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Claim Denied!
How to appeal a VA denial of benefitsAuthor: John D. Roche, Copyright @ 2008
"The VA is not your loving Uncle Sam who opens his wallet and says, `Here you are, nephew--a $1,000 check per month for the rest of your life. That should take the pain out of your service injuries,' " writes John D. Roche. Far from it, he reveals.
Though the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 requires Veterans Affairs to assist veterans in developing the foundation to support their claims, in reality if you rely on the VA to find and develop the evidence necessary to grant benefits then your claim is likely to be denied. Claim Denied! will help those veterans whose benefits have been denied correct the mistakes they made when they submitted their original claims. Appealing a VA decision is not an impossible feat, Roche says, but a veteran's story must be presented in a well-organized and logical format, so any reviewing authority is able to understand the issues as they relate to the laws. This book explains in detail how to develop and present a successful appeal.
Exit Wounds
A survival guide to pain management for returning Veterans and their familiesAuthor: Derek Mcginnis, Copyright @ 2009
Written by wounded Iraq war veteran and APF's Military/Veterans Amputee Program Advocate, Derek McGinnis, Exit Wounds narrates the inspirational story of how one courageous veteran, with the aid of his family, recovered and thrived despite near death, traumatic brain injury, and the loss of a limb. Exit Wounds also offers veterans and their families comprehensive and authoritative information on acute and chronic pain syndromes afflicting veterans, treatment options, and strategies for self-advocating for optimal pain care and medical resources inside and outside the VA system.
Everything About ME (Military Personnel and Families Edition):
A Guide for My Future Caregivers Author: Dee Marrella, Copyright @ 2011With the huge numbers of American soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries requiring long-term care -- possibly life-long care, this book (print and electronic versions) provides individuals and their families with a way to create a true tool that can be used by any caregiver who ever works with this person. Since family members might not always be available to be the caregiver in a veterans life, this guide will provide even a total caring stranger with a lifetime of knowledge, information and guidance on what the individual desires in the way of caregiving. This book, when completed, will tell all who use it every important fact about them: how "I" feel about life support, my favorite foods, the TV programs I dislike, how I'd like to have my obituary read, and my funeral conducted. When the time comes that a once vibrant individual required round-the-clock caregiving, and may not have a "voice" left o speak with -- this book can be that "voice" tell all who use it everything you want known.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Your Military and Veterans Benefits
A comprehensive guide to your military and veterans benefitsAuthors: Lawrence J. Webber, Katrina L. Webber, Copyright @ 2008
The U.S. Armed Forces exists in a reality all its own. Members are fed, paid, clothed, housed, and protected in a way few other American citizens can claim. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines can shop at low-price grocery stores, protect their families with low-cost insurance, and earn a lifetime pension before they turn 40 years old. In fact, military life offers so many benefits and perks, it’s hard for the average serviceman or woman to keep track of them. Finally, here is a guide that explains the benefits and how to obtain them. Inside, readers will find:
- Clear and precise explanations of active duty family benefits
- Details on veteran education and medical benefits
- A money-saving guide to discounts for both active duty personnel and Veterans
The Expert's Guide to Veterans Benefits
2010 - 2011 EditionAuthor: Robin Alford, Copyright @ 2010
Helping veterans to receive their rightly deserved benefi ts has always been a daunting task. The biggest problem that pretty much all veterans can agree upon is that the system in place for our veterans today is like a giant maze with unforeseen perilous traps around every corner. Some of the other major problems that exist are that the majority of veterans and their families rarely know all of the benefifi ts they are eligible to receive, how and where to apply for them, and which documentation is necessary to support their claims for each benefit. “The Expert’s Guide to Veteran’s Benefits can help. By explaining in easy to understand terms, how to identify and overcome the numerous barriers that often stand in the way of receiving your rightly deserved veterans benefififi ts. Explaining in careful detail how the system works, and teaching veterans how to avoid the time consuming and often costly mistakes, before they make them.
The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time
A Doonesbury BookAuthor: G. B. Trudeau, Copyright @ 2005On a road outside Fallujah, an RPG blows apart a Humvee and upends the life of a former football star. As a medevac chopper swoops down, the wounded Guardsman hears "Not your time, bro. Not today," and his remarkable healing journey begins.
Thousands of U.S. soldiers have suffered grievous wounds in Iraq, but only one of them is a Doonesbury character. The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time chronicles seven months of cutting-edge cartooning, during which B.D.-and readers of the strip-got an up-close schooling in a kind of personal transformation no one seeks.
Deprived not only of leg but also his ubiquitous trademark helmet, B.D. survives first-response Baghdad triage, evacuation to Landstuhl's surgeon-rich environment, and visits by innumerable morale-boosting celebs, both red and blue in hue. He's awed in turn by morphine, take-no-guff nurses, his fellow amps, and his family, including the daughter who hand-delivers succor, one aspirin at a time.
Transferred stateside to Walter Reed's Ward 57, B.D. is inspired by the wisdom of physiatrists, warmed by the dedicated ministrations of real-life fellow-amp heroes like Jim the Milkshake Man, and dazzled by high-tech prostheses that cost more than luxury cars. He's annoyed by his own bouts with self-pity, by the bedside awkwardness of friends more comfortable regarding his stump from e-mail distance, and by Zonk's unwavering commitment to supplementing his care with organic meds.
As their journey continues, B.D. and Boopsie are cared for by Fisher House, a home-next-door-to-the-hospital for families whose lives revolve around therapy. B.D. finds himself painfully engaged in building his future, one sadistically difficult physical therapy session at a time. "To Lash, Helga, and the Marquis!" toast the band of differently limbed brethren, raising their glasses to their PT masters as they prepare for reentry into the ambulatory world.
From rebuilding tissue to rebuilding social skills to rebuilding lives, B.D's inspiring, insightful, and darkly humorous story confirms that it can take a village, or at least a ward, to raise a soldier when he's gone down. "Thank you for getting blown up," offers one of B.D.'s visiting players. Replies the coach, "Just doing my job."
The Military Advantage (2011 Edition)
The Military.com guide to military and veterans benefitsAuthor: Terry Howell, Copyright @ 2011
Featuring the 2011 changes to Family Education, Survivor, and Wounded Warrior benefits, The Military Advantage is acknowledged as the essential annual reference to military and veterans benefits, and has earned a reputation as a reliable, up-to-date guide for millions of American military families. Written by Terry Howell, the managing editor for Military.com, and backed by the resources of that twelve-million-member organization and its parent company, Monster.com, the guide unlocks the availability of benefits that too often are overlooked and go unused. These valuable benefits include scholarships, educational resources, health care, family support programs, home loan guarantees, wounded warrior resources, transition assistance and much more. Full of insider tips, shortcuts, and answers to frequently asked questions, this easy-to-use guide collects multiple resources into a single timely reference with an authoritative analysis of the benefits. Updated annually, it enables readers to make the most of the military experience, whether on active duty, a veteran, a retiree, or member of a military family. The Military Advantage, 2011 Edition is published in partnership with Military.com.
The Veteran's Survival Guide (Second Edition)
How to File and Collect on VA ClaimsAuthor: John D. Roche, Copyright @ 2006
"Claim denied!" All too often millions of veterans have received this response to their legitimate claims for federal benefits. In most cases, writes veterans' advocate John D. Roche, the claimant didn't understand the procedures needed to meet the myriad requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs. With the appeals process requiring years to resolve disputes, deserving veterans and their dependents are left confused and frustrated by the agency and a system that was created to serve them. The answer is to submit a well-grounded claim initially, which The Veteran's Survival Guide, now in a revised, second edition, analyzes in detail. This unique book, written in an accessible self-help style, will be required reading for any veteran or veteran's dependent who wishes to obtain his or her well-earned benefits and for those officials of veterans' service organizations who assist veterans with their claims.
The Wounded Warrior Handbook
A resource guide for returning veteransAuthors: Don Philpott, Janelle Hill, Copyright @ 2009
The typical wounded soldier must complete and file twenty-two forms following an active-duty injury. To many soldiers and their families coping with the shock and reality of the injuries, figuring out what to do next--even completing tasks as seemingly easy as submitting paperwork--can be overwhelming and confusing.
Written with these men and women in mind, The Wounded Warrior Handbook provides our injured heroes and their families with quick, straightforward answers to the questions they suddenly face and guides them through the deluge of processes, procedures, and policies they must adhere to in order to receive the care they deserve and need.
Comprehensive and easy to use, The Wounded Warrior Handbook compiles information regarding medical treatment, rehabilitation, counseling, support, and transition, including:
- Symptoms, treatment options, and information resources of common injuries
- Programs to help families reach and care for their injured soldiers
- Definitions of the seven classifications of "casualty" and the notification process for next of kin
- Documents family members should carry when traveling to see their loved ones
- Challenges of reintegrating into everyday life, and tips and resources for succeeding
- Guidance for finding a job that matches a wounded veteran's physical abilities and skills
- Organizations offering advocacy and legal assistance
- Locations of Veterans Affairs hospitals, medical centers, and clinics
A time-saving and life-restoring resource, The Wounded Warrior Handbook helps our embattled men and women make the transition from active duty to postwar domestic life.
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A Lifetime of Wisdom
Embracing the way God heals you Author: Joni Eareckson Tada, Copyright @ 2009Looking back to the diving accident at 17 that destined her for a lifetime in a wheelchair, Joni Eareckson Tada recalls the bitterness and despair she felt. But God changed and healed her in unexpected ways by giving her rubies of wisdom about who he is and how he works in all of life’s events. Now she wants to share this treasure with you.
A Step Further
Growing closer to God through hurt and hardshipAuthors: Steve Estes, Joni Eareckson Tada, Copyright @ 1980
Personal answers to the difficult "whys" of suffering. New 16-page photo section and illustrations by Joni.
Originally published in 1978, A Step Further is Joni Eareckson Tada's response to thousands of letters she received from people puzzled about the "whys" of suffering. Joni answers these questions by taking a personal look at how God has used circumstances, people, and events in her own life and the lives of others. A Step Further has been used by individuals, in hospitals and rehab centers, and in scores of countries overseas to bring comfort and peace to those who are suffering.
Hope...The Best of Things
Author: Joni Eareckson Tada, Copyright @ 2008This special booklet guides readers toward a fresh perspective on suffering that is grounded in this beloved author's life experiences and journey with God.
For forty years, Joni Eareckson Tada has lived in a wheelchair as a spinal cord-injured quadriplegic. And the heaven-sent hope found only in Christ has saved her life.
Seeking to share stories and scriptural encouragement, as well as hard-won insights about suffering and the goodness of God, Joni has written this special booklet so that those who long to find hope will draw closer to God and develop new eyes toward their difficulties. Yes, hope can be hard to come by, she admits, but "oh, how we need to grasp the soul-settling hope found in the pages of God's Word and allow it to overflow our hearts, transforming us into people who are confident and at peace with ourselves, our God, and our circumstances."
In her life's journey, Joni has learned to meet suffering on God's terms-learned that joy is for real. And most of all, Joni has learned that hope is the best of things when we give it a chance. This book powerfully communicates all these truths from someone who has lived them, and thus can encourage even the most discouraged of readers in the worst of circumstances.
My Miracle Marine
The story of three-time Purple Heart recipient LCPL. John McClellanAuthor: Connie McClellan, Copyright @ 2008In June 2005, 19-year-old Marine Lance Corporal, John McClellan, deployed to Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Five months later, while on duty as a machine gunner, Lcpl. McClellan was shot twice in the same arm -- in the same week! The injuries he sustained were viewed as miraculously minor. The first, an enemy AK-47 bullet, ricocheted off the humvee turret and embedded in his right wrist. Six days later, he was shot a second time, again, an enemy AK-47 bullet, except this bullet entered and exited the upper portion of his right arm. Neither injury hit...nor hurt...anything! Within two weeks after the second injury Lcpl. McClellan bravely returned to the turret. On September 11, 2006, McClellan deployed to Haditha, Iraq, where fifteen days later, while on patrol, he sustained an enemy sniper shot through his head. His head injury was so severe the doctor told his parents via phone that night, If he survives the brain swelling, he will not be the same...and will more than likely be a vegetable. From the moment of that every parents worst nightmare call, John's mother, Connie McClellan, launched a continuous flow of emails to family and friends, requesting prayer, announcing answers to prayer, and updating everyone on John's condition. My Miracle Marine is a compilation of those emails which created a journal describing the chain of events leading to John's amazing recovery. Also included are emails from John's comrades, still in Iraq, giving an account of the battles they endured, physically and emotionally. Complimenting the email journal are narratives by Connie McClellan describing other incredible events the family experienced during John's recovery. Especially valuable were the continuous divinely orchestrated coincidences which she has since dubbed Godsidences. It was as though God was wrapping his arms around her, ministering, I m still here; I will not leave you or forsake you. My Miracle Marine is a story of a mother's faith, of prayer, of a young Marine's valiant fight for recovery and most importantly, of God's miracle working power. Further, My Miracle Marine is a story of hope...for everyone.
Wounded Soldier
A reason to live, a faith that heals Author: John Steer, Copyright @ 1997Imagine struggling through a childhood dominated by an intimidating father. Imagine stepping into an elite airborne division that trains you to be a killer in Vietnam. Try to imagine stumbling back into society after that...minus an arm. All of a sudden, your body isn't whole, and your country turns its face as you approach.
This is the story of John Steer, a heavily-decorated soldier from Vietnam, a wandering warrior returning from Southeast Asia, from a troubled past, and full of hate for himself and everyone else. In need of a lifeline, this brawling ex-soldier finally finds a commander worth his respect: John Steer meets Jesus Christ, and the healing begins...
Wounded Soldier is the powerful story of a man in search of himself. Read and believe.
Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior
A personal story of a Vietnam veteran who lost his legs but found his soul Author: Allen B. Clark Jr., Copyright @ 2007It was early morning, June 17, 1967, and Dak To Special Forces camp in Vietnam was under attack. A mortar exploded, and West Point graduate Allen B. Clark Jr.’s life was changed forever. This is the story of how one soldier, so gravely injured that both of his legs were amputated, turned his grievous loss into a personal triumph. Clark describes his struggle through a year-long recovery and a severe bout of post traumatic stress disorder, so little understood at the time.
He tells of earning his MBA from Southern Methodist University and finding employment as a personal financial assistant to Ross Perot, of moving on to public service and founding the Combat Faith Ministry, a lay ministry to veterans. Clark's story of growth and spiritual fulfillment wrested from his wartime tragedy is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and is of special relevance in our day of so many soldiers returning wounded in body and spirit from Iraq.
Wounded Warriors
Those for whom the war never ends Author: Mike Sager, Copyright @ 2008True stories of obstacles, adversity, and stubborn transcendence-including an extraordinary group of wounded Iraq War veterans.
Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell prided himself on being a hard-core Marine--a patriotic Devil Dog on his third tour of Iraq. Then his brain was shredded with mortar shrapnel.
Today, Maxwell has a large angry scar on the left side of his head. He forgets words, his wife has to read to him, and he drags one foot when he walks. For Maxwell and the veterans at the Wounded Warrior Barracks he founded at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Iraq and Afghanistan will never quite be in the past. And the struggle never ends.
Other stories in Wounded Warriors depict life inside an LA crack gang, ex-pat Vietnam War veterans in Thailand, and five days in Las Vegas with basketball anti-hero Kobe Bryant--all of it captured stylishly by the writer who has been called "the beat poet of American journalism."
90 Minutes in Heaven
A true story of death and lifeAuthor: Don Piper with Cecil Murphey, Copyright @ 2004
On the way home from a conference, Don Piper's car was crushed by a semi-truck that crossed into his lane. Medical personnel said he died instantly. While his body lay lifeless inside the ruins of his car, Piper experienced the glories of heaven, awed by its beauty and music.
90 minutes after the wreck, while a minister prayed for him, Piper miraculously returned to life on earth with only the memory of inexpressible heavenly bliss. His faith in God was severely tested as he faced an uncertain and grueling recovery. Now he'd like to share his life-changing story with you.
90 Minutes in Heaven offers a glimpse into a very real dimension of God's reality. This New York Times bestseller encourages those recovering from serious injuries and those dealing with the loss of a loved one. The experience dramatically changed Piper's life, and it will change yours too.
Copyright Benita Koeman 2008 - 2012
Resources for wounded warriors and their families
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