VETERANS CORNER: Interesting interpretation of this administration’s medical terms

by Gary Kennedy

The phone has begun to ring. Don’t you just hate to receive those scam calls? Well, I hate those just as much as you do. Is there any way to escape the torment, lack of privacy? If, you have found one please let me know. Unfortunately, I have recently had to do a mind reset as some of the veteran issues have made me check numbers and notes in search of possible neglect on my part. Sometimes I tend to forget to do things, especially things I have promised to do. After 48 years, some issues begin to blur because of repetition. I am forever saying, “Didn’t I already address that”? Then many veteran’s faces appear because there are just so many body parts and issues of the mind.

I have a fantastic example and that is the administration’s interpretations of the medical terms, Radiculopathy and Neuropathy. Webster says they are different words yet there are some who treat them as if they were the same. When you are dealing with veterans these terms reference medical issues.

In some cases these words are in search of medical help and possibly for record compilation in regards to compensation. An example would be, if you are rated 80 percent disabled, 20 percent able then you are obviously in search for not only health benefits but in hopes of acquiring a percentage increase which will elevate your code sheet to 100 percent. Using VA math, this is not as easy to do as it might seem at 80 percent and single, you would be receiving $2,044.89 per month but at 100 percent you would receive $3,831.30.

Shucks, I feel better already. When you start messing around with these two words this example could be a real possibility. There are hundreds of these types of possible problems. It’s not so much what you say but how you say it. This is in my opinion the number one mistake that veterans as well as their advocates make. A secondary problem needs to be attached to the primary problem. The percentages I used were from 2024. They are higher now.

I think a good example here would be, I am applying for PTSD and headaches. I saw this one fail because the emphasis was placed on the new comer, headaches. What this veteran wanted to say was, I have severe headaches due to my PTSD. There is more to this story but basically, you can’t put the carriage before the horse. In the case I previously mentioned, when the case went to case law the two words were defined in an anatomical way, not in generality.

Again, in this case the nerves themselves were at issue so had to be dissected. Neuropathic nerves are peripheral nerves that have been damaged, leading to abnormal function and symptoms. These nerves begin in the brain and flow outside of the spinal column. Where the radicular nerves are spinal nerves that damage from the spinal cord and travel through the lower body causing such mischief as sciatica. So, you have one set of nerves originating from the brain and traveling throughout the body, outside of the spine and the other traveling through the spine and exiting prior to the sacral nerves. Obviously, different nerves for the most part have different functions. At times they may act similarly but should never be assumed to be the same and do the same. Common sense should dictate, different entities probably do different things. They can coexist as two parts of the same topic. I have filed a complaint about this but as of yet have had no reply.

The other thing I wanted to touch on was D.I.C. I received correspondence even while I was overseas that we still had problems with deceased veteran’s wives receiving their Dependents Indemnity Compensation. That for me is a heart breaker and disgraceful. So, those who have this problem are faithful to this news media so we know you are aware that we hear your anxiety loud and clear and we will be working on this, this week. We will definitely get you the answers you deserve. Thank your neighbors for showing such concern for your predicament. We will certainly get this travesty resolved. We signed on to protect the USA and all that it stands for and the USA promised to protect our families should anything happen to US. I for one will do my best to see that our country honors that promise. God bless and sleep well.