With all this talk about the VA some being good, some being bad, I'm going to put 'em to the test....

I have developed a ruptured disc in my back. Not sure how it happened, but the pain is terrible. I had 2 MRI's last week. The revealed the problem. My local VA doctor scheduled me for an appointment with a neurosurgeon in Gainesville. I drove up there yesterday, After discussing it with the ARNP it was obvious I needed surgery. I asked how soon they could do it and was told Wed, next week. I said "I'll take it"...

So, I now have to be in Gainesville Monday. That is about 100 miles from where I live. They (VA) will put me up in a motel Mon & Tues. Monday I see the anesthesiologist and ask any questions I may have. Then Tuesday I come in to meet the senior doctor who will be doing my surgery. I will also have 2 others, but I didn't catch their name. The Univ of FL is right across the street from the VA hospital, as you can see, my doctor is a professor there and Associate Chairman for the Department of Neurosurgery.

This is my doctor:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.neuro...2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

I have never had any surgery in my life. While not looking forward to this, I feel I am in good hands. I have talked with several people that have had back surgery there. They said they were treated like kings, and everything turned out excellent. I hope to be able to pass along the same recommendation.

When I had my retirement/va physical I mentioned some back problems, but didn't even get a "0" rating. You can bet I will be looking into this at the completion of this.

Oh, the VA in Gainesville has a travel section. I went down there before I started home. They swiped my VA card, and it verified my appointment. It then printed out a travel claim. I went to the next window with it and received $38.04 for my travel expenses. WOW! That took less than 5 minutes.

So far, my experience in Gainesville has been a very good one. I'll keep ya posted.

Wray...

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I am very familar with the va in gainesville Wray..i get my teeth cleaned there well next door at the school..shands (where they train doctors is next door too).

Don't worry..i am sure you will do fine

Best wishes sc

saginaw vamcwas great to me for 6 months inpatient!

Good luck with the surgery Wray...your Dr. looks like he has a lot of experience under belt.

Good luck to ya Wray...

Wray, perfect weather for surgery! You will be able to sit outside sucking on Cap't Morgan while you convalesce.

My brother had a quad cardiac bypass several years ago at the VA hospital in Portland, OR. He was delighted with the treatment and results.

wray, you'll do fine. Do EXACTLY what they tell you to do while convalescing. I had L4/5 done exactly two years ago with 0 problems and C5/6/7 done 4 and 7 years ago with 0 problems. I get spasms every now and then but thats due to the metal they put in there. Also, my flexibility has suffered somewhat...but I'd rather deal with that than the pain.

Good luck, call if you have any questions about the procedures.

Good luck Wray,

Remember avoid the lemon in the water if offered!

You bet... I wonder how lime would be... (with a rum & coke )

I wish you all the best.

Wray, best wishes to you, and also to your surgeon. After they give you your shot to put you out and just before you go to la la land, tell your Doc to have a great day in surgery. Seriously, best of luck to you. Dave

Dave, thanks... I'll try to remember that..

Wray...

Good luck Wray,
Sending positive vibes,
Dick

Yer VERY lucky Wray, to be getting such great treatment at the hands and expense of the VA. Is this being done as Wray the retired military veteran or Wray, the VA employee??

Lemme tell ya how this would be handled where I am, -

Unless you were already enrolled in Neuro, you'd have to make an appt with yer PRICARE Doc, wait 2 weeks to 3 months. Get a referal to neuro.

Neuro appt 3 to 8 months away, be seen bya resident , AKA "DIT" (Doctor-in-Training).

Appt for MRI- 2 weeks to a month, and thats ONLY if the neuro "DIT" agrees ya need one.

Follow up appt with Neuro "DIT" to read MRI- 3 to 9 months.

MRI reveals same as what Wray has, time to surgery- anywhere from 3 months to a year.

Surgery to be performed by "DIT", with VA staff Neuro Doc overseeing.

I have both cervical and Lumbar service connected disk issues and REFUSE to let the VA operate on me.

And VA travel for medical issues- never got it, never once.-JRC

John,
This is Wray the Military Veteran, and that is exactly how I was treated.... The only part that helped being a VA 'employee' was when one of the scheduled MRI patients cancelled I was right there and available to roll into the tube.

I was in such pain I asked for a copy of my MRI results the next day. They showed a "mass" in my lower back. When I saw my VA doctor I asked him about it... and someone else had already asked for a 2nd MRI with dye,,, Later that same day there was another cancellation and I told them I would be right there... (Guess this is where being a VA employee pays off)

I The following day I called Gainesville and followed up on my results. They told me yes they had them and I would have to come up for a consult.. I said anytime... Friday was open and I hopped on that one as well...

Does being a VA employee help? Well, I didn't get any preferential treatment.. I was just lucky I was available when the cancellations occured. If this would have taken a long time to run through the system I was ready to go to my TRICARE PRIME doctor.

The Gainesville VA is somehow interconnected, don't ask me how, with the Univ. of FL & Shands hospital. ( http://jax.shands.org/ )They are all co-located. Am I lucky.. Yes I think so.. things fell into place... Keep in mind, the Daytona clinic doesn't even have an MRI unit. From what I understand the "trailer" comes down here (from Gainesville) every other month. It just so happened to come the Friday before I saw my doctor. No telling how this would have played out if it had happened next month.

As for the travel issue.. I guess this is a standard for those that come for appointments, perhaps from other clinics.. I don't know about that either. I would suspect if your local clinic or hospital referred you to somewhere 100 miles away you too would get travel as well.

We have gone over this several times... As with everything else, not all VA clinics/hospitals are created equal. I did not retire here because of the VA clinic. I fully expected to rely on civilian doctors and TRICARE.

I am sorry for the problems and experiences you have had with your VA there, but I know too many people in various parts of the US that are having great luck with their VA's. BMCM Gary Keen who goes to the clinic/hospital in Pittsburg is another very satisfied customer. The list goes on and on.

With all that said, I will fill you in with my "post operation" results/satisfaction. next weekend.

Wray..

Hey John,
The south is nicer to thier Vets! I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they are just nicer to everyone in general. The northeast lately has a history of not being the most freindly or pro military of places in America. Sorry to hear of all this cronic back pain.
Peace,
Dick

As most of you know, I am also a very satisfied customer of the VA medical system. I spent three months in the Seattle VA hospital, having a bone marrow transplant for non Hodgkins lymphoma. In all my years in the military I have never been around a nicer, more professional group of people in my life. Nobody could have taken better care of me and my family than they did. On a scale of one to ten, I would give them an eleven. And no, I dont work for the VA. Dave

Dave,
I'm glad the VA took such good care of you. You are just added proof that all VA's are not created equal. John just seems to have had bad luck with his, therefore thinks all are like his... If I had to bet, I would bet we would find more satisfied with their VA care than those NOT satisfied.

Wray..

DO NOT put words in my mouth Wray, I ABSOLUTELY don't think all VAMC's are like the one I have to deal with.

THATS actually whats most bothersome to me- is that there ARE VA medical facilities out there that ARE giving high quality medical care, and there are ones that don't, and there are ones that are "in the middle". When they should all actually be the same.

I'mn sure that there is a high level of vets that are satisified or better with the quality of care they get from the VA, and you have NO IDEA how much I wish I was one of them.

The VA has put ALOT of money and effort into the VA healthcare system in your state, they've put none into that same system in my state. Matter of fact, C.A.R.E.S. is trying REALLY HARD to close facilities in Massachusetts, and the only reason they haven't been sucessful is because of the outcry from the Vets and their families served by said facilities.

And its not the people that work for the VA here, there are some fantastic "above and beyond" folks at the VAMC I go to, its the system that they work for.

I wouldn't let the VA up here operate on my back ya held a gun to my head. Heres to hoping yer back surgery isa complete success!!!-JRC

Hey Dave,
I also spent some time in the VA hospital in Seattle getting some test done in the late 70's. It was a campus of old brick buildings on a hill over looking the city if my memory is correct. They were looking into my sound sleeping patterns.
I also found the folks of the northwest to be very hospitable and kind even with all the rainy weather.
Peace,
Dick

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