Hot Springs had memorial for two veterans who died this month. They died too young and only two days apart. We can choose to be angry at the VA for skimping on enough care to have kept them with us longer, or we can simply choose to grieve their passing.
The stories abound.....too lengthy waits for care, too many deaths. We have one in our own back yard that smacked us in the face. They young man had served his country in special "ops" for many years. He had spent some of those years in Afghanistan. He had been through treatment once for addiction and PTSD. He had floated about after he left the service, had re-enlisted and had once again returned to civilian life. That life was now confusing for him. He continued to drift, searching for himself and his place in a world apart from the military that had been his home for much of his life.
He knew one thing that he thought would help, and that was his return to our VA to help him sort through his issues among fellow veterans and personnel trained to counsel veterans in issues unique to former military who had been trained to obey, to fight and to kill. Civilian life could be a shock and disconcerting for many.
He went to our VA which had helped him once before and which he knew was one of the best in our country for helping veterans adjust to their former homes and lives, so out of sync with their military experience.
Sixty days! He was told that they had no beds and he would have to wait for sixty days to gain admittance into a treatment program. He felt he could not wait...his pain and confusion were overwhelming him.
Some veterans have left our town when faced with this news and they have drifted off into the unknown. Some are now homeless, while others have chosen a swifter way to end their pain -- permanently.
This veteran chose another route. He got stinking drunk for two days and was admitted to de-tox at the VA, with a speedy entrance into the substance abuse program in the domiciliary.
Desperation can lead a man in many directions. I can only hope that this veteran has chosen the path most helpful to him and that, in time, he may find what he needs to regain his place with fulfilling employment and healthy relationships as a friend, father and son.
I feel that for now he is safe and getting the care he seeks, but late, in the quiet of the night, I wish, ever so deeply, that I could be of more help in his journey. If only.....
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