The real Veterans Healthcare

The healthcare the VA offers it's veterans has been in the media lately. With the backlogs and secret wait lists and other things happening. I heard one veteran say they don't understand what all the hubbub is about, they get great care. Well you, sir, are lucky. This is the VA Healthcare I know.


I had my annual well women's exam in 2012 and then went about life as usual. I just found out the beginning of this year that that exam came back with abnormal cells. I didn't find this out because the VA told me. I found out because I happened to be viewing my medical records online for something else and came across it. I had to call the VA and tell them the results. The end scenario? I took cancer treatments for about 10 weeks.

Since 2001, about 6 months after my active duty enlistment, I felt excruciating pain while running. Pain you couldn't imagine. It honestly felt like my legs were going to snap in half from the pressure I was feeling. It also felt like someone was holding a blow torch up to the bottom of my feet. This has continued since then. It is the reason I can't run any longer.

I went to the podiatry clinic at the George E. Wahlen VA hospital in Salt Lake City for about two years. Every single time I went there I waited AT LEAST 3 hours past my appointment time. I also didn't meet with a podiatrist. I met with a medical student. Every time. So I never got a firm diagnosis. Every time I went in there I had to repeat what my issue was and redo the imaging studies. Every single time. Well I ended up going to the VA hospital in San Antonio (Frank Tejada) and was finally diagnosed with tarsal tunnel this year as well as tendonopathy and recurring stress fractures in my feet. They wanted to do a surgery to release the nerves they thought were trapped in my ankles causing the severe pain in my feet. We moved out of the San Antonio area a week before the surgery. The hospital then refused to treat me and do the surgery. They said I would have to start over with the nearest VA hospital with a new podiatrist. Well, 6 months later I am still waiting for that consult to see that podiatrist.

We moved to the Dallas area in September. A few days after getting here I was experiencing some chest pains. I waited about 12 hours before going to the emergency room because I knew I was far too young for it to be a heart attack and my grandfather had just passed away a couple days ago so I thought it was an anxiety attack. I ended up going to a private hospital where they did an ultrasound. They found some gallstones and a mass on my liver. That was September 21st. They said I would need to have my gallbladder out and to see my primary care physician to have that done ASAP. They also said I would need an MRI to get a better look at the liver mass and see if it was cancerous. I went 6 hours later to the the local VA clinic where they made those appointments. When I met with my primary care physician the next morning I took my paperwork from the emergency room. He stated the VA would have to do their own ultrasound to look for gallstones and to confirm the liver mass before they would proceed. Why? Why would another facility lie about what was seen on the ultrasound? It's a mass conspiracy by the private healthcare field to lie about what is found so that I can have surgery to have an organ removed that wouldn't actually benefit me in any way. It's not like they said I need a tummy tuck or a breast augmentation.

The ultrasound was last week. I won't have an MRI to look at my liver until November 21st. 2 MONTHS after the mass was found. Call me crazy but if this is cancer doesn't that give it an extra two months to grow and wreak havoc? Not to mention the anxiety it causes me. I would think that any person told a mass was found would automatically worry about cancer. So I called private MRI companies in the DFW area and they all told me I could get in within a day or two. So I requested to be sent into the private sector to have this done. Well, they have never gotten back to me. I call and ask to speak to someone and they literally NEVER answer my phone and they have no voicemail set up. (Don't believe me? Call 817-335-2202. Press 0 for operator and ask to speak to radiology.) I have even left a handwritten note with them to have the supervisor call me. He never does. I called private companies in the DFW area that provide MRI's and they all said they could get me in within a day or two. Make the same calls yourselves.

And to have my gallbladder removed? That still hasn't been scheduled. Anybody that has had gallstones blocking the duct can speak to the level of pain, nausea, and other issues that come with it.

So I read my ultrasound results from the VA on Monday. They hold those results for 3 days online so that your doctor has time to call you and discuss them and you don't get the shock of reading them online. When I was called I was only told of the gallstones and that a surgery consult would be put in. So much to my HUGE surprise when I read my results. My spleen is teetering on the edge of being too small. And my liver? It's what we say in the military as "tore up from the floor up". I have what google tells me is an enlarged liver. It's too large. And I either have some kind of "liver condition" or I have cancerous tissue. That's shocking to read. There is even a mention of what google calls a "fatty liver". So I called my PCP to discuss the results and am told that she isn't actually my PCP and to contact the previous doctor I saw. So I sent him the VA version of an email and said I wanted to discuss the issues with my liver etc etc. I got a response back from his nurse that he isn't my PCP and to contact the other people who also said they aren't my PCP even though I told this doctor the new PCP wasn't my PCP and wasn't accepting new patients. Confused yet? I am!! All of this happening while my new well women's exam came back saying "abnormal cells" and waiting to see a specialist. Well the specialist won't see me until I get clearance from mental health for PTSD. Since when does it matter if I have PTSD to get a consultation for cervical cancer? Why would they make me wait?

When I call for questions for test results I get bounced around. Each doctor's nurse tells me that I am not their patient and the other is my primary care provider. Leaving me in an infinite loop. Nobody accepting me as their patient or helping me.

THIS is the VA healthcare that I know. This is why they are horrible. This is why we should all be given private healthcare similar to medicaid. They don't actually care about us. We are a paycheck. Pawns in a political game. THIS is why I have taken on a lawyer to sue the VA. It's unacceptable.

Reality Trash

I for one am so sick of hearing about Justin Bieber, any of the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, Joan Rivers, and the entire lot of them!

Teenagers around the world can tell you everything there is to know about Kim Kardashian. A slut who became famous because of a video! Or they back Justin Bieber even though he is a thug. Yes, a thug. 

So many Americans can tell you about famous actors or singers and their lives. But they can't even name the Vice President of the United States. Or the Speaker of the House. They can't even tell you the difference between the House and Congress. Or how many people are in each. 

Why do parents allow their children to watch such trash? Kim Kardashian and her entire whorish family help nobody but themselves and their pocket books. 

You allow your children to idolize a bunch of idiots! That is why your children grow up to be idiots and criminals. 

Put on PBS instead of TLC. Have them read a biography of a former President instead of watching brawls on YouTube. 

Parents are to blame for all of this. I don't care how many hours you work, or why. But you should limit your childs access to the internet. 

Like taking your 5 year old to a midnight showing of a movie. That child should be home in bed. I don't give a damn for your reasoning. 

"Don't Name Them"

So the FBI just announced a campaign rightfully named "Don't Name Them". 

The goal is to stop the media from naming individuals who go on shooting sprees. Why are they doing this? Because mass shooters and serial killers want one thing more than anything else. To be known by everybody. They want to be famous. To be the talk of the water coolers and dinner tables. To have books written about them. 

I whole heartedly agree with this campaign! I couldn't care less what their names are. What school they attended. What their roommate and classmates have to say about them. 

By the media centering on the shooter they are just perpetuating the cycle. Some argue about freedom of press. Well the press just pours gasoline on the fire by spending hours and days talking about the shooter. 

Biggest case in point, when the Rolling Stones mag gave that terrorist the cover of their magazine after the Boston Bombings. 

That was total garbage and every American has to agree. I don't care what the story in the magazine was. I don't even know if there was a story related to it. I don't read trash, it rots your brain. 

If we never name the shooter, then they never become famous. I bet these killings drop dramatically if the media follows this. 

But Americans have to know everything! They even want to know who cuts their hair. Where they bought their clothes. If they came from a broken home. 

Stop focussing on the psychopaths. Stop giving them infamy. The only thing I care about is the victims and their recoveries. Ways that we can help the families. 

Not everything is meant to be printed or told. 

Social Media

Social media is de-humanizing our youth. The hashtag MTVHottest as of right now has 16 million tweets. The hashtag MH17 has 347 thousand. Our youth really doesn't care about what is going on in the world. They care about Kim and Kanye (who are the epitome of trash) and what they are doing. They care about who colors Kate Hudson's hair. They do not care about 300 people being shot from the sky. Murdered. By Russians. 

It's a sad world we live in when a majority of people can't tell you who Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, or John Boehner are. But they can tell you what nail polish Michelle wore to the last inauguration and who made her dress. In fact, I remember the news broadcasts dedicated to it and finding out what to name the nail color. It cost me IQ points. I should sue the media. 

26 million people follow Kim Kardashian on twitter but only 9 million people follow the Dalai Lama. 

Hundreds of thousands of people thought a picture of Morgan Freeman was Nelson Mandela. They didn't know the difference. That's pathetic. 

Parents nowadays give their kids iPads and iPhones and allow them to spend hours a day playing video games. 

When I was growing up my parents FORCED us to play outside. As a matter of fact, my dad saw through our lame excuses to come back inside and watch tv. And his statement I can still hear clear today. "In or out". Which meant stay outside and play or get a grounding/spanking. 

Our parents raised us right. Though we of course didn't see it at the time. We thought they were evil! Horrible parents who should be punished. 

Kids are spoiled. Every child should be spanked. No child needs a smartphone. Or complete access to the internet. 

I came home from taekwondo one night and my parents said not to watch a certain channel that night (we did have our own tvs at that point with very strict rules, off by 10 and in bed). I listened. Even though I very desperately wanted to know what was on that channel I never did go there to see what it was. I knew my boundaries. We knew there would be consequences for disobeying and we never dared to challenge our parents. We listened. Like children should. 

Did we ever push our boundaries? Even blow past them? Absolutely!! That is what kids do. But there was a reasonable punishment waiting for us. 

I don't want to live in a world where more people listen to Kim Kardashian than Nelson Mandela. That is a perverted world. 

Which is why we now have celebs posting on twitter to free Palestine and pray for Gaza. These kids need to pick up a history book. We need to learn from history. We are 3 decades away from watering our crops with Gatorade. If you've seen Idiocracy you'll understand the reference. 

I have deleted my Facebook account weeks ago. And my husband has deleted  his as well a couple days ago. We are sick of the garbage spewed online that people are so stupid to fall for. And yes, I do mean stupid. I'm not a genius but I'm smart enough to know when something isn't true or right 

More to follow. 

The Border Crisis

I'd like to start off by saying that I can't imagine what it is like to live in a country in the grips of the drug cartels in Honduras, Colombia, and parts of Mexico. Honduras has the highest rate of homicide in the world! I understand wanting to send your children to a better place. 

But handing them over to mules is not the answer! These mules kidnap children for ransom, sell them into sex slavery and child pornography rings, even kill them if they slow up the group. 

America can't even protect or feed the children who already live here. Look at the crime rate in Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, even San Antonio!

A 12 year old girl was murdered in front of her father in Detroit this past week to make her father suffer. 

And immigration laws are in place for a reason. I'll grant that a majority who pass through are not a threat to national security. But who will house them? Feed them? Educate them? Growing up in a youth facility only breeds more criminals! But those who come through unregistered without permission bypass the safeguards in place that keep criminals out. Even a child can be a terrorist. Look at Afghanistan. Children are groomed to be terrorists. Granted, again, a majority are not. But I'd prefer not to live through another 9/11. Or have we forgotten how that day felt to us. A majority of our youth don't even remember that day, or the pain it caused. They learn about it from a book. Like I did about the World Wars. I'll never understand or know what actually happened during that time. 

The more that come through gets us that much closer to collapsing our economy. Again, we can't feed the low income families that live here. Or protect the children of Chicago. We have no business adding to that burden. It's more precious lives lost. More mouths unfed. More children without families. 

The truth is that most adoptive families don't adopt in the US. They go international. For a huge reason. To adopt in the US is an astronomical cost. $20,000 minimum for a family who wants a child to be matched with a child who wants a family. 

If we stop accepting these children, who again we can't afford to house or feed (have we forgotten our HUGE national debt we have left for our children to inherit) it will benefit us and them. Growing up in a youth facility is no different than growing up in a youth detention facility. 

A lot needs to happen with our immigration reform but turning a blind eye and allowing these hundreds of thousands in illegally is not the answer. Again, we can't even monitor those who come here that intend to do harm. 

Do you have any idea how hard it is for Americans to immigrate to another country? There are point systems, education requirements, income requirements. We are not the only country who enact requirements to move here. Yet we are portrayed as bad guys. I don't see the EU, Canada, Australia, or any other country opening their arms to help these children. 

Are we really this dumb?

So this is years of frustrations towards what people post online and Facebook. I reached my limit when people posted photos of STEVEN SPIELBERG killing a TRICERATOPS. An animal that has been extinct for millions of years. Facebook wants us to share this photo in hopes of shaming this murderer. Seriously?!? It's a triceratops. Nothing you, nor I, nor our ancestors, nor their, not even something Jesus Christ himself would have ever seen. Yes, I believe in Jesus and God. I believe there is something bigger than myself that makes this world go round.

But where did we become so stupid we think they still exist and Steven Spielberg just killed one?

Ever seen idiocracy? This is it. Playing out in front of our eyes.

You know that video of larvae growing in a breast that just made the rounds. Let's be smart about this. If it were true, the area would be so red, inflamed, infected, and painful to touch. But millions fell for it. "It's on Facebook, so it must be true". Idiots! And when that wasn't shared as much it was larvae on a man's shoulder from using Head and Shoulders shampoo.

We have become such stupid beings because of the internet. Just because it's on Google, it doesn't make it true!

People, use your brains.

Bill Gates won't give you a $1000 for sharing a status. A child's transplant has NOTHING to do with sharing a status.

We are making America a land of idiots. One share at a time! Be smarter. Read a freaking book instead of watching "reality tv".  The people on the bachelor and bachelorette are all faking. You didn't know?! South Beach Tow is staged. Even Pawn Stars is made up. Museum curators bring in a majority of items and ask a person standing in line to sell it and play along.


Stay tuned.

Waiting for baby

My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for 5 years now. After trying for about a year we sought the help of a reproductive endocrinologist (fancy term for fertility doc). We were given devastating news at that time that we would never be able to conceive on our own. That we would require medical intervention to make our dreams of becoming parents a reality. Since then we have gone through fertility treatments off and on. Not the kind that will make me the next octomom, but the rate of twins is about 10%. The treatments are extremely costly, about $7000 each try. They are also emotionally draining. Your life is centered around peeing on those darn pregnancy tests and then with each negative you are met with a flood of emotions. You wonder why it isn't happening, are you being punished for some past transgression, why can meth addicts pop out kids by the dozen but you can't have any. It is a very heartbreaking journey. But we keep going back for more in the hopes that it will finally work. It's also easy for friends and family to say "it will happen when it is meant to" and "you should wait a couple more years". But they have children, a family. It is easy to say things like that when you don't go through the torment that we do. We are praying that this year is our year!