petro,
i got to give credit where it is due.......and that is the VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM!!!!!!! they have handled this part of my medical from day 2 of discovering i had it nov 24th, 2004!!!!!!!
i say day 2 cause day 1 i spent at a local hospital, waited over 3 hours to get seen in the E.R., they inserted a cath........WITH NO LIDOCANE!!!! took me to CT SCAN, and sent me home........to the tune of $5000.00!!!!! this was a day of 2 before thankgiving that year, so i had to wait till monday morning to go to the doctor they recommended, and he really P.O. ed me with his attitude. left his office and had wife drive me to local VA CLINIC. i had been there a couple weeks prior to see about getting some health care from VA, but didnt have a copy of my DD214 as the one i did have burnt in a house fire in pa 1980. they had a copy sent to me and i walked into the VA, handed the clerk the DD214........and he said:" would you like to see a doctor ..TODAY?
now iam amazed as i had heard from others it takes 6 months to a year to get an appointment. i looked at the clerk and said JUST THAT EASY"? he said yep....just that easy. JOE, when did you go to the VA the 1st time after your discharge in 1969? i said i didnt remember. he says, YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE SYSTEM since 1969, you are SERVICE CONNECTED...........and have VA HEALTH CARE AVAILABLE TO YOU........all those years. all you had to do was walk into a clinic and ask to see a doctor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WELLL STUPID ME))))) had no idea. but was sure glad to find out i had something to handle the problem i faced. i got my 1st appointment with a UROLOGIST in BILOXI(closest hospital) by dec 14th. we went there and met with the doc. as you know most doctors you have you get 10 minutes max.
he invited me and the wife into his office, closed the door, sat down and said......joe, we are going to answer any questions you have, and i wil answer them and tell you how this is gona work. we will consider the BEST CASE, to the WORST CASE....in that order. WE TALKED FOR AN HOUR AND HALF!!!!!!!!!
came time to make a decision on either he could look in there now, or just make an appointment for a surgery. i said do the surgery. he expllained to me the VA takes cases on a 1st come 1st serve basis. and he might not be able to do the surgery till march(remember this was dec 14th)i said ok. he said i will ge see when i can get you a surgery date..
he went to the other office, and came out and said ...."you must be livin right," as i was setting you an appointment.we had a cancellation for JAN 18TH!!!!!!! you want it? i said YES...........
that was how well it went. had that surgery, 16 months no re-occurrence and then for the next 2 years it was a surgery almost after every 3 months cysto.!!!!!! when KATRINA destroyed biloxi, i was sent to JACKSON, MISS VA HOSPITAL. cant say enough good, about the staff and doctors there.
once they got it under control, in 2009, they had just built a new VA CLINIC here and it was next door to the NAVY HOSPITAL. i have had cystos done here(VA)and a couple other surgeries(TURPS and a muscle biopsy) at the NAVY HOSPITAL!!!! again, i cant say enough good about the people working there.
DEC 2010, i went to the VA CLINIC with chest pains. they dont normally see you if you dont have an appointment, but they took me to the EKG, AND doctor asked what hospital i wanted to go to....as i was having a heart attack........and they could do nothing for me there. i went to local hospital, had a double by pass, they got me before i had any real heart damage!!!! VA HEALTH CARE took care of it.
i just had extensive back surgery. they screwed, wired, and fused all vertebra from S1 to L1!!!!! was done at local hospital with VA consultation oking it.
so i cant say enough good about the VA HEALTH CARE!!!!!! i praise them every chance iget, they deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!