Alpha

Surviving the VA: A Veteran’s Story

My name is Alpha. I began working with Mike Coonan, LMSW, ACSW, BCD, because the VA turned me away. He brought my wife into the process.   This is my story.

I am a Vietnam combat veteran. I was an infantryman. I was wounded by a grenade and shot while trying to get off the ground. I was evacuated through multiple hospitals and spent months at Walter Reed. I came home with a Purple Heart and injuries that never really healed, some you could see, and many you could not. For the next 45 years, I lived with severe PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain. I isolated myself. I struggled to function. I relived Vietnam every day. I did what a lot of veterans do: I kept going, stayed busy, and didn’t talk much about it. The VA had many chances to help me. They didn’t.

I was never given a full, comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. I was put on medications, then different medications without a VA psychiatrist, and without anyone stepping back to look at the whole picture. There was no trauma-informed assessment. No continuity. No real explanation for why I felt the way I did. When my condition worsened, I had to pay for my own psychiatric hospitalization because the VA ignored me when I needed help the most. It wasn’t until I was evaluated by Mike Coonan at On Point 4 Veterans that the full truth was finally documented. That evaluation didn’t create new symptoms. It finally connected everything: my combat, my injuries, my life since Vietnam, and how badly PTSD had affected my ability to function. For years, the VA knew about my challenges/disability. My psychiatric injuries were obvious to my family since I came home from combat.

After 45 years, I was finally awarded 100% disability, but only after Mike conducted a full mental health evaluation and referred me to the VA psychiatrist for PTSD and stood by me through the VA Compensation process.

When I tried to follow through with the VA referral, I ran into a gatekeeper who diverted me to an appointment that was described as psychiatric, but it wasn’t.

With Mike’s help, I got past the gatekeeper. The VA’s decision didn’t change my condition. It confirmed it. I am not unique. This is what happens when veterans like me are overlooked. This is because the VA has a policy Counseling First. Psychiatry Last by diverting veterans like me away from psychiatry.  I could not have done it by myself. I am a member of the group, We Are On Point 4 Veterans.

Mental Health/ Military History Psychosocial Assessment was written by Mike Coonan, LMSW, ACSW, BCD. 

His treating VA psychiatrist provided the Expert Medical Opinion. 

Both were prepared and completed at no cost to the veteran.

Both made a significant impact on his VA Disability Compensation Evaluation and Decision.