by Terry Moakley
When I became an individual with a physical disability in the late 1960s—a level C-6 quadriplegic as the result of a spinal cord injury—I was fortunate to go through an outstanding rehab program. By the time I left the VA Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Center nearest my home, I was able to provide some of my personal care, dress myself, move safely from my wheelchair to my bed and vice versa, drive my car, etc.
I was pretty independent back then, but still from the day I was discharged from the SCI Center, I needed a trained caregiver for a couple of hours per day, three times each week.
When my job took me out of town, I simply planned ahead by hiring a nurse or a nursing assistant and renting any needed medical equipment from a company in the city to which I was traveling. No sweat. I did this all the time, including for some fun and much-needed vacations.
I was also very lucky to have found some excellent caregivers over the years. The first nursing assistant I hired was with me for six years, and he left my employ to take care of his ailing spouse. Three other health professionals worked with me for 10, 13 and 16 years respectively. They were all wonderful people who became my friends as well.
Today, I’m not as independent as I used to be, but I can still come and go as I please, and I stay out of my spouse’s hair by serving on three Boards of Directors, including VetsFirst. Mostly, I’m blessed with a terrific wife who believes, “you take care of the one you love.” My lovely spouse is my primary caregiver and she provides tender, loving care every single day.
All caregivers, however, need a break, and many need critical supports like counseling and respite care. To help caregivers, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed “The Caregiver Assistance and Resource Enhancement Act,” H.R. 3155, and the U.S. Senate has passed “The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act,” S. 1963.
Both bills contain language that would provide critical supports for caregivers of our nation’s severely disabled veterans, yet both have undesirable limitations: the House bill provides stipends and medical care only for caregivers of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans, with the authority to provide those benefits sunseting on October 1, 2012; and the Senate bill, while providing a full range of benefits for primary caregivers, only makes them available for caregivers of seriously disabled veterans who entered military service on or after September 11, 2001.
The House and Senate must each pass a bill with the same language before caregivers can get the help they need. A compromise is pretty obvious to me: a full range of caregivers benefits must be available to the caregivers of all seriously disabled veterans of all wartime periods, and without any sunset provisions. Please write to your Congressional representative and both of your Senators today to advocate this outcome. The caregivers of seriously disabled veterans have earned these benefits as much as their loved ones.
