Physical Evaluation Board Forum

mrdick · #1 (**permalink**) January 9th, 2008

A friend sent this link to me she is disabled as a result of a brain injury like myself and she knows I was in the military for 21 years and thought I might be interested correct me if I am wrong but the site seems to be geared to those of you who are still on active duty and all I can add is stay the course do not let them buy you off and kick you out off active duty! If you think the active duty boards are AFU wait till you deal with the VA who has made my life miserable for the past 15 years. I retired from active duty in 1992 healthy as I thought after 21 years in the Navy good thing my father was a Vet as he told me to go to the VA right away as I was almost deaf in my left ear and the docs at my retirement physical couldnt figure out why I had started having problems with the ear back in 1977 good thing it was in my record, I was in Very good shape and active and had even quit smoking in 1997 when out of the blue in 2000 I had a cerebral aneurysm burst and was in a coma for 6 weeks and when I awoke I had to try to put my life back together and during the 4 months of hospitalization It was bugging me WHY?
The neurosurgeon who was caring for me said I had a brain tumor?Thats why I was deaf in my left ear, The tumor would cause my blood pressure to go out of control while laying down?There you go as during my 21 year Naval career I worked with almost every toxic compound known to man including radiation and the solvents I used to almost bathe in are now all banned by the EPA well it took me 3 long years of hard work to prove my case and I would have much rather done it on active duty pay rather than retired pay as they still owe me mucho dinero after waffling on the concurrent receipt program it is criminal in my mind what these folks get up to and if you think the military is all smoke and mirrors wait till you deal with the VA first liar aint got a chance so those of you out there on active duty stick to your guns and this being an election year dont be afraid to tap on your so called elected officials believe me the civilian world is worse even surviving a Six week coma of the worst kind I think they expected me to go to work the next Monday and forget about that ADA stuff you will never know until you are actually out and disabled what an evil place the world can be I live on a small island and was retired against my will luckily I am retired military also or I would have lost my home....Don Dickensheet Lanai City Hawaii

Jason · #2 (**permalink**) January 9th, 2008

Don,

Welcome to PEBFORUM! This site can probably be the most help to those going through the process and those who were incorrectly rated by the PEB. But it is really a resource for those who need info about the process and a place where others can share their experiences.

Thanks for pointing out something that many folks get a raw deal on. I have seen many Servicemembers get pressured, strong armed, or lied to that they should just "get out" and take their claims to the VA. While sometimes the VA will do the right thing, we all have heard the horror stories of denied claims or claims that take years to get right. In my mind the best course is to push for your rights wherever you can.

Sorry about all you have gone through. It is great that you can share your experiences and help others avoid some of the mistakes and "speed bumps" out there.