India

Surviving the VA: A Veteran’s Story

My name is INDIA. I was born in Michigan and grew up in a working family. I finished high school in 1968 and worked with my father before I was drafted into the Army in 1970.

I trained at Fort Knox and Fort Polk and was sent to Vietnam with the 101st Airborne. I served in I Corps near Quang Tri and the DMZ, where combat was constant. I was an infantryman on patrol, taking fire and engaging the enemy directly. Friends were wounded and killed. In June 1971, I was seriously wounded by a booby trap. Shrapnel tore through my liver, abdomen, and leg. Two friends were killed in that blast. I was evacuated by helicopter, spent weeks in intensive care, and months recovering in Japan and then Valley Forge. I survived, but I didn’t come home whole.

After I was discharged in late 1971, I struggled right away. I couldn’t sleep. I stayed distant from people. My mood swung between anger and depression. Loud noises set me off. I drank too much and used marijuana to cope. I wasn’t the person I had been before the Army. I became a carpenter because it let me work away from people. Even then, things got harder over time. My sleep never improved. I had nightmares and replayed Vietnam in my head. I developed migraines and was later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. The leg that was wounded gives out and limits how long I can stand or walk. I wanted to work, but my body and mind wouldn’t cooperate.

Over the years, I have had multiple contacts with the VA. I went to the Vet Center. I saw providers. I tried medications. But my care was fragmented. For a long time, my PTSD was not fully evaluated or properly rated. When I applied for a higher disability rating, on the advice of a VSO who did not know my story, my benefits were actually reduced, even though my symptoms were getting worse. It wasn’t until I completed a full Military History Psychosocial Assessment with Mike Coonan that my combat history, injuries, and lifelong symptoms were finally put together in one clear record. That evaluation didn’t exaggerate anything it documented what had been there since Vietnam. When I tried to follow through with the VA referral to the psychiatrist, 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 was seen by a VA psychiatrist and started on appropriate medications, and ultimately awarded 100% VA disability for my service-connected conditions. That decision didn’t make me worse. It corrected years of incomplete recognition. I still live with nightmares, anxiety, poor sleep, pain, and difficulty concentrating. I need help from my wife with day-to-day tasks. I avoid crowds. I get angry too fast.

 Some days are better than others, but Vietnam is never far away. I was wounded in combat and carried those wounds for more than fifty years. I kept going.
But I needed someone to finally connect the dots. I didn’t fail to adjust. I lived with injuries, and the system took decades to fully see. 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.