Veteran denied medical benefits after losing discharge papers

  by Aly - December 14th, 2009 - 5:39 pm| Health | 2 comments

A Middle Tennessee veteran has been trying to get medical benefits at the V.A. Hospital for 9 years.

Groce Nunn says the problem is, he lost his discharge papers 50 years ago, and has been unable to prove he is a veteran.

After traveling as far away as St. Louis and contacting Congressman Bart Gordon’s office with no success, he contacts that is Messed Up.

Groce Nunn is now 73. As we talk he tells me of his time in the military where he says he was a tank driver for the U.S. Army from 1953-1956. Nunn says he was with the 3rd Armored Division stationed in Germany.

Nunn, a father of 4, shows me his dog tags and two medals the Army sent him.

What the 73 year old doesn’t have is a copy of his discharge papers. Nunn says he has no idea where they went.

And this is the problem. Nunn’s family says without this specific document, the VA Hospital won’t accept his request for treatments, medicines and medical benefits.

Nunn’s daughter is Dixie Aull. “They had no record of him being in service. We have tried everything even going to St. Louis.”

Why St. Louis? I ask.

“He thought if we went personally, they could help us.”

Aull is referring to a massive warehouse fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. It’s here, in 1973, that approximately 80-percent of army records from 1912 to 1960 were destroyed.

Aull and her father believe his discharge papers were among the information forever lost.

“It’s frustrating,” she says. “He can’t buy his meds. He is diabetic. He has blood pressure issues and went through prostate cancer and we need to get him into the V.A.”

With no where else to turn, the family contacts That is Messed Up.

Messed Up staff member Nancy Smith takes this project to heart. Smith decides that No is not a sufficient answer for a veteran who served and needs help. After much work, Smith connects Nunn’s family with Operation Stand Down.

Bingo!

Years of dead ends suddenly yield positive results.

Mary D Ross is Deputy Executive Director of Operation Stand Down.

The vet gets on the phone and begins working for Groce Nunn.

Holding his dog tag, she says aloud. “That is not what his dog tag said, but you are a saint. We need a letter asap. I’ll send someone to pick it up.”

A smile comes to Dixie Aull’s face.

“Amen. Thank you so much,” Ross says hanging up with a smile.

So what happened?

“For some reason your social security numbers are not in the records,” she says to the 73 year old. “We are not sure why. The R.A. was entered incorrectly. But they found you and they are typing up a letter of eligibility. Once we get the letter should take care of all those problems.”

Groce Nunn will reportedly get his discharge papers in a couple of weeks.

Groce Nunn smiles and says he is happy, feeling 20 years younger.

Dixie Aull wants to thank me. I say, Staff Member Nancy Smith is the one who made it happen.

Aull is very appreciative.

Operation Stand Down says they help vets with seemingly impossible problems like this every single day.

If you need help all OPERATION STAND DOWN AT 248-1981

In flight Swine Flu fears

  by Andy - September 25th, 2009 - 12:14 pm| Health | no comments

With Swine Flu floating around seemingly everywhere, how safe are you when you fly?

You are trapped inside a sealed sardine can for 2, 3, up to four hours with strangers, many of whom are sneezing, coughing and hacking.

Does your mind start wondering? How pure is the air in this cabin?

According to the Air Transport Association, which represents the airline industry; air on airplane is actually many times safer than the air you breathe at work or home.

• Both the world health organization and the center for disease control and prevention report that airline travel remains safe for passengers and crew.
• The air onboard a commercial aircraft is cleaner than that in most public buildings. Fresh air enters and exits the cabin on a continuous basis. The air inside an airplane is completely exchanged with outside air 10 to 15 times per hour. The air in the average office building is exchanged only once or twice per hour.
• Numerous scientific studies prove that aircraft ventilation systems protect against the spread of disease. There is no evidence that cabin air quality poses health risks to passengers or crew. There have been no documented cases of any passenger contracting h1n1 from an airline flight.
• Most commercial aircraft use hospital-grade HEPA air filters to remove viruses and bacteria from the cabin. These are similar to the filters used by hospitals to clean the air in organ-transplant and burn-unit wards.
• The cabin ventilation system is designed so that air supplied at one seat row leaves at approximately the same seat row, minimizing front-to-back air movement. This minimizes the possibility of airborne contaminants moving through the plane.
• Travelers can protect themselves and others by following simple steps aimed at preventing the spread of infection. The center for disease control recommends washing your hands often and covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

According to Vanderbilt infectious disease expert Dr. Bill Schaffner, airlines do a good job purifying air on your flight.

Schaffner: “Influenza is heavier than air. So gravity pulls the germs down and they fall quickly. But if you are within 3 to 4 feet of the infected person, you are in that zone.”

ATA officials say 50% of the air is brought into the cabin through the engines at 36,000 feet. Officials say the air there is pure as air can be.

Schaffner agrees with that, but what about sitting on the tarmac prior to departure. Have you ever noticed how hot and stuffy it can be? That is a time when Influenza can move more readily through the cabin.

The other good news according to Dr. Schaffner, pillows and blankets and head rests are not a source of infection.

“It is the breathing, in and out of the flu virus itself,” the infectious disease expert says.

And what about wearing masks?

“There is no good evidence that masks work,” He says. “In a confined space the transmission level goes up. It depends on how long you are in that confined space and how close you are to an infected person. That is why children spending all day long in schools, enhances the level of transmission.”

The airlines say inflight cabin air is safe from swine flu. Do you believe them?

• Yes
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