SPC (Join to see) asked what my disability ratings are. He may well regret asking, but here it goes. I hope it doesn't sound bad, but it really wasn't as bad as it might sound. Life has been good so far. I am rated for Special Monthly Compensation under subsection S. That is the next higher rating above 100% disabled. I received 12 gunshot wounds, 19 major shrapnel wounds that were at least as severe as any of my gunshot wounds, plus I received a couple of hundred minor wounds. My resulting service connected conditions and percentages assigned are as follows:
1. Epilepsy, grand mal and petit mal seizures -- rated at 80% disabling. My seizures happen mostly in my sleep. If I’m awake, I know they are coming on about 20 minutes in advance. That gives me time to mitigate the symptoms or even stop the seizure before it starts. I take no seizure medication. I took them for 20 years, but they were no help whatsoever, so I discontinued them AMA in about 1990.
2. Traumatic brain injury with prosopagnosia -- rated at 70% disabling. One thing that pisses me off about the way the VA handles this condition is their VA Form 10-0137 Advanced Directive, Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, and Living Will. It lists “permanent, severe brain damage that makes me unable to recognize my family or friends” as justification for withholding life sustaining treatment. When you Google the word prosopagnosia, it defines the condition as, “an inability to recognize the faces of familiar people, typically as a result of damage to the brain.” Both describe my condition. VA can be such a$$holes, which only exacerbates my:
3. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -- rated at 70% disabling. Okay, I’m an a$$hole, but at least I get paid for being one.
4. Skull, loss of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2-inch diameter, right parietal occipital area, residual GSW -- rated at 50% disabling. I lost a section of the brain about the size of a fist, and have a plastic plate in the right side of my skull. They did such a great job putting it in back in 1970 that even experienced physicians have trouble finding it by touch. It clearly shows up in X-rays and CT scans. I can’t do MRIs because of all the bullets and metal fragments left in me.
5. Homonymous hemianopsia, left, with diplopia (secondary to traumatic brain injury) -- rated at 30% disabling. I can’t see on the left half of the visual field in either eye. I also have double vision.
6. Post traumatic headaches -- rated at 30% disabling. My headaches are constant, but I don’t consider them all that severe. I only take one 800 mg ibuprofen tablet about every two to four weeks. The headaches are the only condition for which I take any medication.
7. Shell fragment wound, right shoulder -- rated at 10% disabling. Constant dull pain the the shoulder, but no limitation of motion.
8. Muscle group XIV, residual fragment wound, right thigh -- rated at 10% disabling. That hardly hurts at all.
9. Scars of right arm, right forearm, right hand, lower extremities, right chest and back -- rated at 10% disabling. This condition picks up all of my other wounds, to include shot in the chest twice, both knees, the base of the neck and my left calf. The scars are disfiguring, so that means I get paid for being ugly. Pretty cool.
10. Muscle group VIII, residual penetrating fragment wound, right forearm and hand (dominant) -- rated at 10% disabling. Part of the outer muscle on my right forearm is missing. I do experience a little diminished strength and manual dexterity issues because of this.
11. Tinnitus -- rated at 10% disabling. Constant ringing in my ears.
12. Bilateral hearing loss-- rated at 0% disabling. I sometimes use hearing aids, but they aren’t much help, so I usually don't bother.
13. Penetrating gunshot wound, bladder, postoperative -- rated at 0% disabling. If getting wounded in the bladder doesn’t piss you off, nothing will. (Okay, the pun was intended)
I have no health related issues that aren’t the direct result of my multiple gunshot and shell fragment wounds sustained in combat. I am 71 years old and don't even have any age related issues, other than needing reading glasses. Were it not for the scars, most people would even notice any of my disabilities -- well, other than I'm an a$$hole (See item #3 above).
I'm gonna tag some friends here because I have shared bits and pieces of the above with them over the seven months I've bee on RP. I might as well let them read it all in one place. MAJ Ken Landgren PO3 Bob McCord SPC Nancy Greene SPC Randy Zimmerman GySgt Gary Cordeiro Lt Col Charlie Brown Cpl Larry Walls 1SG Mark Flowers SP5 Mark Kuzinski GySgt Thomas Vick