Guys, I wish I even knew where to start...I don't even know or understand exactly where we are in the process or anything else. We really just want to make sure we do the right thing for ourselves and don't screw anything up. I don't think we have yet...but I'm sure you guys will tell us if we did.
Short background first. In August 2004, my husband was in an ATV accident on the job. He fractured his L2 vertebrae, several ribs, and the bone linking his shoulder and neck. He was life-flighted from the hospital here in town to William Beaumont in El Paso (army hospital). They put him in a turtle shell brace, monitored him for about six months and....that's it. No MEB or anything ever came out of it....
In March of 2008, enter ATV-on-the-job-accident number 2. (I should mention at this point in the story that no, he is no longer allowed to ride ATVs. ) In this one, he broke his left let. No biggie. Goes to hospital. They do surgery with like 18 or 19 screws/pins. However, the doctor is bad. My husband ends up with osteomyelitis from the surgery/injury. The doctor has multiple lawsuits against him. The local hospital had to file for bankruptcy due to the litigation against them. He is no longer practicing, of course. In May of the same year, after it's getting progressively worse, the bad doc is supposedly trying to make it better, but the physical therapists are petrified. In the middle of the night we drive to El Paso, per instructions, to go to William Beaumont again. He stays there for a week, before being life-flighted (AGAIN!!! LOL) to San Antonio, BAMC. Doc Hsu hooks him up with the HALO brace thing on his leg for about 5 months. He lives three of those months in San Antonio ON BAMC. He comes home that September or so. In November he gets the brace off. But guess what...no MEB. He is still having regular checkups with Doc Hsu.
What gets the MEB rolling is that he was on a profile for over a year. To give the doc here credit, he did wait as long as he possibly could until giving this to the MEB people.
He will hit 19 years this December, 20 next December and had wanted to stay in until he hits 20. Thankfully his job is a brain job, not a brawn job, so he can still be a resource to the USAF. His commander wants him, the squadron wants him....okay. So what do we do?
The paperwork came back and said 20% DOD and 30% VA. I don't even understand what that means. I am looking. I found this website. But good grief the amount of information is soooo overwhelming. LOL. But I'm trying.
So. To maximize income later, is it better to try and stay this extra year, or take a medical retirement? I think we are going to appeal the 20% DOD/30% VA thing...it sounds like something is missing but I'm not sure how all that works. I just can't see signing this paperwork and then him being retired before Christmas...it's just...wow. We have about 5-6 months salary saved, so would be okay...but it's still just like...wait a minute...I thought we'd be able to finish out the 20...
Okay. Any advice? I just don't know where to go from here. I KNOW we have to get all his med records together. I KNOW how to google and find stuff. But I'm also paranoid that the answers I think I've found are incorrect and are going to cost us dearly.
Thank you all tons. I can't imagine going thru this process without any help..
Melissa
Short background first. In August 2004, my husband was in an ATV accident on the job. He fractured his L2 vertebrae, several ribs, and the bone linking his shoulder and neck. He was life-flighted from the hospital here in town to William Beaumont in El Paso (army hospital). They put him in a turtle shell brace, monitored him for about six months and....that's it. No MEB or anything ever came out of it....
In March of 2008, enter ATV-on-the-job-accident number 2. (I should mention at this point in the story that no, he is no longer allowed to ride ATVs. ) In this one, he broke his left let. No biggie. Goes to hospital. They do surgery with like 18 or 19 screws/pins. However, the doctor is bad. My husband ends up with osteomyelitis from the surgery/injury. The doctor has multiple lawsuits against him. The local hospital had to file for bankruptcy due to the litigation against them. He is no longer practicing, of course. In May of the same year, after it's getting progressively worse, the bad doc is supposedly trying to make it better, but the physical therapists are petrified. In the middle of the night we drive to El Paso, per instructions, to go to William Beaumont again. He stays there for a week, before being life-flighted (AGAIN!!! LOL) to San Antonio, BAMC. Doc Hsu hooks him up with the HALO brace thing on his leg for about 5 months. He lives three of those months in San Antonio ON BAMC. He comes home that September or so. In November he gets the brace off. But guess what...no MEB. He is still having regular checkups with Doc Hsu.
What gets the MEB rolling is that he was on a profile for over a year. To give the doc here credit, he did wait as long as he possibly could until giving this to the MEB people.
He will hit 19 years this December, 20 next December and had wanted to stay in until he hits 20. Thankfully his job is a brain job, not a brawn job, so he can still be a resource to the USAF. His commander wants him, the squadron wants him....okay. So what do we do?
The paperwork came back and said 20% DOD and 30% VA. I don't even understand what that means. I am looking. I found this website. But good grief the amount of information is soooo overwhelming. LOL. But I'm trying.
So. To maximize income later, is it better to try and stay this extra year, or take a medical retirement? I think we are going to appeal the 20% DOD/30% VA thing...it sounds like something is missing but I'm not sure how all that works. I just can't see signing this paperwork and then him being retired before Christmas...it's just...wow. We have about 5-6 months salary saved, so would be okay...but it's still just like...wait a minute...I thought we'd be able to finish out the 20...
Okay. Any advice? I just don't know where to go from here. I KNOW we have to get all his med records together. I KNOW how to google and find stuff. But I'm also paranoid that the answers I think I've found are incorrect and are going to cost us dearly.
Thank you all tons. I can't imagine going thru this process without any help..
Melissa