Here's the summary:
While serving in Germany, Jack took ill with recurring, debilitating headaches. Bad enough he'll wind up on the floor in convulsions for hours at a time. Bright light (daylight) and chemicals can trigger this.
The Army and the Germans were unable to identify a cause.
Do to a misunderstanding of this, his command decided it was a "personality disorder," and that he was malingering, and processed him for discharge.
After several months, VA initially decided to award disability.
He's stayed at my house at times, and I've seen him on the floor, incoherent and twitching. Anything brighter than a night light can do it. He wears welding goggles to go outside in daylight.
For some reason, the VA never actually assigned him a primary care physician.
Recently, some administrative assbag did the same thing the Army did, and with no medical exam or credentials, ruled it to be a "personality disorder." His benefits are gone.
Because his brain doesn't work right, Jack had no savings.
On appeal (they sent the paperwork to an old address, and he never saw it in time to argue at the time), they scheduled a medical appt.
Because his brain doesn't work right, he missed the appt.
They have now ruled that he's not only not disabled, but not entitled to ANY VA care at all, unless he can "prove" he has headaches by coming to their hospital, which he can't do since he's not authorized VA medical care, and because when a headache hits he can't make a phone call.
DAV has been unable to assist.
He's agreeable to a durable POA so I can access the ER records from the places he's been taken when he's been found on the street during an attack.
What agencies and what strategy do we use to get him covered?
What non-VA options does he have, such as social security, etc?
Mike
