Hello, thanks for taking the time to review this. If anyone has suggestions, resources or advice on how I can support my family after all this, I'd love to hear about it.
I'm 37, married, father of two beautiful girls under the age of 5, twice deployed (once to Balad, Iraq and it's Burn Pit for 12 months), have 19+ years of total service & 13 of Active Duty Service, still Active Duty for the time being. I have been diagnosed with a rare form of Chronic Myleogenous Leukemia.
There is as if yet, no cure for this Cancer. I'm "managing it" with a daily chemotherapy drug. A drug that if I stop taking, my Oncologist says I'll become terminally ill again with a life expectancy of under a year.
That sucks. No way around it. Thankfully, I've responded well to the drug & we are succeeding in "managing it". Also thankful that at time of diagnosis I was serving as an Active Guard Reserve (AGR) for my state's Military department. Without the Tricare insurance it would have been impossible to afford the $14,000+ a month Chemo.
Here's where I'd appreciate some feedback and advice. The Army sent my case forward to a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) as part of the Integrated Disability Evaluation System) IDES process.
The informal board concluded that my Cancer is a 10% Unfitting Condition. Therefore I'm to be discharged from the Army without retirement benefits. Need to be 30% to earn those. The board established that rating due to the VA purposing my disability claim at 10%.
We appealed, the appeal was denied. Now awaiting our last ditch Hail Mary. The board is supposed to schedule an in person meeting for my formal appeal. In the memo that denied my written appeal the board states "your Cancer may warrant a ratings increase."
However, and this is where is gets headscracthingly frustrating. The VA won't accept/consider a VARR (ratings review) until the Army completes the PEB process (or kicking me out) since the Army owns my case. AND the Army won't reconsider the 10% unfitting rating because they say the VA & the VA only sets the ratings.
So now I'm having panic attacks & a real sense of fear & betrayal wondering how I'm going to support my wife, 4 yr old & 1 yr old with income & insurance when this Cancer has me unable to work AND the VA won't give my anything more than Medical care for myself & $133.57 compensation a month for the Cancer.
Made even worse knowing my family won't be eligible for the Tricare insurance since the Army is booting me with out retirement.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Number of a good shrink? Number to a good financial advisor?
Thanks again for the time & suggestions. I'm hopeful this gets figured out. I knew the risks of war & accepted those. I never expect the government to not take care of me after the fact. My wife & girls deserve better.
Submitted January 02, 2017 at 04:40PM by SimbaSimms http://ift.tt/2hL9nDZ
