And the Red Tape & Bureaucracy Go On & On!!!

by: madmaggie

Mon Jun 08, 2009 at 00:20:41 AM EDT

( - promoted by DonQuixote)

Some of you have read my story. Well, actually it is my spouse's story. But it gets worse. Bought a brand new car about 4 weeks ago. Great, Yes? No I'm afraid. About 5 days later, my ex-marine took a Grand Mal seizure on our living room floor. Had him rushed to VA. They dismissed the episode & said I was not a viable witness for a seizure. Same story I got 4 years ago. He was released from ER after about 8 hrs to my care even though everyone with an ounce of mentality could tell the man was not in his rightful mind. He went into a manic like state for 2 days, before he decided to take the car...against my wishes. But, he got belligerent with me & left. He called me at 8:30 pm & said he was on his way home...a ride which should have taken 10 minutes. I fell asleep on the floor waiting for him. The next morning,I called the police and filed a missing person's report. He was found in a town about 2 hours from our house, only because he almost caused an accident. He was taken to ER in a hospital in that area. I called VA to try to get him 302'ed for his own safety & safety of others on the road. VA referred me to The County Mental Health who denied my request saying he was not harmful to himself or others. WTF?

madmaggie :: And the Red Tape & Bureaucracy Go On & On!!!

Driving a vehicle in his state of mind was not harmful? The hospital said they could not keep him because he was an adult. So they released him back to our car. I finally got another call at around 4:30 in the morning (about 10 hrs after his release). He had wrecked the car. Fortunately, no one else was involved. He was taken to another hospital after the State police cited him for ignoring lanes on the road. Apparently he lost control of the car crossed the road & hit a guard rail befor sliding 80 feet. Since the medical people finally realized that he was lost in his mind, they talked him into signing himself in for 3 days. The VA was contacted, but had no bed available. He had a hearing & the stay was extended to 20 days. Finally a bed opened up and the VA accepted him. Now he is confined there for up to 90 days. At this point, I am bombarded with amubulance bills, hospital bills, & various doctor bills. Car insurance will handle some of it, but not all. The car had almost 10k in damage, but according to the insurance company could not be totaled unless the damage was 13k. So here I am 3 hrs from my wrecked automobile, being plummeted by bills & spouse is in the psyche unit at the VA. He is lost. His mind goes off on tangents. I can't talk to him about anything relevant. I spoke to VA & told them that after 10 years of caring for him, I cannot do it anymore. He is at a point where I cannot control him. Don't know what good that will do though. I mean, I am not even a viable witness for a grand Mal seizure despite the fact I have a medical background. I don't know what to do or who to turn to at this point. If he is released to our home, I can not take care of him anymore. Believe me, I have been a nurse, financier, & everything but a real wife to him for 10 years now. If these people would have listened to me alot of this could have been avoided. This is like banging your head against a brick wall and the Appeals Court in Washington, DC just turned down his unemployability. But, I do have an attorney working on that, at least. So this is our wonderful VA system & payback for our soldiers serving their country. Been fighting red tape & bureacracy for 10 years. I'm at the point where I don't have much fight left. I'm menatlly exhausted, but can't do it anymore. Maybe, I am being self-centered or selfish in many of your eyes. But, a decade feels like a lifetime. This government & the VA has robbed us both of 10 years that we will never get back!!!!!

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