You would think that the absolute cluelessness of the American Media, and many bloggers I might add, would fail to shock me. You’d be wrong.
Anyone who thinks this is going to do more than cause some hospitals to paint a wall or two, raise your hands.
For almost 23 years I’ve mostly been given Vitamin M (Motrin) and/or Flexoril for just about every ache and pain that I’ve ever had. I’ve been to a physical therapist twice even though I’m supposed to see one every other week…he’s usually so overbooked here he actually says, “When it hurts bad enough, come in, I’ll crack it again.” After 20 years of rather constant “shin splints” they finally figured out I had compressed compartments. The only reason they decided to operate was that they’d become chronic and were “getting ready to blow.”
And most of my crap is just muscles and nerves not doing what they should. I can’t imagine being in need of any real treatment.
I hear ya’ bro’. I chronicled my problems with the VHA ad nausaum while I was contributing at TDB.
In recent years, I have learned how to “work the system,” so things haven’t been so bad. But now I’ve been dropped by the PT doc who has been writing my percocet scripts for the past year, so now I have to run the pain management gauntlet yet again.
The key thing in all these dealings is generally to find out how to circumvent the bureaucrats, and empower the caregivers, who generally have your best interests at heart.
But this is typical of government. Like with Katrina, you really need a General Russel Honoré - who can just cut through the bullshit, and get things done. But when you’re just one grunt - up against the system, there’s seldom a high-powered advocate like that ready to go to bat for you.
Comment by Kevin L. Connors — 20070305 @ 1949
Oh, and relating to your earlier post, about the AF in 2015, and the “doc-in-the-box”… Do you think that military medical care might possibly be better if it was contracted out to private providers? It’s just something to think about.
Comment by Kevin L. Connors — 20070305 @ 1955
Military medical care is why I do not support a nationalized health care program. And the three years I spent in Norway only served to confirm my fears.
Comment by yak — 20070306 @ 0049
As a single person during my enlistment, I only had two experiences that I recall (beyond boot camp) with the military medical establishment. The first was my flight physical, during which time I was informed that the dental fillings I recieved during boot camp would not suffice (air bubbles or something). So, they ripped them all out and started over. The second occurred after I noticed, well, a burning sensation. I notifed the girl who I was seeing. She went to sick call and was given antibiotics be default. I, on the other hand, went to see a flight surgeon who did the tests and determined it was a urinary tract infection. Moral of the story - you got better care if you saw a flight surgeon.
Comment by Radar — 20070306 @ 1942
Agreed. I had a hip injury in Iraq and it’s been a nightmare dealing with the VA. Just last Friday I had an appointment at 0900 and waited until after noon, finally leaving without being seen because I had to get to work.
Sergeant S.W. Foster
US Army
www.DesertVets.org
www.IraqfromtheWindow.com
www.SgtScorpion.com
Comment by Sergeant S.W. Foster — 20070319 @ 1538