Thursday, July 07, 2016

The End of this Chapter

Thank you to those who have prayed for Michael's puzzling ailments over the years. We continue to pray for strength and healing, and yet, we  hear God say His grace is all we truly need. If His power is perfected in weakness - we welcome this platform of weakness.


Today, we received a determination letter from the Department of VA and we bring this part of our story to an end.  We have shared Michael's claim was expedited. We've been told by several they'd not seen a claim handled quite like ours. We were given an "interim rating" at 6 months, this allowed Michael to begin getting medical care in the VA system. We were then sent to see Gulf War Evaluators and they found the answers to the pesky health questions that have been growing for the past ten years.  The answers didn't lead to easy fixes, as we'd prayed, but again, just maybe we are to embrace this platform of weakness.  And here - at 8 months - we've received a final VA determination. I think they've done an excellent job; our claim was handled in a timely fashion, they gave us answers we didn't even fully know to search out and they've treated us fairly.

We are still reading through the packet they've sent, we may need help sorting it all out, but we are happy to be able to end the "VA Disability Claim"  chapter of retirement.

Receiving a disability rating is  one of those bittersweet moments in life... seeing the words permanent service-connected disabled veteran  in black and white is a bitter pill to swallow - but again God knows the platform He is building for us.

We KNOW God is not done with us yet. We KNOW He has a plan for the next 20 years, we have no idea what it will look like at this point - but we KNOW it's a good plan from the loving hands of a GOOD God.

Thank you for your prayers and advice during these months.

4 comments:

Renee said...

Glad to hear you have a final determination. We probably dont' have the same rating but we have dealt with VA benefits for a few years so ask if you have questions.... esp be aware (even mark your calendar) for 6 mos before any child is going to turn 18 yrs old (otherwise you have to wait for back benefits)

Renee said...

Check with your DMV about reduced prices for car tags. In AL, we get a fairly good discount because of Scott's rating

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

Thanks for the tips! Do you mean fill out a form 6 months before a child turns 18 if they still qualify to be a dep (in full time school)?

Linda said...

We are beginning the navigation process of the VA. Scott has had his initial exams, but they will not even begin to process his paperwork until his official retirement date of 1SEP.