Yip a dee doo dah!!!

[klmno]

I got my decongestant today. Apparently they don't have an allergy medication in-house that also contains a decongestant so they gave me that separately.

I talked with a SW who led me to the dept that helps with housing if you are homeless or need transitional housing. I have to complete a long application this weekend then go back to meet with them Mon. AM. Also, they will then have me talk with the person who runs the worrk program to see if I qualify and can get a job via that route.

I walked around a bit and found they had a retail area and today they had local farmers in selling produce. I wasn't going to spend cash on food but caved and splurged and bought $2 worth of green tomatoes to fry. LOL!

Then after having my photo taken for a VA ID and scheduling a mammo, I came home to find my mental health records from the military in the mail box. There are about 15 pages in the stack so I started reading and found that it only referred to "counseling for anger and hurt issues that surfaced during treatment". (The treatment was for substance abuse and about all of the notes focus on progress in that area.) When listing closest family members, next to my bro it says "no communication". It doesn't say a word about his attempt to molest me as a kid but at least it shows that we weren't the close-knit family he tried to claim when trying to get custody of difficult child. After my mother it says something I can't make out well- "EtoH" is what it looks like, then the word "abuse". Any ideas on that one?

Then I reached the next to last page and there it was- not about my bro, but about my uncle and trauma as a child and my coming forward with it and the details I gave her about it and my feelings about it and my childhood in general. She also notes my fear of my mother being so controlling of my life and that my mother took the issue with my uncle out on me. She never says PTSD but describes my effect in various therapuetic settings, etc., and notes that I need "support and encouragement and that any future need for therapy or rehabilitation should not be approached as punishment or failure". (Hmmm....any idea why the courts threatening to send difficult child to my bro, blaming me for difficult child's issues, and wanting to order me to therapy then monitor it is not a good idea and causing me additional stress? LOL!)

I kind of liked that she also noted my desire to go to college and which profession I hoped to major in- and I did accomplish that and have had a license in that profession for the last 15 years- and never went back to drugs. So, it felt good to see something written about my goals when I was at the lowest point as far as sitting there in rehab after getting in trouble in the military. I hope this helps others who might end up reading it to see that I did mean those things and pursued my own growth without any legal "force", monitoring, or requirement.

Oh, it also notes that "patient wonders if she's insane". LOL!! I'm still wondering that, too!

Anyway, I just wanted to share some good news and a happy day since I've had so many depressed and bad ones over the last 18 months. Thanks to all who continue to be my cyber-friends thru all of this!

 

[Jody]

etoh means alcohol abuse. Glad you are having a happy day.

 

[klmno]

Really? How on earth did they come up with that abbreviation?

Never mind- I found it!

 

[skeeter]

EtOH - is the chemical abreviation for Ethanol.

 

[susiestar]

Sounds like a really good day! I am glad the notes arrived and that they show the problems and that you got therapy voluntarily.

Enjoy your fried green tomatoes. I really have to find where I put that dvd. I just got it on dvd and now I cannot find it - but it is one of my all time faves!!!

You are a strong, intelligent, resilient woman. NEVER forget that or let ANYONE convince you otherwise!!

I am glad the VA has services that might help you. It is one of my biggest problems with the military that so many of our servicemen and women, regardless of when they served, end up without the help, services and care they need. in my opinion if you serve your country you should have lifetime unlimited free healthcare and many other benefits. I also strongly believe that it is criminal that so many of our servicemen and women are paid so little that if they have children they easily qualify for WIC. I am glad WIC is there but I think it is shameful that those who are prepared to die for our freedom are compensated so poorly. (We should take the $$ spent on corporate golden parachutes and reappropriate it for this kind of use. with-o the military in this country very few companies would have the freedoms needed to operate their businesses. - I know it is a pipe dream, but it is still JMO.)

 

[klmno]

Thanks, Susie!

Regarding benefits, I never did qualify for VA before due to the time period I served. A couple of years ago, I was advocating for all vets to have access to VA providers in time periods when we aren't at war and the VA has openings but that peace time vets would have to pay or have private insurance cover the cost. I think their medical care is better than what you find in the private, outpatient setting because they get to the root of the problem quicker. And they have better mental health care providers, especially for PTSD. I couldn't see the logic in being a vet and not being able to take an available appointment at a VA medical center if I was willing to pay for it.

Anyway, the law changed last year and that is why I can get health care there right now, however, I will not be able to get care there the rest of my life. I was told that so many vets (like so many others) were currently unemployed, homeless, and couldn't get medical care because states and local jurisdictions all across the country cut out so much medical and mental health care. Apparently the current administration got frustrated about this but can't force state governments to change it so decided that they can at least help all vets in this situation by opening up access to VA care if they were unemployed or had an income way below the poverty line. The administration also got frustrated over what many states were using their stimulus funds on (not enough going to help those in need and stimulate the job market), so some funds got diverted and went to VA to hire more people and have more resources in order to accommodate the increased number of vets getting care thru them. IOW, the VA is doing what they really wanted to see local government agencies do- use the funding to hire people that can help people get back on their feet- instead of cutting jobs in fields that people needed most and using the money in areas that don't help people or the job market as much. Being that the VA is federal, they could accomplish this.

The lady at the eligibility office said that this is all just part of the stimilus package and that this sort of "opening up" services was what the president's administration intended for states to use their stimulus funding on in order to help all those in hardship situations due to the economy, but the states are not doing that for the most part. Thus, the arguing and saga over economy, funding, and health care continues in Washington. She said if nothing else, people should be happy about the thousands of jobs created by the VA and the fact that they are taking care of vets, freeing up some spots in the few remaining helpful agencies the local governments have. And the cost came out of federal funds, not local funds.

The people like me who only qualify due to a hardship must reapply every year. Once I'm employed again and my income is above the poverty line, I will not be able to get health care thru them anymore. That's fine though- I'm thankful I can at least get services there now.

 

[susiestar]

I am glad that the rules changed so you can get health care. I may let it slip to my mom that the rules have changed. Bro served, spending 18 months in Germany after my parents threw him out. I am glad it was NOT in wartime because the LAST thing he needed was that kind of stress on top of his gfgness. He is working for the university but I know he doesn't earn much and is supposed to go to school in the fall. I don't hate him even if I don't want to be around him.

It is awesome that the VA used some common sense and logic and came up with a program that works to help veterans who are enduring hardships. As a country it is the very least that we owe our military veterans.

 

[klmno]

If the family is really struggling financially, he should apply. They have some formula or something depending on size and income of household. It won't help medical care for the rest of the family- only the veteran and he might have to pay a copay. Still, it's better than nothing. I think they told me that you pretty much had to have an income that qualified you for medicaid but not be able to get medicaid for some reason. difficult child, however, can get medicaid. I just can't apply for him until he gets out of detention.