I've been saying God is writing this story - a friend pointed
out God has already written the story - and he's revealing it to us at this
point. I think, in either case, the comfort is a loving, all-knowing God has a
plan. Each sentence, paragraph, page and chapter contribute to the full
plot-development.
It's no secret, we would choose to leave out the Parkinson's
Chapter of this story, but we are coming to see God will be glorified in it and
we will be matured in our faith as we walk it out. We are learning to live
fully in the present and not borrow trouble from the future.
There are a few paragraphs in this chapter which have caused a
bit of unease.
We were told a local physicians board would submit Michael's
package of conditions to the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC), they would
convene a medical board, decide on Michael's disability and help us work
through the VA claim before they discharged him from Active Duty. This meant
another 6 - 18 months of active duty. We weren't thrilled about going back on
Active Duty. We WERE thrilled at the idea
that men and women, whose job is to work these claims through the VA system,
would be handling the details.
We were surprised this week when we were told the local
physicians board decided Michael should be "returned to duty," rather
than have a medical evaluation board. His package was not forwarded to AFPC. This
means he will report back to Beale, continue terminal leave and retire on 1 Nov
as planned. He will pursue treatment and the VA claim on his own. The local board felt, I'm sure, they were
doing us a favor by letting us retire rather than brining us back on active
duty.
This part of the story is done. We cannot change it. We will
return to Beale, try to make connections with a VSO (Veterans Service
Organization) which may have answers for us. We know there are GOOD VA offices and people
who work in the VA system who want to help vets. We are praying to find these
people and offices. Some questions we are working through....we currently have
a neurologist in CA who we trust. The plan had been we would be active duty and
continue with her as treatment begins and then transfer to another neurologist
when we were discharged and moved to a new state of residence. As retirees, we
want to establish residency in another state. We need to decide if we stay in
CA or try to find a reputable neurologist in another state. We also need to go
to that state in November to get vehicles and licenses updated as we'll not be
active duty any longer and must dot the i's and cross the t's again.
::grin:: We aren't sure if we need to
submit our VA claim in the state we plan to be our legal domicile or if we can
submit it anywhere.....and we have to be nearby for VA docs as well. Lots of
details to consider - details which we thought would be taken care of at a
slower pace while Michael was active duty.
We've been told by one doc to "continue living life"
when he starts treatment and another doc seems to think he'll be incapacitated
and needs to stay in the area.
The good news is as retirees, we can make our very own
decisions about Michael's care and we aren't tied to the Beale AFB area for
that care. There is also a chance that we'll be able to get back to Japan as missionaries sooner if we aren't active duty for the next year.
