SEE NOTE IN PARAGRAPH 4. In all my years as a Veterans Benefits Counselor, I have never had a experience of fulfillment and joy like the last 72 hours.
The article I posted about the new VA findings regarding the now service-connected aspect of ALS and the consequent benefits that can be gained by the widows, resulted in calls from California, Arkansas, Texas, New York. and Florida from the spouses of now deceased veterans who passed on from Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
The sense of completion and use of talents has never been as rewarding as it has been to direct these women to the proper channels to get those benefits. I am overwhelmed at the power and reach of the Internet. If there are others, I can be reached at 520-808-3907. God speed to the widows.
Notice to all readers. I am a disabled Veteran myself, and have become a bit overwhelmed with the volume of calls to my cell phone. I love helping, but this is a bit much for one ole Marine. I have now answered 144 calls and loved talking to all of you fine folks. Yet I am going to request of any future callers to try the following first, and then call or email me with any problems you may have.
Call the VA line at 1-800-827-1000 and waltz through the voice promptings to Disability Benefits, then hit ‘0’ for an operator and they will answer in your area. Tell them you want a package for widows, DIC benefits for ALS/ Lou Gehrigs’ Disease,and they will get a package to you right away. It is self explanatory. I would then take the claim package to a local American Legion and have them submit it for you, as you then have a local advocate to check on the status your claim.
Should you have problems, you can email me at “pointmanchaplain@aol.com”
Tomorrow night, Saturday the 25th at Hotel Congress 6-10pm is our benefit concert supporting the Returning Veteran Program at the Merritt Retreat Center. The band “Still Cruisin” accompanied by the “Shere Delites” are performing for us. Veterans are free. Donations accepted for Merritt Center 501-C-3. See “MerrittCenter.org”
What was once known as shell shock and now as Post Traumatic Stress, has come to the foreground in recent years as veterans of war transition to civilian life. We have learned much about this gap of time that can be critical to the quality of life of the veteran. The Merritt Center four week basic training for recovery and healing was designed with great care and compassion by one woman named Betty Merritt.
The Merritt Center and Lodge is a non-profit retreat center in Star Valley, Payson, Az. It was founded in 1987 by Betty for individual or group renewal and empowerment skills. In talking to veteran friends Betty learned that “combat is nasty stuff.’ Her dream was to ease the pain and anguish of these men and women and prevent the self destructive behavior that families witnessed in the Vietnam Veteran who was seldom welcomed in polite company. The program is spread over several months and attempts to provide new structures of self and a release from the traumatic triggers and residual symptoms of combat stress. The staff are all volunteers and provide their services gratis to the vets. From professional therapists to the cooks, everyone is a volunteer. The family like setting and the freedom of the forest creates a perfect, safe setting to simply let go. The validation and trust that comes with a group of vets who all have one thing in common is the source of a level of healing that cannot be found in a traditional setting. Having been involved in the program as a graduate, and now as a Mentor for 3 years, I can attest to the efficacy of this very unique and sacred place.
With a spiritual focus the participants are able to look at what brings them solace as they drop some of the triggers that loop them into the “fight or flight” syndrome, that frequently lead to vocational and marital problems.
While the program was designed for the OEF/OIF and Afghan veteran, it was discovered that there was still some healing to be done in the general veteran population. Which is to say that the participants are coming from all wars. One evening we had 5 wars around the supper table! Where in American history has that ever occurred? It is quite clear that the effects of war are timeless and have no respect for rank or position in life. To have that experience with a band of brothers is simply transforming.
The Returning Veterans Program costs the Merritt Center approximately $150 for each of the 4 weekends. With the help of the volunteers and private donations the retreat remains free to any combat veteran of any war. We hope to keep it that way forever.
There is also a program for Women that will include the wives of the military. The woman’s program just completed their second retreat.
The dates for the Men’ Retreat beginning in 2010 are; January 15-17. March 5-7. May 14-16. July 9-11.
The dates for the Women’s Retreat are: Feb. 5-7. April 16-18. June 4-6. July 30th-Aug 1st.
Call for application at 928-474-4268. or email “betty@merrittcenter.org.”The famous thousand yard stare
A support group for women.The veteran community has access to numerous programs for veterans struggling with post traumatic stress. Help is available through many channels for veterans, veterans’ caregivers, and veterans’ families. Children are getting a lot of attention these days, and deservedly so. Changes in Mom or Dad when they arrive home can be overwhelming. The person closest to the vet, the one directly in the path of the fire – the spouse – is sadly the one with the fewest resources for support.
No one but another spouse really understands. Friends and family quickly lose patience, both with the veteran, and with the spouse who struggles to hang onto the relationship.
To the women out there who need an understanding friend, who need to feel that they are not alone, I recommend visiting an online support group founded in 2001. Administrators at our local VA hospital and Vet Center refer women to this group. Just this morning, I heard of a woman who was given the web address by her doctor in Texas.
ALSA.orgI received many calls today regarding this issue. I hope this helps answer some of the questions. If not feel free to call my hot line 520-540-7000 or VA line 1-800-827-1000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2008
VA Secretary Establishes ALS as a Presumptive Compensable Illness
Cites Association between Military Service and Later Development of ALS
WASHINGTON – Veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may receive badly-needed support for themselves and their families after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that ALS will become a presumptively compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more of continuously active service in the military.
“Veterans are developing ALS in rates higher than the general population, and it was appropriate to take action,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake said.
Secretary Peake based his decision primarily on a November 2006 report by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the association between active-duty service and ALS.
“We are extremely grateful to Secretary Peake, Congressman Henry Brown and Senator Lindsey Graham for standing on the side of veterans with ALS across the country,” said Gary Leo, president and CEO of The ALS Association. “Thanks to their leadership, veterans with ALS will receive the benefits and care they need, when they need them. Thanks to their efforts, no veteran with ALS will ever be left behind.”
The report, titled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Veterans: Review of the Scientific Literature, analyzed numerous previous studies on the issue and concluded that “there is limited and suggestive evidence of an association between military service and later development of ALS.”
“ALS is a disease that progresses rapidly, once it is diagnosed,” the Secretary explained. “There simply isn’t time to develop the evidence needed to support compensation claims before many veterans become seriously ill. My decision will make those claims much easier to process, and for them and their families to receive the compensation they have earned through their service to our nation.”
– More –
New Regulation on ALS Presumptive 2/2/2/2
ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neuromuscular disease that affects about 20,000 to 30,000 people of all races and ethnicities in the United States, is often relentlessly progressive, and is almost always fatal.
ALS causes degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that leads to muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, and spontaneous muscle activity. Currently, the cause of ALS is unknown, and there is no effective treatment.
The new interim final regulation applies to all applications for benefits received by VA on or after September 23, 2008, or that are pending before VA, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on that date.
VA will work to identify and contact veterans with ALS, including those whose claims for ALS were previously denied, through direct mailings and other outreach programs.
To view the entire regulation published in the Federal Register today, go to: www.federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2008-21998_PI.pdf. For more information on VA’s disability compensation program, go to www.va.gov or contact 1-800-827-1000.
# # #
For the latest news releases and other information, visit VA on the Internet at
http://www.va.gov/opa.
To receive e-mail copies of news releases, subscribe to VA’s list server at:
“We were soldiers once and young.” We were patriots against the wind. Our leaders were three-legged stools. Our pictures were not pretty. Our story had no plot. Our hope was ephemeral and we were shunned by our own. Some did not recover. Was this a test? Was this some metaphysical trial by fire to prepare us for a new order of things? Is it not possible that the travails of the Vietnam Veteran were akin to the friction that creates diamonds? Is is not possible that our dark night of the soul and survival through times of absolute chaos and calamity has by some accident of history prepared us to be one of the most compassionate and collective moral leaders our nation has ever known?
As a band of brothers and sisters, Vietnam Veterans are a damn formidable force. We are an extended family fused with a brotherly love and an uncommon sense of justice without prejudice.
Vietnam Veterans are one of the most inclusive and culturally diverse corporate bodies in our land. Very much to the contrary of popular media are families have been emboldened and enriched by our service in the Armed Forces and a tour of duty in the Vietnam theater. Cliche as it may be, “if it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger.”
How ironic that these rare psychological survival skills, gained without volition, during a time when we were shamed, have become the ingredients of a brand of leadership that may lead us out of an abyss created by the current elected. How poignantly ironic that we arise now from the apocalyptic and nihilistic experience of the jungle to provide light and levity to a seriously polarized world.
A reminder: On Sept. 23, 2008, Lou Gehrig’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was made a presumptive condition for all veterans who served in our armed forces for at least 90 days.
This means that widows of those veterans who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in years past are now eligible for the VA widows’ monthly benefit.
For more information, contact Fred Campbell, Chairman of VA Outreach for American Ex-Prisoners of War, 3312 Chatterton Dr., San Angelo, TX 76904, or at fredrev@webtv.net.
This benefit affects widows of all veterans, not just former POWs).
It is vital information such as this that generally circulates by word of mouth or helpful sites like ours.
It is here that we hope to hear from the spouses and family members of veterans about their informational needs and issues that this writer and a team of assistants can help resolve.
