Ted Koran's wife died six months ago from cancer. Feeling overwhelmed and contemplating suicide, he decided to call the
Department of Veterans Affairs for help:
He reached out to the VA and the Veterans Suicide Hotline for help, but said he couldn't get any until after he was repeatedly put on hold for up to 10 minutes at time.
He was distraught:
“I had to sit there patiently, in emotional distress, in tears, wanting to give up, desperately needing someone to talk to,” Koran said.
Koran said he hung up and redialed the number two more times.
“They had me on the [verge] of saying to hell with it,” he said.
He changed his mind after thinking about the 60 animals in his care, something his wife was very passionate about before she died. He's speaking out now hoping that things will change at the VA before someone else decides to say "to hell with it."
See an investigative video report about Ted Koran and the unacceptable understaffing of VA crisis hotlines at WFTS-TV.