The article told the story of Mr. King, a Spotsylvania County resident and an Army and National Guard veteran. Mr. King spent a year in the jungles of South Vietnam that had been covered with Agent Orange. He hadn’t been to a doctor since 1991 until last year when he experienced horrible stomach pain and went to the McGuire VA facility in Richmond. At that visit, Mr. King learned that he had cancer in multiple areas of his body. Unfortunately, since that time, Mr. King has experienced numerous issues with the VA, including:
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Having two biopsies done in order to figure out what kind of cancer he had, only to have the results come back as unreadable. Mrs. King said they were told that “possibly the needle biopsies were too small and dried out due to the length of time between the biopsy and the testing.”
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Never having the type of cancer figured out due to the biopsy issues, and thus having his condition determined to be “undifferentiated cancer.” Because of this diagnosis, “VA officials have told the Kings he can’t qualify as disabled under Agent Orange guidelines unless the type of cancer is determined.” If Mr. King were deemed “disabled because of Agent Orange, [Mrs. King] would get a portion of his VA benefits when he dies.”
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Receiving so much chemotherapy and radiation that when he underwent a hospitalization for sepsis, “doctors told him he’d been given too much radiation and chemo at the VA facility that his body couldn’t take any more.”
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Having VA officials attempt to send him home after a colonoscopy “when he was too weak to get out of the wheelchair”, and
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Being denied treatment in Fredericksburg when requested.
Simply put, the treatment that the Kings - and, undoubtedly, thousands of other veterans in the 1st Congressional District of Virginia - have received from the VA is appalling and unacceptable.
One cannot claim to support the military and yet simultaneously neglect the care of veterans and their families upon their return. The impact of the overstressed and understaffed VA upon people such as the Kings is alarming. This is why I support the use of privatized care in coordination with the VA in order to facilitate care reaching our veterans and their families within the district and nationwide.
We also need better oversight of the VA. There is no reason that Mr. King or any other veteran should have their biopsy samples mishandled to the point that the results are unreadable. It is also incredibly inappropriate that a person should receive more chemotherapy and radiation than their body can handle without that being flagged before treatment reached that point. These are things that can be corrected with proper oversight and enforcement of standards - something I have decades of experience with throughout my career 30 year career in high-level project management and strategic planning.
The Kings’ situation is a perfect example of why I will propose a VA public-private partnership, if elected to Congress. Under my proposal, I will fight for the ability of veterans like Mr. King to be able to seek care closer to home. This would put less of a burden on the veterans who should be focusing on getting well--instead of worrying about how they will make it to their next appointment hundreds of miles away. In addition, having care closer to home would also relieve some of the burden on spouses and other family members who, like Mrs. King, are often their veterans' caregivers.
Furthermore, more local care means more preventative care. All too often we ask people to travel long distances for inconvenient appointment times. If veterans don't have to worry about daunting commutes, they may be more inclined to see a doctor on a more regular basis, allowing problems to be diagnosed early instead of when they have reached a more serious state. One’s basic care, veteran or not, should be right down the street, not hours away.
At the end of the day, the Kings' situation highlights the fact that we can do better. And, we must do better. It's what the people of the 1st Congressional District of Virginia deserve -- and all Americans expect.
I’ve spent the last 25 years solving our nation’s toughest problems for national security, our military and government operations. And if elected, I can and will do my part to usher in change to the VA system. While we can argue whether or not the VA Mission Act of 2018 is good for veterans’ healthcare in the long run, the fact is that the program remains unfunded, and my opponent - Rubber Stamp Rob - voted for it anyway. If elected, I would not propose or vote for legislation that had no funding. Doing so only results in “feel good” measures with no real change. We need fewer “feel good” bills, less bureaucracy, better infrastructure, and most importantly, regard for human life. Join with me and help take care of America’s veterans and their families.
Vangie Williams is a public servant and strategic planner who solves problems for our federal government. A real-world professional with 30 years of experience, Vangie is not a career politician who will put corporate interests above people. She is committed to an economy for everyone, healthy families and investing in our communities. Learn more about her vision to put people first at awww.vangieforcongress.com.
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