vote if you are a military?

[kmadw]

military guys most affected by als than civilian I read this an article,I suggest any one is a member of this forum and he is affected by als & he is a military put #1 to see if this is a true or if he knows some one military got affected by als also put #1

 

[rowland's wife]

als military #1

a woman at work just told me yesterday that she had read that people with als who spent as little as 90 days in the military could be elgible for military disability I am trying to find out how far back as it has been a very long time since my husband served, but he has bulbar als diagnosed sept.08 I went on the military website but could not find information there it talked about als and military being affected, said they had found evidence as far back as a century ago it was related to military.

 

[Al]

Hi rowlands wife. If you look at the bottom of this page there are a few threads about ALS and the military that might give the information you are looking for.

AL.

 

[john.rt]

It appears the theory is not true because the vote is in als/mnd forum exceeded 24 hours & no one voted, well, I will wait another 24 hours if no body vote I will publish this fact in this World Wide Web

 

[ZenArcher]

rowland's wife,

Any veteran that served 90 days consecutive active duty service and is diagnosed with ALS at any point is presumed to be service connected. This went into effect Sept 23, 2008. If your husband meets those requirements and has a diagnosis of ALS contact your local ALSA chapter and Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and they will help you file for benefits.


kmadw & john.rt

As far as the rest of this thread it has already been shown that veterans are anywhere from 60% to more than twice as likely to develop ALS than the general public. What exactly are you looking for?

 

[rose]

john.rt,

I am not sure how the tone of your reply is intended to be taken. There is a direct correlation between military service and the incidence of ALS. One of our very active members here is a veteran, (as well as others) Irregardless of whether or not PALS that are veterans have had time to respond to kmadw's query, the poll was not actually posted as such, kmadw asked the question, but this thread was posted without polling capabilities. Therefore no one can participate in the poll until changes have been made to the format of this thread so that any actual poll results can be gathered.

Please remember that people do lead lives outside of this forum, so sometimes it takes a few days for new posts to be read, sometimes new threads even get past the regular members.

 

[septmommy]

My DH was active duty military for 3 1/2 years in the 90's. He was officially diagnosed in Sept. 2008. WE are actively working on getting our VA disability. We have been waiting since 10/2008. Good luck to all of our veterans who are awaiting help from the VA.

Rowlands's wife, please get in touch with me. We have a new central Ar support group if you are interested!
Michelle

 

[boblandstar1]

US veteran

I am a 100% disabled US veteran service connected with ALS. Of all branches of the military the USAF has the highest incidence of ALS. Firefighters in general are much more likely to have ALS than the general population. I am a former Air Force firefighter/rescueman.

I have been through the VA claims process. I would be happy to share the do's and dont's of a successful VA claim.

 

[septmommy]

My husband served in the Army, and is currently a FF here in AR. We are in the process of our VA claim. It's been going on 6 months now. I'd love to know how ling it took you to get your claim, and any info. about benefits, SSI, etc. Thanks! Thank you for serving your country!
Michelle

 

[jimmybob]

Army vet

the PVA was instrumental in accelerating the process of getting "in" the VA system. Once i got examined by a VA neurologist, everything moved at lightspeed. I got the powerchair, computer/speech device, aid and attendance (3 hrs/day, 5 days/week), money to help pay for a wheelchair accessible van, and money for home renovations (roll-in shower, wider doorways, automatic door openers, etc.) Most of this came before congress made ALS a service-connected disease, so we paid a lot out of pocket.

When I first applied for VA benefits at the VA hospital in Tampa, I was denied benefits because my wife and I made to much money. Of course the government employee is only programmed to ask questions and input my answers into the computer. That's when the PVA came to the rescue. Guess who got a nice increase in their monthly donation (I've given to the PVA for many years).

 

[DeReb1]

hi,
my husband had als, and was a vet. besides researching and applying for benefits through the dav, i also enlisted the help of local politicians, who were able to give me names and phone numbers of who to speak to, write to, and expedite my husband's claim for benefits, which all vets with als are now entitled to, along with social security disability benefits. my approach was always, "the worst that can happen if i speak to this person, is that they will be no help at all." many people were far more help than i would have thought.

 

[boblandstar1]

A.l.s. Claim Approved (timeline)

My husband served in the Army, and is currently a FF here in AR. We are in the process of our VA claim. It's been going on 6 months now. I'd love to know how ling it took you to get your claim, and any info. about benefits, SSI, etc. Thanks! Thank you for serving your country!
Michelle

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis


SEPT 23,08 FILED CLAIM WITH ASSIST OF PVA VSO.
CLAIM FILED AT MUSKOGEE OK. VARO

OCT, 27 LETTER GRANTING 30% INTERIM FOR ALS. C+P EXAM SCHEDULED FOR NOV 7.

NOV,7 C+P LASTED 30 MINUTES.

NOV,21 VSO CALLED. I HAVE BEEN GRANTED 100% P+T WITH SMC R2



I was fortunate to find a VSO whos office is in the same building as the VARO. He knows the personell and can walk in and get answers. If the VARO is aware the claim is for a condition considered "terminal" they make every effort to expedite that claim. I live in Tahlequah OK. about 25 miles from the Muskogee VARO. I filed for SC in 05 but was denied so all the necessary paperwork was already in my file. My VSO is Lawrence Walker of the Paralized Veterans of America.

I owned a sucessfull business but had to quit when my speech and mobility became affected. Eventually I had to sell or transfer my assets in order to qualify for SSI. But I waited too long and was denied SSDI because I hadn't worked enough "recent quarters". I had already turned my business over to my sister. I am Indian so I had to live in Cherokee public housing. I had to live on $605 a month SSI and food stamps. Oklahoma provided a home health aid 2 hours a day to cook and clean for me. The VA provided hospice care for bathing and feeding.

In Sept 08 I decided after a bad fall that I could no longer live alone and reluctantly moved into a Medicaid funded Nursing home. WHAT AN AWFUL PLACE! Thank the good lord the VA finally designated ALS as service connected! I am now SMC R2 I recieve $7650 per month. I moved to a 3bd 2ba rental house and hired a live in caregiver for eves/nights and my old home aid came to work for me working days.

Oklahoma exempts me from sales and property tax. The VA gave me $11,000 to buy a wheelchair accessable van. The VA will pay $60,000 towards building me a handicapped accessible home. I chose a 1 acre lot and a house plan last week. Building begins in April. God willing I'll live to see it built.

Happy ending? No. But thank God for all the "HEROES" that worked so tirelessly to get this devastating disease on the Service Connected list. No other vet should have to walk my path.

 

[rose]

boblandstar1,

I just wanted to welcome you to this forum. I think the ordeal you went through is just horrible. Tangling with the VA for benefits has always been notoriously bad (my dad fought his own non-ALS battle with them)

Hopefully better living conditions gives you some relief from stress, and you can reach plateau!

I have a son in the military, who did two extended tours over in the Middle East, it worries me that this puts him at greater risk (coupled with me having it, of course).

take good care, and the best of luck to you. I look forward to reading more of your posts.

p.s. Cool avatar picture, I wish it were larger!