All vets know if you have ANY other health care don’t bother with the VA system where impossible wait times are standard. If you are able to get an apt? It is usually good treatment and often superior due to knowing more about vet’s health problems than anyone. “MY GAWD! someone actually died waiting treatment they never got? And gaming in the back room? I’M Shocked! SHOCKED!” More civil unfireable servants. Must always be considered the ulimate cost of war that lasts near forever families involved. Unfortunately the folks that die are WITHOUT other health care to access so must rely on an inadequate VA while this admin insures others with subsidy and injustice for all . Once IN THE SYSTEM with someone diagnosing and prescribing for condition? That’s different. Still a delay getting to a specialist. Admission changes it all to INPATIENT where treatment and release is the goal so don’t try to hang for lunch with AM release. If you get a teaching hospital with a civilian resident program it’s just amazing to have class of dermatologists razoring every bump and wart on your body. Never felt so clean in life but took months to get that. A new ENT resident from UTSA Med center across street program from Audi Murphey VA here peeked in my right ear in early 1980. gasped and ran for his chief. Saw an attic tympanic colestoma (text book stuff ) and they scheduled me for surgery. AF fiight surgeons missed it for near 20 years while it grew into my ear canal and eroded the skull to a sponge. Had about a thin MM of bone over the carotid artery they could see pulsing after peeled back my ear process to clean the bone infection. Did a bone graft as was a good blow away from a rupture, all she wrote. Woke up as he told us. “We saved your life but you lost your hearing”. My jaw dropped as none had really explained what I had. Made a fake eardrum and for about a year I could scratch it as a .50 cal hole. Now about .38 Special and all the bone back of skull filled in. So I appreciate the civilian corp mucho. Had a private MD referral from WellMed tell me I had same on left side 2 years back and fortunate he was dead wrong on testing. I don’t go back to him! I just get a new plastic button window when the old falls out to keep fluid from shutting me down 100% & Dorly hears the TV way up and schedules me.
Turns out the most active tissue in entire body is ear canal lining. Just lives to eject anything there making wax like mad. If a burst drum (I had them often altitude changes involved ) a piece of the skin invades and starts trapping gook in the pocket and destroys all it hits. They ID’d a tiny piece of the sturrip as all left. I was hearing due to liquid transmitting sound better than air. Thot I was faking my hearing tests with superhuman ear! Junk gone was deaf r side. LIfe deals funny hands from a rigged deck you eventually lose. Play along is only game in town. Good room serves drinks! 8