Re: Son in USAF with PSC

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I am 31 years old and was dx last November with UC and PSC. I am not

in the USAF, but I am in the US Navy. I am currently fighting to keep

my naval career, but it does not look hopeful for me. I've been

fighting for almost a year now. At first I was told I was fit to

continue service, but then the Navy tried to seperate me with out any

future medical assistance. I was devastated. I have been in the

service for 13 and half years and felt I deserved better. I have

given up alot for them and now they were trying to do me wrong. So, I

have a lawyer now and I am going through the process of having my

case re-evaluated. Now instead of fighting to stay in I am fighting

to get medical retirement. It's not what I really want, but I have

realized that even though I am less then 7 years from retiring, my

dream of retiring from the service wil not happen. The main problem I

have run into is that unless the doctor I am speaking to is a GI

doctor, they know nothing about PSC, they act like I only have UC. I

wish your son lots of luck and I hope his out come is better then

mine.

King

> >

> > Hello,

> > I recently joined this support group.

> > My son was diagnosed with PSC early August, 2006. He is 23

years

> old.

> >

> > I am very anxious to find out if any one out there who has PSC

> and in the United States Air Force or knows someone with PSC in the

> air force.

> > My son is currently in the USAF, his career field is SPECIAL

> FORCES, Para-Rescue.

> > He made it through the grueling 10 week indoc. week. Out of 64

> young men, he was one of 8 who made it, back in June.

> > This choice of work in AF is certainly his 'calling', his

> mission so to speak.

> > Because his medical paperwork will not 'catch-up' with the

> commander of the base for another month or so, we are very, very

> ANXIOUS about wether or not the AF will allow him to stay in with

> this disease and continue his training.

> > If there is anyone out there that can send me a hopeful story

> about being able to stay in the AF with this disease or any other

> life threatening illness, PLEASE e-mail me.

> > I am a desperate mom, who would love nothing more than to share

> with her son a promising story, that he could possibly fulfill his

> DREAM, and become a P.J. with the USAF. THANK YOU!!

> > jmwevan@

> >

> >

> > ---------------------------------

> > All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get

> things done faster.

> >

> I was in the AF in 1981. I was on a special forces base. While I

was

> in I was diagnoise with Ulcerative Colitis. They discharged me with

> a medical discharge. They said that my condition could jepordize

> future missions. However, that doesnt mean they will discharge him

> but from my experience, they probably will.

> The military will probably look at 2 aspects of his condition. They

> will consider whether or not he would be a risk to the mission.

They

> will also consider the fact that UC usually accompanies PSC. And

> that is what got me discharged. They will probably also look at

> liability. However, I could be wrong and hope that i am.

> Sincerely

> Clint

> UC-1979 PSC-2006

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Hello,

> I am 31 years old and was dx last November with UC and PSC. I am

not

> in the USAF, but I am in the US Navy. I am currently fighting to

keep

> my naval career, but it does not look hopeful for me. I've been

> fighting for almost a year now. At first I was told I was fit to

> continue service, but then the Navy tried to seperate me with out

any

> future medical assistance. I was devastated. I have been in the

> service for 13 and half years and felt I deserved better. I have

> given up alot for them and now they were trying to do me wrong. So,

I

> have a lawyer now and I am going through the process of having my

> case re-evaluated. Now instead of fighting to stay in I am fighting

> to get medical retirement. It's not what I really want, but I have

> realized that even though I am less then 7 years from retiring, my

> dream of retiring from the service wil not happen. The main problem

I

> have run into is that unless the doctor I am speaking to is a GI

> doctor, they know nothing about PSC, they act like I only have UC.

I

> wish your son lots of luck and I hope his out come is better then

> mine.

>

> King

>

,

Iam a female Navy veteran(Aviation Structural Mechanic, rated at 100%

by the VA). I know how you feel. First of all, you will receive 100%

I assure you. You can fight to stay in, or you can get out and and

receive a permenant 100% disibility with full medical coverage,

dental, and have base access, and many other benefits. VA benefits

are not welfare, you earned them. You deserve them. You may also

collect SSDI. Social Security disibility benefits.

I would be more than happy to help you out...would you like me to

give you a call?. I know how to prepare the paperwork for the VA, how

to work with them. You have to be persistant. Be sure to make hard-

copies of everything in your medical record. Document every thing, in

detail.

Of course I do miss being in...but life is good, and the VA can and

will help you. There are some really good doctors out in the system.

Remember also that retirees do have pay into TRI-CARE. Those VA

service connected or impoverished vets do not have to pay for scrips

or medical care.

Andi, USN Vet, VFA-125 Lemoore, Bermuda, Atsugi-Japan, Great Lakes,

Orlando, Port Services, Mayport(currently- Modesto, California)

[Guest guest]

>

> Hello,

> I am 31 years old and was dx last November with UC and PSC. I am

not

> in the USAF, but I am in the US Navy. I am currently fighting to

keep

> my naval career, but it does not look hopeful for me. I've been

> fighting for almost a year now. At first I was told I was fit to

> continue service, but then the Navy tried to seperate me with out

any

> future medical assistance. I was devastated. I have been in the

> service for 13 and half years and felt I deserved better. I have

> given up alot for them and now they were trying to do me wrong. So,

I

> have a lawyer now and I am going through the process of having my

> case re-evaluated. Now instead of fighting to stay in I am fighting

> to get medical retirement. It's not what I really want, but I have

> realized that even though I am less then 7 years from retiring, my

> dream of retiring from the service wil not happen. The main problem

I

> have run into is that unless the doctor I am speaking to is a GI

> doctor, they know nothing about PSC, they act like I only have UC.

I

> wish your son lots of luck and I hope his out come is better then

> mine.

>

> King

>

,

Iam a female Navy veteran(Aviation Structural Mechanic, rated at 100%

by the VA). I know how you feel. First of all, you will receive 100%

I assure you. You can fight to stay in, or you can get out and and

receive a permenant 100% disibility with full medical coverage,

dental, and have base access, and many other benefits. VA benefits

are not welfare, you earned them. You deserve them. You may also

collect SSDI. Social Security disibility benefits.

I would be more than happy to help you out...would you like me to

give you a call?. I know how to prepare the paperwork for the VA, how

to work with them. You have to be persistant. Be sure to make hard-

copies of everything in your medical record. Document every thing, in

detail.

Of course I do miss being in...but life is good, and the VA can and

will help you. There are some really good doctors out in the system.

Remember also that retirees do have pay into TRI-CARE. Those VA

service connected or impoverished vets do not have to pay for scrips

or medical care.

Andi, USN Vet, VFA-125 Lemoore, Bermuda, Atsugi-Japan, Great Lakes,

Orlando, Port Services, Mayport(currently- Modesto, California)

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I was a security policeman in the AF from 98' to 00'. I was

diagnosed with UC first, PSC came after I was discharged. My doctor

told me she could fight for whatever outcome I desired. I was okay

with leaving. Being in a state of constant flare-up limited the

posts on which I could man. Basically, since my field was not a desk

job, but involved being in a place that cannot be left unmanned, I

could not just get up at any time to go to the bathroom (which I had

to do many times). I am inclined to say that your son would not be

allowed to stay a PJ. Though he may be asymptomatic now, he will

eventually require care that will not be readily available in the

places in which he is deployed... And PJ and combat control get

deployed a lot. He may be able to be cross trained to another field,

but it sounds like he was really in it for being a PJ.

Another responder to your post said that they are in the Navy and are

being told that they will not receive care. A different responder

told you it will come down to medical discharge vs. medical

retirement. The later is describing what former is going through in

more detail. I went through the same thing. I was afraid I would

not receive care. What you must understand is, not getting a medical

retirement does not mean the VA won't take care of you. It means

that service will not treat you, which is common. Medical

retirements are rarely rewarded. Your son will definitely not get

one having been in less than 1 year. Another poster mentioned that a

rating at 30% or more qualifies for a medical retirement. This is

correct, but keep in mind, it has nothing to do with the rating the

VA will give if you are medically discharged instead.(which I will

get into in the next para) I was rated 10% disabled by the Air Force.

More common is a medical discharge. Then again, has your son been in

6 months yet? If not, he will technically not be a veteran and may

not receive care from either the AF or the VA. He will need to

show " service connection " . For a condition to be service connected,

it need not necessarily be caused by the service, only incurred

during one's time in service. This brings me to my next point.

Disability ratings by the VA are just a score that is supposed to

show a priority level, which corresponds to the severity of your

condition and disability pay level. Yet another poster said that

they thought you had to have 50% or above to be treated at the VA.

That is not accurate. There are two factors. One, if you have

limited income (was less than 23k back in 2001) you qualify for free

care, regardless of whether or not your condition is service

connected. If you make more than that, you can still receive care at

the VA but will have to make co pays like at a public hospital. Any

care you receive that is related to a service connected condition is

free regardless of income level or rating. I didn't get diagnosed

with PSC until after my medical discharge. It was found to be

service connected due to its relation to UC which was service

connected for me.

I currently work full time for 35k a year. This puts me above the

low income classification but I still receive free care for PSC and

UC related issues. I was originally rated at 30% for UC. When PSC

was added, it was at 0% (it did not raise my total disability, but it

did make it service connected). Last year I made a new claim with

the help of DVA (Disabled Veterans of America) My PSC was increased

to 50% but my UC dropped down to 10%. My total rating is 60%, but

ratings aren't always just a totaling of individual ratings. Just

happened to be this time.

I hope I was able to clear up some of the definitions for you. It is

an annoying process. It will be especially difficult for someone who

is still in training status. They are not treated as well. His

first step is to see if he can stay in. If not as a PJ, would he

still want to stay in? If yes, fight to get cross trained to a desk

job. This condition will likely preclude him from similar lines of

work in the public sector so he may have to get used to the desk job

idea. I'm not saying that he must give up all his dreams; I'm just

giving a worst case or most common case scenario. I know this is not

the hopeful story you asked for, but I think it can be helpful. If

he cannot stay in the AF at all he should fight for service

connection.

The most important thing is a service connection. That will protect

him against financial hardships related to medical care. Because of

the nature of Para Rescue, he would stand a good chance of qualifying

for the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation program. This is an

educational benefit like the GI bill but better. You must be rated

at 20% or more by the VA and show an employment handicap. Your son

could argue that his training in the AF was for work that he can no

longer perform. I mention this because the VA has lots of good

benefits but does not go out of their way to tell you which ones you

qualify for.

Out of curiosity, what inoculations did your son receive from the

AF? I suspect the onset of my conditions to be related to the

anthrax vaccine. Though that's a whole different story. If you are

interested, the links to that discussion are below.

Having read this post to the group:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group//message/87054

I responded with:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group//message/87282