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Army Pvt. Jessica Rich was medically evacuated from Iraq in January. Eleven months and two misdiagnoses later, she is still waiting to see a specialist who can treat the autoimmune disease hardening her muscles and attacking her joints.
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Those who choose to seek more extensive care or disability pay enter medical hold. They are given treatment on the base, while boards of soldiers and doctors at Fort Carson and Fort Lewis, Wash., determine how severe their disabilities are, and whether they are eligible for lifelong payments.
That process can take more than a year, though Army statistics show the average time spent in medical hold is 155 days.
Soldiers at Fort Carson say they don't see doctors as often as they need to. Additionally, they complain that reservists and members of the National Guard get less medical care and are less likely to receive a full medical retirement than their counterparts in the "active Army."
Reserve Sgt. Shelly Hays, 31, injured her back at Fort Carson last year while moving a 700-pound pump.
She said the doctor who saw her made it clear she would receive what she described as "part-time care for part-time soldiers."
"He said, 'I'm sick and tired of all you reservists coming in here and taking up all the (appointments) for the regular soldiers,"' she said.
Army statistics show that reservists and members of the National Guard are less likely than active Army soldiers to receive full medical retirements.
From Oct. 1, 2003, through Sept. 30, 26 percent of injured active Army soldiers received a disability rating that resulted in a temporary or permanent retirement with all benefits.
Only 16 percent of Reserve or National Guard soldiers received a similar rating.
The Army says the discrepancy is partly explained by the different roles most reservists play in support compared to the large number of active Army soldiers in combat.
Dr. Gene Bolles, a Longmont neurosurgeon, spent two years as chief of neurosurgery for Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. He said he felt the Army's motivation in treating all soldiers was monetary, not medical.
He has seen herniated discs go untreated, causing severe neurological problems - loss of bladder control, loss of sexual function, atrophied extremities.
In his view, the Army needs to invest more in the care of soldiers, or Americans will face long-term costs for Veterans Affairs hospitalizations.
"This is one of the so-called 'hidden costs' of the war," Bolles said. "We are going to end up with a lot of young people with chronic pain."
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What NO ONE is talking about is exposure to DU....WAIT! We will have thousands that surrounded Baghdaddy whom will start showing signs in a year...and NO ONE WILL CARE
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~6439~2577093,00.html#
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