Today i finnaly went down to the VA , been having stomach troubles and supposedly its covered by the VA since it happed to me from something that happend to me int he persian gulf....

So i head down to this HUGE VA hopspital here in tampa , Parkinglot was full so i decided to park at a mall next door and walk over. As soon as a park the car here comes a VA bus ...apprently the VA has thought of this problem and sends a shuttle bus on regualr intervals to that mall.

Anyway once inside this hospital i see one of those sights that some folks in the country need to see. Vetrans of the service from all walks of life and all types of inurys , people that have given life and limb to there country. Some wander the halls aimlessly others hobble about . Its really scary folks. Then you think to yourself "hey these guys were hard core fighting machines not so long ago". To think this dude thats sitting next to you that cant even feed himself was once holding off Veitkong so his buddies could evac a soldier. Alot of people pass by these guys and dont say anything , people treat them as if the person didnt exist. If they only knew ....Here i was feeling so bad cuz ive been sick for 4 weeks ....im lucky comapred to these guys , i made it home reltivly unscathed....

So they call me back to this area where we figure out if im eligable or not. Dude asks "do you have medical insureance?" i said yes for 10 more months then cigna drops me.....i hand him my papers and he says "your all set " and said a few other words i didnt quite understand, so i asked "in otherwords i can come here if i get a nasty cold or whatever?" he said yup , thats what we are here for is to take care of our veterans......I asked , what about the dudes out front ? he said "they get free dental and medical in addition to nursing home care and whatnot" ...

This country is really something , if your inured on the military they will take care of you for life .....these folks have nothing to worry about excpept getting beatter ..amazing ....I know of all our education benefits but the healthcare benifits and everything else is amazing ...

That's good to hear Mike. We definitely need a change of heart and attitude in this country. You said something that slapped me in the face (a good wake-up slap):
Anyway once inside this hospital i see one of those sights that some folks in the country need to see. Vetrans of the service from all walks of life and all types of inurys , people that have given life and limb to there country. Some wander the halls aimlessly others hobble about . Its really scary folks. Then you think to yourself "hey these guys were hard core fighting machines not so long ago". To think this dude thats sitting next to you that cant even feed himself was once holding off Veitkong so his buddies could evac a soldier. Alot of people pass by these guys and dont say anything , people treat them as if the person didnt exist. If they only knew ....What a poor editorial of what our society has become.

We see some of these guys on the streets, homeless. Yes, some of them are there due to bad choices they've made and it's their own fault but how many of them are there because they've had no one to help them? What if they just needed a little help, a few words of encouragement. What if they just needed some one to say, "I'll help you get to a place where you can help yourself again."

When is the last time that we took notice of one of these peolpe and bothered to find out if there were some hope that we could give to them?

Well some of these people are our veterans , i saw afew there at the VA hospital ....Right now there is only so much the VA can do , and thats if you quailfy ....I saw a couple dudes that oviosly werent well off , they show up everyday and get a lunch from the cateria , so i know they get a good hot meal fromt he VA everyday but i think thats about all the VA can really do unless they fit certian disability/age/,mental status guidlines...

They really cant get a job , to get a job you gotta show up to a interview all clean and nice and everything , some of these dudes dont even have acess to running water to clean up or some good clothes to go out there in ....

If you ask me once you get to that point it looks damn hard to get yourself dusted off and back on track...and yet you can go from a roof over your head to homeless in less than 24 hours ...

Well some of these people are our veterans , i saw afew there at the VA hospital ....Right now there is only so much the VA can do , and thats if you quailfy ....I saw a couple dudes that oviosly werent well off , they show up everyday and get a lunch from the cateria , so i know they get a good hot meal fromt he VA everyday but i think thats about all the VA can really do unless they fit certian disability/age/,mental status guidlines...

They really cant get a job , to get a job you gotta show up to a interview all clean and nice and everything , some of these dudes dont even have acess to running water to clean up or some good clothes to go out there in ....

If you ask me once you get to that point it looks damn hard to get yourself dusted off and back on track...and yet you can go from a roof over your head to homeless in less than 24 hours ...So true Mike.

That's where we good folks who call ourselves Christians have slacked off and dropped the ball. There are still some 'Rescue Missions' out there where these guys and others can do just that, clean up, get a fresh set of clothes, etc. I wonder how many churches participate in, sponser or run similar programs? My church distributes food once a week regularly and when asked will help to pay a bill or two, we are limited in our funds but do use what we have. Unfortunately it's not enough I don't think.

Sure, alot of these guys aren't willing or able to make the effort to take care of themselves but the ones who are should have a chance. Obviously I'm not just talking about veterans, but I have more sympathy for those who have served us with blood, sweat and tears than those who have just given up on life.

Sorry, it sounds like I'm on a crusade here. Sorry for the ranting.

Good to hear! We hear so many negative issues from the media on cuts to these areas but they have to be cared for!

The entire free world owes them a debt of gratitude!

Stone,

My neighbor that lives next door from me is a Vietnam Vet. He usually goes to a local VA clinic nearby our houses. I have had to drive him to the big one by B.B.D and Fletcher. That place is huge. Anyway I spent 7 hours there one night while they were running test on my neighbor. I feel the same way you feel. That place made me realize what that war did to our Vets. Words can't express what I saw that day. I have not been the same since(In a good way). I give alot of credit to people that work there or even volunteer there. I could not stay there any longer then I did. I felt I did not compare to this men and felt really bad inside after seeing alot of them that were suffering. The hospital also looked under staff for the amount people waiting in the room. Some people said that VA hospital is the busiest one in the country.

Stone,

Some people said that VA hospital is the busiest one in the country.
ive heard the same thing ... i know florida is like first or second on the ammount of Veterans in one place ....ill have to look into it ....