We went for the Psych evaluation.
First off, the psychologist had at least 4″ high purple shag wall to wall carpeting in her office. I haven’t ever seen anything like it and I’m a child of the 70’s.
And her office was in an old building that didn’t have a “trust factor” for me.
As in the above painting of mine, clouds talk, and apparently, psychologists performing a psych eval do too. After the evaluation the psychologist gave her opinion that my husband probably wouldn’t get the disability because she didn’t think dementia is caused by PTSD and that he didn’t have any PTSD symptoms.
But the paperwork from the VA had said the psychologist evaluator only does the evaluation and won’t give an answer. I thought it a bit strange she’d give an opinion.
In my own reading on the matter I’ve learned that it does happen that a person can have a very stressful event happen such as my husband did in Vietnam that can cause dementia later in life.
Well, I am not worried about any of it. And I remind myself that I’m just carrying through on the application for disability that the VFW near us had helped my husband apply for a few years ago after he was no longer able to work, but had not as yet been diagnosed with dementia.
A little tiny bit of history on him case you were wondering…
He was a practicing attorney until 2012 when he wasn’t able any longer to concentrate or to properly function in his job.
Then in 2014 after he had been going to visit with the veterans at our local VFW, they helped him apply.
Then in 2015 he finally got a diagnosis of dementia.
Then… a few weeks ago (9/2018) I was looking for something in the file cabinet and I came across the PTSD disability application which he had filed. So I took it up to the VFW and they refiled it with the information they had said they were lacking. In about a week the psych eval had been ordered by the VA.
I don’t know how any of it will go. But that purple shag carpeting was very very strange. Just about as strange as clouds communicating.
If Clouds Could Talk
If clouds could talk
in puffed up words
Or heavy purple phrases
Misty morning melodies
To tornado laden crazies
They’d loftily quote
Or drastically deluge
If clouds could talk.
~Julie Robinson
You have to be very persistent with any application for compensation from the VA. Your husband might also be eligible for aid and attendance benefits since he served during wartime. Both of these benefits from the VA were extremely important to my dad’s quality of life. He served during the Korean War.
Oh, and I love these clouds!
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Thank you. I will be very persistent.
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I love your art and I love your writing and can so relate to what you are writing about. My own younger brother is 100% physically challenged from Vietnam, and I too fear that he might be getting Dementia. He had a TBI and spinal injury and permanent PTSD.
Interestingly, I have PTSD from a lot of majorly traumatic things and years of severe bullying. I am 77 now and my significant other, Richard, takes care of me through my nightmares and panic or anxiety attacks. He goes to the VA too, and he is a very devoted person for me. I try really hard not to get out of control. I do art too, but more of fiber art and mixed media, and a lot of other art. I am a writer too – nonfiction. So I write on my blog at times too – allinadaysbreath.wordpress.com. I hope you will come and visit. I am now following you because there is so much of what you are writing that I can relate to. Thank you most kindly. Anne
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I will come visit your blog for sure. I believe the writing and sharing really helps all of us in difficult circumstances so that we keep faith and heart.
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Also, our art is a wonderful way to help ourselves. I do that for the most part, but it is the nightmarish parts I need help with. I am getting a lot of help from different sources, and I am sure someday I will be more or less ok again as I was before. Thank you for visiting my blog. I admire you for what you have done too. This is a genuine act of love. Young love is easy – we are all handsome and cute and we can do so many things, but loving us when we are seniors is a very different matter and that is true love for another for sure.
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Very true. The only true source and answer I have found is from up above.
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