As the wife of a Vietnam veteran I can testify on my husband's behalf how they have been forgotten and how the VA PUSHES the disabled aside. My husband is 100% disabled. He has PTSD & Parkinson's Disease, he also has had prostate cancer, bladder cancer and Ischemic Heart disease, all requiring surgery and all caused by agent orange. During his recent bout with the bladder cancer, I called the VA clinic and let them know he had cancer and needed chemo and radiation. He wasn't scheduled for his next appt for 3 months thus I asked to get in sooner. I was told a resounding NO. He needed help then not wait 3 months. I took him to UT med center for the treatments. Now I'm fighting for the VA to pay his bills. They say he should have traveled 6 hrs a day, to and from, their medical facility. He was very weak and down to 101 lbs, a 42 lb loss, and could barely go the half hour each way to Knoxville. He spent 9 days in the hospital with pneumonia and a blood disorder, requiring transfusions, because of the treatments. It is so beyond comprehension why our veterans should be put thru this kind of hassle to get medical care. The gov't had to know when they sprayed agent Orange to kill the vegetation it would harm our men. Its one of the past discretions they would rather sweep under the rug and ignore the damage it has done. I believe the compensation they pay for agent Orange is $79 an month. That's disgraceful. Our men gave their time and lives for our country and our country owes them. Someone needs to force the current VA to care for them no matter what. Not expect them to travel hours for meducal care. If this current administration does nothing else, give our disabled vetearns the care they need and the pay they deserve to survive, where they live no matter what. Its your obligation.

Sue Collis POA for Sgt Gerald Collis
Maryville, TN