Veteran Issues

Adger Smith · 02-16-2014, 02:19 PM

Eddie,
Thanks for your help with Dad's VA claim. Your information, even though it was free, had real value. I know it's been almost 2 years, but he finally got his first check. We ended up doing just like you said and going to the Vet affairs office. We had been working on this, jumping through their hoops, sending additional information (that they had in front of them, most of the time) for almost 2 years. Since Dad was a double WW11 vet, USAAF & Marine Corp, the Vet affairs officer was he** bent to get him the in home care benefit we applied for. It helped that he was a retired Marine, too.
It took about 60 days after he re applied all the very same forms and info I had already sent 1 1/2 years before. He had a cover sheet he typed up, signed, and put in the packet that was mailed from his office. I wish I knew what he had written on that cover sheet. We started getting phone calls telling us of the progress of Dads application. They informed us several times that we were getting documents mailed to us. We are even getting back benefits to the original time that we applied. That sure helps with the past out of pocket expenses. We have spent over 40,000 since May of last year on his care. I went by his office the other day and thanked him and he grabbed 2 more forms to fill out for medicine and medical care benefits. What a guy! :~) The only bad thing we had to deal with was Dad. I had to remove all his guns from his home. That didn't go over very good. They consider this dementia and Alzheimer’s as a mental illness. Esp. since I have to handle all his business affairs. I think it is a good thing to keep his guns away from him. When I was removing them his caregiver told me he would get a .22 rifle out and mess with it. She said he was not careful with it at all and would point it all over the room. I wish I had known that before hand. I would have taken steps to stop it. So there is way more good coming out of this than just getting his benefits. He seems happy and content with his life style. I think the best info you gave me was to be patient. Thanks again for your tips/pointers and kind words of encouragement.
Adger Smith

02-16-2014, 02:19 PM	#25
Adger Smith VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Texarkana Ark/TX Posts: 2,446 Likes: 575 Liked 880 Times in 311 Posts	Re: Veteran Issues Eddie, Thanks for your help with Dad's VA claim. Your information, even though it was free, had real value. I know it's been almost 2 years, but he finally got his first check. We ended up doing just like you said and going to the Vet affairs office. We had been working on this, jumping through their hoops, sending additional information (that they had in front of them, most of the time) for almost 2 years. Since Dad was a double WW11 vet, USAAF & Marine Corp, the Vet affairs officer was he** bent to get him the in home care benefit we applied for. It helped that he was a retired Marine, too. It took about 60 days after he re applied all the very same forms and info I had already sent 1 1/2 years before. He had a cover sheet he typed up, signed, and put in the packet that was mailed from his office. I wish I knew what he had written on that cover sheet. We started getting phone calls telling us of the progress of Dads application. They informed us several times that we were getting documents mailed to us. We are even getting back benefits to the original time that we applied. That sure helps with the past out of pocket expenses. We have spent over 40,000 since May of last year on his care. I went by his office the other day and thanked him and he grabbed 2 more forms to fill out for medicine and medical care benefits. What a guy! :~) The only bad thing we had to deal with was Dad. I had to remove all his guns from his home. That didn't go over very good. They consider this dementia and Alzheimer’s as a mental illness. Esp. since I have to handle all his business affairs. I think it is a good thing to keep his guns away from him. When I was removing them his caregiver told me he would get a .22 rifle out and mess with it. She said he was not careful with it at all and would point it all over the room. I wish I had known that before hand. I would have taken steps to stop it. So there is way more good coming out of this than just getting his benefits. He seems happy and content with his life style. I think the best info you gave me was to be patient. Thanks again for your tips/pointers and kind words of encouragement. Adger Smith __________________ Adger Smith (Former SS) Last edited by Adger Smith; 02-16-2014 at 02:24 PM. Reason: sp