VA hospital!!!!!!

[BLUEBONNET2]

good morning,
went to the VA hospital yesterday for a checkup for my claim for disability.... i did not know till about 6-8 months ago that vietman vets has certain claims available to them because of agent orange exposure....having said that, i would like to express my feeling about the VA hospital and the staff i work with.... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif, very friendly, prompt, very little waiting time, and answered my questions about agent orange..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
now.....i got to look at my heart, they did a sonogram(sp), measured my heart size, wall thickness, valves, valve size, blood flow, even let me listen to the sounds it makes while its working, in <font color="red"> </font> c <font color="green"> </font> o <font color="blue"> </font> l <font color="purple"> </font> o <font color="brown"> </font> r <font color="orange"> </font> s.........while i was watching a small tv /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
i was impressed, good news, everything "normal" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

so, i've heard all the things about the VA, but i have had very good experiences with the one i've work with since i found out about the agent orange "deal"....
now if i had the money, i could buy one of these machines to check my yanney without having to tear it down...... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

good luck,
bluebonnet2

 

[DaveNay]

I am glad you had a good experience with your VA hospital, and especially glad that all of the results were positive.

My family however is in the middle of a very different VA hospital experience. My uncle is currently undergoing treatment for throat cancer, and the outlook does not look very promising. He was first treated for acid reflux for six months with the cancer going undiagnosed, and then he was treated for another six months for stage 2 cancer, before they realized that he has full stage 4 throat cancer. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

The two misdiagnoses prior to his current treatment have not helped his current outlook at all.

This really illustrates the counterpoint ot the problems of our health care system in the US. Many people decry the cost of healthcare, and want a nationalized system, but the hospitals that are administrated by the government certainly don't seem to have any better level of care (probably not worse either).

Dave

 

[slowrev]

My Father in law uses the VA hospital and I have been impressed by the people there. The main problem I see is that they are having to try to do too much with too little. I wonder if their budgets have been increased because of the current war situation, which will create more of a burden for them. If it was not increased things will get worse.

 

[Junkman]

Your uncles situation isn't unique. I know of two other cases where the exact same thing has happened, and each was in a different part of the country and neither were VA related. Seems that throat cancer is commonly mis diagnosed. I had throat & chest problems a while back and I insisted and received all the x rays and barium swallows to prove that it wasn't cancer. Today, you have to be pushy about health care and be your own advocate. The medical profession as a whole just does what is necessary to get you out the door in the least amount of time. Sure there are exceptions, but they are far and few between. Health care is expensive and it is being rationed to those that push their doctors the most. If you don't take an active role in your treatment and diagnosis, then they will only do the bare minimum. Just my experiences in the last 8 - 10 years. Others experiences may vary.

 

[heehaw]

i have spent quite a bit of time in a va hospital, they did my first aortic valve change in 85..got a pig valve..they did great surgery, but a bad blood transfusion left me with antibodies in my blood..not sure what that means, except i didn't find out till the time of my next valve change in 96, and they had a tough time getting a match on my blood. i started going to the va in 1970, i was 21, and for years they treated me like i was 130 years old, stupid and senile...then there was a big change about 10 years ago, when they went to a primary care system for all veterans. they made a lot of improvements and are a lot better to deal with.
glad you had good dealings with them..
my dad was like one of the other responses you got, he kept going to the va, complaining about feeling bad and coughing up gook...they kept sending him home, till one lady doctor finally ran a few test and he had small cell lung cancer..
heehaw