Go East, Young Man
So, a chance meeting (and resulting idle conversation) between my father and a cog in the great Veterans Administration machine has accelerated my claim forward by months. Said cog is a scheduler for the orthopedic wing of the VA hospital in Seattle. He offered to guide me through the twists and turns of that black morass, and in only one visit I've gotten myself registered with the VA (apparently seven months of endless forms and waiting didn't do that), three appointments on May 7th; one with a general practitioner, a psych consult that should help with my sleeping problems and depression, and another with a social worker (?); and this coming Tuesday I'm going down to have a face-to-face with a volunteer organization called the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), whose membership I qualify for because I've been shot at in places other than on domestic soil.
Had said chance meeting not happened, I'm sure I'd wait for at least another six months before anything meaningful happened with my claim. Previously, I'd been advised that I should stick around here in Washington until my claim is finished, but from what the guy above said this shouldn't be necessary. I'll ask around more as this progresses. The Great Eastward Exodus looms.
I can't wait to get on with my life.
Had said chance meeting not happened, I'm sure I'd wait for at least another six months before anything meaningful happened with my claim. Previously, I'd been advised that I should stick around here in Washington until my claim is finished, but from what the guy above said this shouldn't be necessary. I'll ask around more as this progresses. The Great Eastward Exodus looms.
I can't wait to get on with my life.