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

Being Joyful.

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



We both needed to get out of our small old house in our one horse town of Union Grove, WI.... pop. 4400 people. I will have to post more pix of our wonder dog, "Deuce" our service dog --Rottweiler. He is a gentleman, a clown, a constant companion and brave-heart guardian of my dear wife when I am gone. Yes, a dog will be there at your side long after a woman decides to leave you, as a good Army friend once told me. I believe that God holds a human life more precious than an animal-- but dogs and some cats have an instinct and charm that really lowers your BP and lets you relax, IMHO.
I was raised on a farm and we always had dogs and cats, beef cattle and hogs.
We went to Kenosha to visit the bank, eat some Chinese food, wash the truck, and I did a short but strong work out at the YMCA while my wife relaxed and read the local paper. We also went the store and bought more giant cans of Bush's Baked Beans to store. Sharon does such a great job of fixing baked beans and adding some secret stuff to enhance it and people just eat it up like they are starving... lol! Well, she may have her faults [don't we all?] but she is a great cook-- and I am on a diet FOREVER --Ha!
I didn't sleep to well last night [nightmares from past combat, etc., PTSD] and that Chinese lunch today made me sleepy. I am truly blessed and STILL CAN'T BELIEVE I AM RETIRED with a fairly stable income to pay my bills-- and I have take care of all the bills. Some men are truly cowards and abdicate their God given positions as head of the house and family. The children grow up 'unbalanced.' I am not saying that my job is easy -- and it would be nice if I could just pass on my duties to the wife, but she doesn't have the balance and restraint, and so someone has to hold the purse strings and balance the books. My days of wine and roses are over-- and I am still working on slowing down and being content/ satified with what we have. I used to cuss at other drivers who run me of the road and try to kill me, on their darn cell phones all the time, reading, putting on their make-up, etc., but what good am I doing... by getting myself all upset?
So--- another nice, windy Fall day and we can say we have accomplished a few things and praise God and give HIM the Glory.
In past posts I may have sounded like "Chicken Little" as far as our national economic situation. I still believe that things will get a lot worse leading to the Lord's coming. But I desperately want to be JOYFUL.
I managed to bring home 2 meaty deep fried chicken wings for the dog-- and he just LOVED ME!! 'The man and his dog' -- Autumn in Wisconsin! Coupled with my evangelism work -- I want to start encouraging people now and make them feel happy, wanted, with a feeling of self worth. So I hope I can work that into my posts in the future instead of being so serious. Pastor kindly suggested that I expect too much from average people-- and so I must 'lower my expectations.' I was raised to strive for excellence and the Army demanded it--so did all jobs that I labored at including AMC/ Chrysler for over 30 years. People have grown so lazy, lax, unstable, into drugs for pleasure/ recreation [not for real, acute medical pain]. The punks now days expect work to be "fun"... Ha! And I must learn to chill out/ kick back and go with the flow- like a dead fish, right? Not really. It's just that 90% of my close friends are starting to age with aches and pains from hard work all their lives, and I used to be able tocount on them. Now I am at the mercy of punks who can't even do the right job unless they are high on drugs, drunk and can't speak English... lol.
And like I have mentioned before, understanding the Bible is NOT the main problem... most people have not applied themselves in school so that they HAVE TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH !! The bible is written mostly on the 4th -5th grade level, yet most young people can't handle that! And the illegal aliens from South of the border can't read their OWN language either! OK, I will chill out and be joyful now.
More latter.


Tom