Need Help

[michael_carmack0946]

Hello everyone,
I am a 70% service connected disabled veteran. Before getting out of the military I was experiencing a lot of bilateral foot pain, bilateral ankle pain, bilateral knee pain and groin pain. Before getting out of the Army I had a varicocelectomy performed due to my constant groin pain. After the surgery my groin pain did not subside and still continues to this day. I listed all of these items on my exit physical and got out of the military in 1997. It wasn't until 2003 while I was in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation Program that I found out about my back conditions. I was getting ready for school one day and while putting on my pants I felt a popping sensation in my lower back. The pain was immediate but not overbearing. I suffered through the day and did very little if any work. That night I attempted to get up out of the bed to use the bathroom and was immediately in very severe pain. I've tried to get service connection for my back injuries which include bulging disks, a herniated disk at L5-S1 that I had a Laminectomy performed on that has since reherniated, bone spurring / osteophytes at C5,C6,C7 and degenerative disc condition. The VA has turned me down once for service connection and I have since appealed the decision.

My question to members of this board and any Physicians or other Medical Professionals that might can help me is this:

Is there any type of test, i.e. CAT Scan, MRI, etc. that can give me an estimate as to how old an bone injury is or how long I have had these conditions. I served in the military from the time I was 16 years old, i.e. 1988 up until 1998 when I got out. I've done many physically demanding jobs in the military, i.e. U.S. Navy "SAR Swimmer" (Search and Rescue), U.S. Army Mechanized Infantry, U.S. Army Bradley Mechanic, i.e. I worked on every vehicle in the U.S. Army Inventory and had to lift heavy parts, wheels, armor, etc. on a consistent basis.

I need some proof that my injuries are x- years old, etc. and someone that can state that more likely than not my injuries were incurred from my military service. Another factor that I am pursuing with the VA is that my service connected Pes Planus (Flat Foot) condition aggravates my back conditions due to my improper body mechanics / alignment.

Any help and / or information that anyone can provide me would be greatly appreciated. I've been out of work for over two years now with my constant pain from my back and my other problems. I have four small children that depend upon me and I feel like a failure due to my problems and my inability to provide for them like I feel that I should. Again, if you can provide me any help I would be in your debt. God Bless

Michael

[skippy13]

Hey michael... Thank you for your service. I hope someone will come along to answer your questions soon, meanwhile you should also check out the Veterans forum. It is brand new so there is not much there yet, but drop on by and say hi.

Welcome to Care cure, Michael.

[Sue Pendleton]

Have you asked for a copy of your military medical records including your exit exam? Not where you list problems. There's the required exam where the doc lists all operations, accidents, fractures, stitches, serious illnesses, etc. Groin pain that required an operation would have needed x-rays too. Just compare your pre-ops to those today. A good orthopist should be able to tell when an injury occurred. Actually, if you were attached to SARS from the Army you would have another physical when you entered SARS and the Army would have given you the once over on return. (My Dad was a Navy ground school type during Korea that taught drown proofing to pilots. He also worked with some SARS types back then too.) And how did you enter the military at 16? It requires parental release at 17 and a birth certificate with raised state seal...

[michael_carmack0946]

I entered the Alabama Army National Guard at the age of 16. They have a split training option where you go to boot camp between your junior and senior year in High School and then you go to your AIT (MOS Training) after you graduate High School. I had just turned 16 when I left for boot-camp. I had to have my parents approval in order to enter the split traning program but it's pretty common place.

[Veteran Advisor]

Hello everyone,
I am a 70% service connected disabled veteran. Before getting out of the military I was experiencing a lot of bilateral foot pain, bilateral ankle pain, bilateral knee pain and groin pain. Before getting out of the Army I had a varicocelectomy performed due to my constant groin pain. After the surgery my groin pain did not subside and still continues to this day. I listed all of these items on my exit physical and got out of the military in 1997. It wasn't until 2003 while I was in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation Program that I found out about my back conditions. I was getting ready for school one day and while putting on my pants I felt a popping sensation in my lower back. The pain was immediate but not overbearing. I suffered through the day and did very little if any work. That night I attempted to get up out of the bed to use the bathroom and was immediately in very severe pain. I've tried to get service connection for my back injuries which include bulging disks, a herniated disk at L5-S1 that I had a Laminectomy performed on that has since reherniated, bone spurring / osteophytes at C5,C6,C7 and degenerative disc condition. The VA has turned me down once for service connection and I have since appealed the decision.

My question to members of this board and any Physicians or other Medical Professionals that might can help me is this:

Is there any type of test, i.e. CAT Scan, MRI, etc. that can give me an estimate as to how old an bone injury is or how long I have had these conditions. I served in the military from the time I was 16 years old, i.e. 1988 up until 1998 when I got out. I've done many physically demanding jobs in the military, i.e. U.S. Navy "SAR Swimmer" (Search and Rescue), U.S. Army Mechanized Infantry, U.S. Army Bradley Mechanic, i.e. I worked on every vehicle in the U.S. Army Inventory and had to lift heavy parts, wheels, armor, etc. on a consistent basis.

I need some proof that my injuries are x- years old, etc. and someone that can state that more likely than not my injuries were incurred from my military service. Another factor that I am pursuing with the VA is that my service connected Pes Planus (Flat Foot) condition aggravates my back conditions due to my improper body mechanics / alignment.

Any help and / or information that anyone can provide me would be greatly appreciated. I've been out of work for over two years now with my constant pain from my back and my other problems. I have four small children that depend upon me and I feel like a failure due to my problems and my inability to provide for them like I feel that I should. Again, if you can provide me any help I would be in your debt. God Bless

Michael

Sorry for the delay, gang. Still trying to figure out the system here.


Mike,


You mentioned a 6 year gap between your discharge and the “popping sensation” in your lower back. I’m not qualified to discuss whether some test can determine how long you’ve had the injury and if it can be tied to your service, but I can tell you that your best hope is to find a specialist, an orthopedist for example (a chiropractor usually won't suffice), who’s willing to do several things:


1-Based on the earliest x-rays and medical records you have, discuss how and why your back injuries occurred


2-Refute the VA’s finding of post-service causation with an explanation that eliminates other causes and offers a “but for” rationale (“…but for the patient’s early disc deterioration due to strenuous in-service activity, later post-service activities would not have resulted in his present disability…”)


3-Provide a “more likely than not” concluding opinion in your favor on causation. Also note that an opinion that finds causation “as likely as not,” or 50/50, also falls in your favor under the "reasonable doubt doctrine." Many physicians will opt for the safer and more ambiguous “as likely as not” standard, but the rationale has to be detailed and the basis of VA’s denial attacked point by point.


Your foot condition, as secondary to your spine problems, will require the same degree of diligence to get it service connected. It's not impossible, but bear in mind VA adjudicates cases like yours (back and foot injuries)more than any other, in my experience.


You also mentioned not being able to work. Are any of your disabilities singly rated at least 40 percent or more? If so, you should be applying for VA Individual Unemployability, which would give you a statutory rating of 100% due to your inability to work if you can show the reason to be your service connected disability. If not, you might consider pursuing a higher rating (up to 40%) for your most severe disability.

Also, if your surgery resulted in impotence, whether in just one or both testicles, VA should have also granted you special monthly compensation for "loss of use of creative organ." If you have to use medication to procreate, you'll need a urologist to state that the surgical procedure caused or contributed to your loss of use. I'll emphasize, loss of use can occur in only one testicle. Even if the other testiscle still works, you should be entitled to the additional compensation as long as you can definitively prove one is rendered impotent.

Lastly, for all the Guardsmen, for VA service connection purposes, National Guardsmen are not considered eligible unless their disabilities were incurred while on "active duty" (full time) and "active duty for training" (full time for training purposes). If a National Guardsman suffers either a heart attack or stroke during "inactive duty for training" (non-full-time duty as instructors for training civilians in military arms, participation in field drills, maneuvers and exercises, training at a military service school, etc.) service connection is possible in those circumstances.