The level of failures within our military is not isolated to within Active Duty Personnel or on base facilities. What many fail to realize is that an infrastructure failure must exist if it becomes second-hand nature to also fail our Veterans. When I use the term "Veteran", I use this word loosely. As far as I am concerned, because of today's world surrounding what a service member in combat faces, if you served our country, then our country owes more than to treat you, a Veteran, as disposable.
As young men between the ages of 18 and 26, you as an American Citizen or Lawful resident male ONLY are subject to the Selective Service Draft. Don't worry gentlemen, I will focus very finitely on this issue at a later time. For those that do answer "the call to arms", should our National Budget also factor in supporting their lifetime health? The one thing that can be said of all who serve is very simple: You do not come out the same way you went in. We should be drawing attention to that very issue whether it is 1 yr or 3 years or 5 years or 20 years or even 35 years.
We Americans are expected to promote the morale of our service branches. We are often expected to blindly support the Veteran's Administration and its Health care system of which over the years has openly displayed how it has been and is failing our Veterans and their families.. I have attempted to contact multiple representatives on their Facebook Pages to point out the flaws in the Veteran's Administration Health care System. Since no one intends to actually address the problems posted publicly on Facebook, well then I suppose I will start sharing the nightmare stories here in hopes that it draws the right kind of attention for those who suffer.
My highlighted issue begins with one American Naval Veteran who was diagnosed with PTSD and multiple injuries as a result of his service. He is no longer in the Service but will continue to have health care, as he should. This father of six struggles to function but forces himself to do so as a motivational necessity to his wife and children. Many within the social media realm would like to focus on the medical cannabis world as a result of recent events that have transpired for this family. Instead, I would like to focus on the parts of the US Health care System in concert with our VA Health care System that have and continue to fail this man, husband and father.
Raymond "Seraphim" Schwab of Colorado is currently in Puerto Rico attempting to assist in relief efforts for Americans after the recent Hurricane Season. Experiencing a sudden injury, Seraphim attempted to seek immediate medical intervention at the Veteran's Hospital at the Hospital de Veteranos within the Puerto Rico VA Healthcare system.
We can all admit that any Emergency Room is not exactly the best environment to tell someone to "hurry up and wait". We all know the words that if you go to an Emergency Room then to expect to wait for hours even for the most basic of care and to also expect that others will likely be pushed ahead of you if the level of pain or type of injury doesn't fit the prioritization list they have. Seraphim has taken to social media to expose the delays and constant struggles he has had since he went in for care, beginning with a post on January 30, 2018.
After being in excruciating pain in excess of 4 hours, fellow waiting room patients demanded of staff to take him in back and demanded to know what the holdup was for someone in so much pain. After finally being pressured to examine Mr. Schwab, it was discovered that he indeed suffered a significant injury. He somehow miraculously broke his shoulder blade- his "scapula". Wow! That is a unique injury and not a common one. Here is a picture from EpainAssist.com of an example rarity.
I think that picture says enough- OUCH!
While I don't have the personal images of Seraphim's Injury, I can say without a doubt this type of injury would require some stabilization- a sling of sorts that would promote stability and the lack of moving the arm to avoid further injury. It doesn't take a genius to apply some common sense.
What was the Hospital de Veteranos solution? Hang ten!
The Hospital de Veteranos injected Mr. Schwab with Demerol to be able to strap on this unique and unstable sling. I think it is obvious to say that any medical professional with even basic training, or even basic CPR and First Aid Care looking at the way this is done would be able to say - DON'T DO THIS AT HOME BOYS AND GIRLS!
Adding insult to injury, he was told to return the next morning for what would be considered needing possible emergency repair surgery. Wait, so they did not even follow basic injury protocol to ensure the patient did not eat before surgery was deemed a possible necessary? No they sure did not. As of January 30, 2018, this Emergency Room had only one doctor on staff. Excuse me?! That alone is purely inexcusable and absurd to tell a patient in such a large facility. Come back tomorrow- maybe then we will do surgery. Is anyone seeing the level of incompetence and malpractice here? This is how we treat our Veterans? Come back tomorrow so you can hurry up and wait again.
The next day, January 31, 2018, Mr. Schwab went back to the hospital to speak with an orthopedic specialist as directed the previous day. Orthopedics is the field of medicine that deals with prevention and correction of injuries or disorders of the skeletal system (joints, bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons.) The physician simply informed him to have an MRI done immediately- a special imaging that is done to get a "better picture" of things. Receiving no paperwork, no instructions on restrictions or otherwise, Mr. Schwab became increasingly concerned as none of his questions were being answered. How does a physician state they will need to evaluate a patient but the patient is told to leave before an evaluation is actually done? Now we are getting somewhere...false ICD billing? I wonder what the billing codes will be.
A patient is then told to go to the MRI department where they find out this confusingly urgent injury has now been scheduled for an MRI a week out NOT immediately as eluded to during the appointment. Staff in the MRI Radiology Department informed he would need to return to the Orthopedist to get the info straightened out. Why make a patient stress about the urgency of matters if you the surgeon is going to then put things on the back-burner as though insignificant?
This is where Mr. Schwab did the absolutely right thing. He didn't get carried away and start yelling or throwing things. No he did exactly the opposite. He spoke to the hospital's patient Advocacy Representative. The nice woman, as he calls her, was very gracious and concerned as to the confusion and delay of care that has now been set in motion. She filed a complaint on his behalf to remedy the matter.
February 1, 2018, Seraphim is contacted by the "MRI Supervisor" and was informed another contradicting piece of information. Now, the MRI was scheduled two weeks out instead of one because they wanted to do a special MRI that would require contrast to be placed in his shoulder. His shoulder? (Scooby-doo moment here). But I thought they said scapula fracture that was "Acute" and wanted to know the extent of the injury. So in essence they are now confusing him even more because one minute they tell him scapula and the next saying shoulder. These are minor differences given that the two are in the close by areas of the body. Confusion of this sort shouldn't be so complicated to understand. What's the confusion? Well here is an example and you decide:
1. We need to do an MRI of your shoulder blade to see just how bad the fracture is
-OR-
2. We need to do a Special MRI on the shoulder itself and inject you with Contrast to see more.
-OR-
3.To determine the full extent of damage, I want to do a full contrast MRI of your entire shoulder area to determine whether the damage is limited to just the shoulder blade (the scapula) or if maybe there is other damage.
What they told Seraphim was #1, not #2 or #3. Then, they add confusion by telling him #2. They have yet to even attempt to tell him #3 but now they have him confused and worried. Does the left hand even know what the right is doing? Medical Professionals are suppose to do no harm so why would they inject such confusion and concern. If it was #3 all along, just say that. At this point, Schwab declines anything further invasive then what is currently discussed at the appointment and is demanding further clarification because the information received now contradicts.
Little communications like this are the exact problem in the VA Health care System. Stop yanking people around. Don't tell them one thing, followed by another, and then treat them like they are crazy or unstable. Sad to say, that is exactly what Hospital de Veteranos did next.
The VA Hospital called Mr. Schwab telling him he "HAD TO" go back for a third time to get the order changed. At this point, Schwab states, "Day three with a broken scapula and minimal investigation to see if anything else is torn or damaged. I am still in excruciating pain."
Seraphim is escorted to a doctor's office where inside is the supervisor of surgery and the doctor he had the patient rep file the complaint on. Mr. Schwab was informed another doctor would be present, not the complaint doctor. Inappropriate bullying tactic at best. This is how we will treat our veterans? No I have a problem with that.
He was informed that the physician he complained about was the Resident on staff. At this point I agree his position is irrelevant given the prior facts received. He could leave. That is exactly what Mr. Schwab asked- for the doctor he complained about to leave as he did not feel comfortable after the mistreatment. The supervisor instructed the doctor to leave. The doctor did just that- storming out of the door.
Thereafter, Seraphim glances out the door and notices three male nurses standing at the door. Hmmmm. Now this behavior would make anyone feel uncomfortable. Three people standing outside the door? But, why? Seraphim asked to close the door for patient privacy. The nurses refused to move. Seraphim further goes to state at this point, "I shared with the doctor that I did not understand why they were standing in the door trying to look menacing, that I would like a medical privacy to be respected and the door shut. The doctor refused and the men just moved out of sight."
All in all, if a patient demands privacy- they get it, no questions asked. There is no reason to behave this way. The surgeon supervisor continues on to ask a question followed by the phone ringing and walking out the door. The surgeon supervisor returns to ask another question, phone rings again, the supervisor leaves again. At this point, would you feel comfortable? Likely, yes indeed.
Seraphim shares that when the supervisor returned to the office again that he shared he had called the VA Police. "Now I understood why everyone was clustered. It was a VA epiphany. They were trying To provoke me and then get the police to retaliate against me for filing a complaint. "
Not many realize how Seraphim lives his life but to those, such as myself, it is expected to know he records anything and everything that involves any authority if there is any inkling they may commit a crime, fraud or perjury upon an authority. Too bad. Seraphim recorded the entire interaction as legally permissible. Under exception laws, that is not a crime.
The truly unfortunate part in this one story is that people like Seraphim are often left wondering who they should trust if the people who are entrusted to help are the actual offenders.
Before the police show up, Seraphim goes back to his Advocacy Rep telling her about what was happening, completely in tears. Why would they do this? She called the surgeon and his only response was that he "did not like his facial expressions, so he called the police". Still Recording but back to the ER again he is told for another 2-3 hours he is informed by the advocate.
This is the tactic being engaged in by doctors who don't like getting their shit called out? This is actually criminal.
Still no treatment or evaluation as informed would be necessary. Expected to still wear that pathetic excuse of a sling they call a "stabilizer". This is the VA Health care system.
Bureaucracy? No, just pure laziness. And you want to know where Tax dollars are being spent? There you go. Prime example on one not so small island where one doctor's word is now proven fraudulent.
The crucial reality of why I share Seraphim's experience is because he describes that it appears everyone there is going through scenarios such as these. This is NOT the first time I hear of the VA demonizing a veteran and retaliating for making complaints as to substandard, inefficient, and improper care being rendered.
What I have to say is this: If we expect better for our children, and our senior citizens, the we should expect that for each and every person, especially those who have served this country-PERIOD.
The VA cannot continue to operate under this demonizing practice. These people deserve and have the right to proper health care, not health care that would treat them like a plague.
Without a doubt, Seraphim is a loud voice to contend with. But that fact is because he knows his rights and where he has questions, he isn't afraid to ask. He is doing what he should be doing. Now it is our duty to fight for the rights of this unique population that desperately needs our help. People across this country and across the globe are coming forward stating similar circumstances.
This infectious practice of "hurry up and wait" for our veterans is no longer being accepted by those who stand watch. Each and every one of us should demand better treatment than this.
You can share your thoughts with the VA on their Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/VeteransAffairs/
or write the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs at:
810 Vermont Avenue, NW , Washington 20420
Please be sure to write your Congressional regarding the maltreatment of veterans and demand better. We as Americans must become as outraged as those who are already affected to make a difference. Grab your mobile devices, your smart apps and your pens and paper and start writing about how unacceptable situations like these will no longer be tolerated, not in your area, and not in any area for any American and Veteran. Health care has become substandard because people who are affected just don't have it in them to fight, or they just don't know how. The Average American family has its issues, but they have rights.
DEMAND TOTAL TRANSPARENCY. DEMAND TRUE HEALTH CARE.
DEMAND YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS.
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