roads are slippery/ slick from ice. Snow doesn't bother my great Dodge Ram 4 by 4 truck, but black ice is wicked.

Tom