My father came home last night. After a little over a month, he finally was able to come home. He is my old dad again, happy, joking and can't wait to get out on the land and do some work. He has been giving me a hard time about the donkey, all in good fun. And is waiting impatiently for the Golden Buff I ordered for him. And he has informed me that we will be trying out new plants in the garden. It's nice to have him back, not just physically.
I wanted to say something about VA's. With all the news talking about the horrible conditions at Walter Reed, I thought you might want to know about a few others. Before my father moved here he would go to the VA in Gainesville, Florida. I have yet to hear anything good about the place. I was told that they run the patience through like cattle. And if they were any good they would have caught what was wrong with my dad long before this.
The Va here in Wichita Kansas is Robert Dole's namesake. Now I might not agree with everything Bob Dole says or does, but I give him credit for caring deeply about what goes on with our Vets. That's why I was so happy to learn last night that he would be looking into the problems with the Nation's VA's.
When my uncle disappeared {government stole him, long story} Bob Dole took the time to help us find him.
The VA were my father was at, is clean, and well maintain for such an old building. They have volunteers, and a great staff. When my father first started seeing his new Doctor here, he was amazed how happy and attentive the nurses are. He mentioned that after every visit. His Doctor was the same. She was the one that ordered the chest x-ray, not on a whim or on a suspicion, just routine care. Something my father didn't received in Florida. If it hadn't been for this routine care, my father might be dead now.
Once in the VA's ICU, the staff was right on top of things. They are a touchy feely group. Squeezing hands and knees, touching the men's heads. Talking to them as adult's, and including them in everything. It was easy to see that the staff cared that most of these men were alone, and they did their best to make them feel cared for, emotionally. I have never seen this level of care in any hospital before.
Thank you Mr. Bob Dole, thank you to the staff of the Robert J Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Thank you for taking such great care of my family, and all the vet's that come through those doors.
16 comments:
Glad your father received such good and caring care. Even regular hospitals, with insured patients, still can treat people like cattle and idiots. As if just because you are sick you also became stupid and less than human too.
Glad to hear your dad is on the mend. I'm sorry that he received such horrible care, too. It's been rumored for years that our VA hospitals were substandard. I'm glad someone is finally doing something to remedy that.
Congrats on the donkey! What fun, eh?
I'm glad to hear something positive about a VA hospital. I'm glad your dad is back.
Thanks for sharing your great news!
Great news! I hope he's back doing the things he enjoys very soon.
Congratulations. Sounds like you're headed for a wonderful spring. Good luck with the donkey, too.
It is really nice to hear your that your dad came home. I used to work at a nursing home that had a vent unit. it wasn't pretty most days.
So glad your dad is home and doing well. My dad utilizes the VA at Bay Pines, (St. Pete, FL) and they have been very attentive ordering all the test and addressing his concerns. I am becoming impressed with them. Kudos to you for giving credit where credit is due.
I have a friend that works there. I believe it's in the cafeteria. Her name is Karen. She used to work for me. Total gem.
Oh, so glad your dad is feeling so much better! And especially glad to hear that the VA there is treating veterans in a deserving way.
My husband is a veteran and though he has been treated respectfully at the VA here in Florida, they are a nightmare when it comes to his care and benefits. The Bay Pines hospital lost his file of twenty-some years, conveniently lost ALL paperwork pertaining to his combat injury and coma and hospitalization when he was having his benefits status re-examined. The national file was also missing years of documentation.
They are still refusing him benefits based on the missing file...that we have a letter from them saying THEY lost.
Oh, don't get me started...
SO glad your dad is feeling like his old self! We'll still keep him in prayer :)
Ahh there is good news out there.
Hope things keep on keepin' on.
Thank you all for the replies and well wishes!
I'm so glad your dad is feeling so good.
I'm also glad to hear about the status of his VA hospital. When all this news broke all I could think was that while the nation may be shocked, most people who have had friends or family in a VA hospital weren't. I know they aren't all bad but the level of care in many of them is terrible. I'm glad the nation is paying attention at last.
Such fantastic news about your dad!
And so glad to hear there are good VA hospitals out there!
I'm so glad your dad's recent care was good. Drop a line to the hospital, too, to let them know you're pleased.
So glad to hear your father is home. We had difficulties getting my FIL vet benefits/health care - what a frustraing situation. I am so happy to hear that all vet facilities aren't horrible!
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