Ways the VA Healthcare Program is Hurting Local Veterans

            Prior to moving to the Durango, Colorado area, I had been enrolled in what is called the Choice Program, which provides military veterans, as well as their dependents, to obtain care from community resources that are not provided through the VA system. This is the system I used to receive services such as rheumatology, gastroenterology, and dermatology. For the most part, this system helped to provide me with the resources I require to tend to my health needs. Sure, the physicians and specialists could have just as well been military doctors, as I received the same quality of care from them...and that is not saying much, considering my previous experience with military doctors, but I digress.

            When I had my initial appointment with my new primary care provider, I was told something that just came across as blatantly wrong. See, my doctor told me that my only options to see these types of specialists would be to drive nearly 4 hours each way to the large VA facility in Albuquerque, which is insane to suggest, or not see any specialists. Sure, they have a courtesy shuttle van that takes patients to the larger facility, but you must plan your day around the appointments of others, so you would either leave early, or must stay late, depending on the schedule for that day. The other option just was not feasible either, as I have a family history of colon and bone cancer, as well as having been diagnosed with a myriad of chronic pain conditions.

I live at a Level E on a daily basis, just for reference

            You know the saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?” Well, that is applicable to my situation, but rather replace “good” with “wrong” and you see where I am going with this, right? Well, when I met with the social worker at my local VA clinic, she repeated the same incorrect information regarding the Choice Program. She told me that, while there are services in town, such as support groups, there is little in the way of community resources that address symptoms. I can’t really go to a support group for my colonoscopy or endoscopy now, can I?

            My social worker also told me that I am my own advocate for my health, which is a phrase that she might be wishing she didn’t say. See, I thought that the information I was provided by not just one, but two medical professionals at my local VA clinic, sounded incorrect. Just in case though, I called the Choice Program directly, and boy, am I glad. The representative that I spoke with was just as befuddled by what I was told as I was when I heard it. It helped to put my mind at ease, knowing that I was correct about this program, as well as the fact that I would (hopefully) be able to see a provider here in the community, as my symptoms have increased since my last visit to the shoddy rheumatologist who reprimanded me for crying out in pain when he took a biopsy from my thigh at 5:30 in the morning, before I was fully numb. But again, I digress and that, along with the other numerous experiences I have had with military health officials and those covered by the Choice Program.

            So, here is my conundrum. Yes, I am my strongest advocate for both my mental and physical health. The soonest they could schedule me with a mental health professional (to address my depression, anxiety, PTSD, and MST) is the end of February, and even then, it would be only via tele-health. That falls outside of the 30 days or 30-mile rule that applies to the Choice Program (maybe not the distance, but certainly the time-frame). In the past, I have conveniently fallen through the VA health cracks, as it had taken me 18 months to even get an appointment with a rheumatologist, as the original request somehow got lost. I know that I am in the right and have a whole organization and website that provides me with the answers to help to support my position. I know that I am most likely not the only veteran in the area who has been fed this lie. However, I may be the only one to raise a little hell over the incorrect information that could have potentially affected the lives of a significant number of veterans living in the area.

            I have been known to let my emotions get the best of me, particularly when I know that I am in the right. This isn’t just relegated to my health, but also where we used to live, I have been physically threatened when I spoke up for the poor treatment of the dogs I would witness running in the street. As if it were my fault that I recognized this behavior as wrong and dangerous. I am not kidding. I wish I were. So, I need to come up with a game plan of sorts, as I know that I need to go into the clinic and let them know that they are wrong, that I qualify to see community providers that honor the Choice Program in the area. I know that other veterans have experienced this same type of treatment. The sooner the better, but, dude, I am not looking forward to it. I just need to keep my cool, and remember why I am doing this...for the health of not only myself, but the countless veterans who have received the same misinformation. Sadly, I know that this not only applies to my local clinic, but the Portland, Oregon one too, as that is who contacted me to set up my appointment for the tele-health mental health sessions...I was told that since they can provide me with the tele-health services, then I don’t qualify for community care. Well, that is not true either.

New Year, Same Me (but continuing to grow)

With the flip of the calendar, we entered into a new year. What will 2017 hold for you? I know that 2017 means not only a new year, but also some uncertainties as we also enter into a new political atmosphere. There are many unknowns, as well as some things that have been presented by the incoming leader, which may not be in everyone’s best interest. I also have a few health issues such as fibromyalgia, IBS, diverticular disease, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disorder, and small fiber neuropathy to name a few. 

Some days, my symptoms make it hard to do much of anything, including wearing clothes due to allodynia which is a symptom that is associated with fibromyalgia. I am just glad that I get to work from home, where there is no dress code. Other days, I am able to push through any discomfort present and take the dogs on long walks (between 5-7 miles). However, it is frustrating at times, because on the days where I do not feel capable of moving due to pain and/or fatigue, the dogs still want to have their outings and I know that movement is essential to my mental and physical health.

With all of these unknowns as we enter into the New Year, it is important to identify the areas that you have control over in your own life. For me, this reminder can help to gain perspective and alleviate some of the anxiety that sometimes arises in times of uncertainty. One area of my life that is within my control is my educational pursuits. My newest course opened up today, with the course officially starting on Monday. I have been attending graduate school since 2012 and currently have a 3.828 GPA and have three courses left until I graduate with my MS in Clinical Psychology with a specialty in Applied Research. 

I could have graduated a lot earlier, but after completing all of my coursework and residencies that were a part of my previous academic program, I transitioned over from mental health counseling to clinical psychology since my heart and passion truly come alive in the research realm. This term I am taking Multicultural Perspectives in Human Behavior, which is a 10-week course and will require me to complete weekly discussion posts and three assignments, with the final project consisting of a project that spans between 24-30 pages on diversity and multicultural considerations within my specialty of applied research as it applies to clinical psychology. 

I see this as my opportunity to delve deeper into understanding the challenges faced by minorities within the military population. This may include racial, gender, and sexual orientation aspects as they apply to members of the military. I am sure that I will be able to fill all 30 pages by pursuing this topic, while at the same time becoming more aware of the challenges that may exist when providing clinical psychology services and conducting research on this very important population within society.

Although I have said it in the past, this time I will work on the discussion posts before they are due, which will mean carving out part of my time to work ahead, ensuring that no matter how I feel, I will be able to have all of my initial discussion posts ready to post ahead of time. This will also help to ensure that I am not rushed or pressed for time, which is always a possibility when it comes to my life, as I wear many hats: mom to five rescue dogs, housekeeper, freelance writer, graduate student, spoonie, library resource assistant, and an all-around get shit done type of person. There is also a new venture that has presented itself, which is an extension on a project I had worked on in the past. All very exciting stuff and easy to become overwhelmed. Fingers crossed that I am able to pull it all off!

What's Bugging You?

Imagine this. You move into a place, thinking that it is a step up for the same price you were paying, only to find out that it’s already occupied. Not by squatters, but rather blood sucking parasites. No, not Republicans, but close. Ticks. Yes, those horrid little buggers that are the things of nightmares and associated with Lyme disease. Well, that is our story.

We moved in on Sunday the 21st of February. The roof of our previous rental had been leaking and the management hadn’t patched the hole in the ceiling and sagging drywall in almost a year. So, we were looking for a new place, with a new roof, and possibly an extra room since I had my gym in the garage. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but we live in southern New Mexico, where the garage would only be inhabitable for six months out of the year, if that. We found that our current rental property manager had a different place available, for the same price. It was a three bedroom house that had a larger yard, which is important when you have dogs. Since it was the same company, we were able to transfer our security deposit to the new house, so that was an added bonus.

The actual moving part went well, no terse words were exchanged and no injuries occurred. We ordered takeout for dinner, since we were famished and everything was still in boxes. During dinner, we started to see a few bugs come in through a gap in the sliding glass door that the handyman had recently installed. We tried to identify the bugs through a Google search during dinner, but we were not really familiar with the bugs we were seeing. They kept coming in though. They were crawling on the floor, on the walls, everywhere. I sprayed them with the only thing I had available at the time, which was a bottle of 409. Note to readers, 409 does not kill ticks.

We decided to go to bed and try to get some sleep, since it was a long day of moving and whatnot. As we were in bed, with our dogs (since they are part of our family), I started feeling things crawling on me. I was flicking them off of me several times a minute. I ended up driving to our old place (which were were in the process of cleaning out and had until the 1st of the month) and tried to sleep on the floor. Bugs were still on me. I emailed our landlord to tell her about the issue and then eventually got to sleep, around 4 in the morning. I woke around 6 and saw that my landlord had emailed me back, stating that she had no idea that there was an issue and that she would try to get the exterminator out there that day.

I ended up going back to our new place, and with the help of my boyfriend, packed up our dogs and took them to our old place so that I could give them all flea and tick baths. Going on very little sleep and high emotions, this was not a fun feat. Dogs washed, I was exhausted, but there was nowhere to sit or lie down at the old place, since I felt like I still had bugs on me. I took a shower and cried hysterically (one of many such showers during the past two weeks) until the water ran cold, trying to scrub the bugs (real and imaginary) off of my skin.

The exterminator ended up coming out and sprayed inside and out. He said that we were infested with ticks. There were thousands of them. THOUSANDS! He said that we should be seeing the number decrease and that to call if they are still bad in a few days. Since that day, we have spent over $200 on pest control out of our own pocket, primarily for the dogs...flea and tick shampoo, tick spray, tick collars, perimeter spray, etc. I also vacuum several times a day, making sure that I have some Diatomaceous earth in the vacuum to torture the ticks before they die.

Our valiant efforts to slay the ticks were not sufficient nor effective, so the exterminator came out a second time. This time saturating the entire place with a substance that promised to be the end all for these creatures. We are seeing fewer of them, but I am still sweeping up 1,000+ per day outside on our patio. Yesterday our package from Amazon arrived, which contained a pest spray, pump sprayer, and tick collars for the dogs. These collars came highly recommended and were a decent price. Well, the dogs had been treated with a tick spot treatment, tick spray, and now tick collars. All of the chemicals are just killing me. In the 11 years that Peggy Sue has been in my life, she has never had a single tick or had to be treated with such chemicals. We even used to go hiking through the woods at least once a week, never getting as much as a hitchhiker from the trips. Now, she is the one that we pulled the largest tick.

Last night, the ticks were back in our bed, which led to horrible sleep and a hangover feeling that I experience when I don’t have sufficient sleep and am under stress. I work from home, so there is literally no escape. I smell like I am at a sleepaway camp, but without the fun and treats. I am covered with OFF (with DEET) and have found several ticks crawling on me today. One of our dogs which we place a collar on last night wasn’t acting herself this morning, so I took off her collar and gave her a bath.

Had we known about all of the issues, including a dishwasher that doesn’t really work, a garbage disposal that doesn’t work and smells like the bottom of a dumpster, a fridge that has a mysterious odor that comes and goes (no, it’s nothing IN the fridge, so I have no idea), and the tick infestation that has caused us to put countless chemicals on our dogs and ourselves, there is no way that we would have moved here.

This place is nearly uninhabitable. It is not good for my mental or physical health, nor is it healthy for our dogs. At least our landlord appears to be concerned and has reimbursed us for our costs associated with the tick infestation issue. It’s funny (not lol funny though) that the handyman noted that there were a lot of bugs (ticks) in the frame of the sliding glass door when he replaced it, but instead of doing anything about it, he just replaced the door and framing.

I don’t really feel like unpacking at all and have lost close to 10 pounds since we started moving (about a month). This is probably due to not wanting to be in the kitchen since there are...yup, ticks in there too, and just being too stressed. I am not against moving again, to a house that doesn’t have any ticks and all of the appliances work. It sucks that the place we moved out of had everything that I liked, including a fireplace and working appliances...oh, and NO TICKS! I just want to live in a place that is safe, clean, and habitable. Is that too much to ask?