My name is Linda (Lynn) Wheeling Byard. I am a retired veteran, 100% service connected disability. My husband, Jeffrey Byard, is a Catastrophically Disabled veteran. He is legally blind and has a Below the Knee (BKA) amputation of the right leg. My son, SSG Brett Wheeling is also a combat veteran. Our story is a long one and this diary will have to be done in installments. I was introduced to Vetwife through a mutual acquaintance. Unbeknownst to either of us, we have been fighting the exact same fight - just in different boats. We have united our efforts and we hope to somehow RIGHT the wrongs that have been imposed not only on us, but to countless other veterans. This is my first diary and I look forward to not only sharing our story, but I look forward to your comments as well. I have started a Facebook page - Ocala Veterans Task Force - to get the story of these atrocities out. I'm not doing this just for my family, but for the many veterans this situation, and others like it, that are impacting the quality of life and care in the state of Florida.
Just as a short introduction, my husband and I have been fighting with the Villages VA Out Patient Clinic since November 2013 over Special Mode Transport. We have been given excuse after excuse as to why Jeffrey is not qualified. To begin with it was "He doesn't qualify - because he is only blind," then it was "He's blind but not in a wheelchair," then it was "He doesn't meet the Means Test," and the latest excuse was "He is in a wheelchair, but because he can transfer from the wheelchair to a seat in a vehicle he does not qualify." Every time we challenge one of their reasons for him not qualifying, they come up with another excuse. I am so far past livid it is not funny.
I qualified for Special Transport Mode back in November myself because of a surgery that required me to have a Taylor Spatial Frame. The frame was just removed, but my tibia and fifth metatarsal are still broken and I will continue to be non-weight bearing and in a wheelchair for a minimum of three months, but more likely 4-6 months. I needed renewal of the Special Transport Mode and put the request in through Secure Messaging. This was the response I received:
Sent: 06/13/2014 XXXX PM
From: XXXXXXXXXX
To: BYARD, LINDA
Message ID#: XXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: General Inquiry
Hi Linda: I was placing your special travel request and they need to know: -in your home life, how do you get to your outside dr's appts?- how do you get to the store, etc...?-if you have a transportation system set up for those types of things, why can't you use them to get here? Please reply..XXXXXXX RN
I have witnessed another female veteran being Baker Acted, time and time again, at the Gainesville VA Medical Center and also at the Vines, oft times illegally - Just because the doctors could, up to and including because the doctor called the police stating that she had been drinking.
I have plenty of documentation that backs up everything we have been going through. I am fighting mad and feel like I'm back fighting the enemy - only this time the 'enemy' is the very system that I was promised would take care of me.
I for one am going to STAND TALL and fight back. Enough is enough people, we cannot afford to lay down and take this crap any longer.
More to follow.
8:24 PM PT: I need to say a very special Thank You to Vetwife. When I initially contacted her she was all over it with me and several other vets. While there are a couple of programs that we cannot speak highly enough of - VIST and the Prosthetic and Amputee Clinic - there are others at the Gainesville VA Hospital specifically that show little respect and in my personal opinion smack right up against medical negligence. I will post more details in future installments what we have been through and the pure unadulterated mistreatment this all is.