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Vets share VA troubles at Hampton town hall meeting
http://hamptonroads.com/2014/09/vets-share-va-troubles-hampton-town-hall-meetingVets share VA troubles at Hampton town hall meeting
By Dianna Cahn
The Virginian-Pilot
© September 25, 2014
HAMPTON
One veteran said he waited a year and a half after biopsies of his lung and his lymph nodes to finally find out he has cancer.
Another said she can't get her pain medication because her doctor no longer works at the Hampton VA Medical Center, and staff physicians can't see her for weeks. In the meantime, hospital staff told her to go to the ER if she experiences narcotic withdrawal symptoms.
Still another was assaulted years ago when she was a young recruit in boot camp. When she finally went to the VA for help, a counselor listened to her painful story, but after baring her soul, she was left her to her own devices for months, waiting for a follow-up appointment.
"The VA is supposed to be there to help us," the woman told U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott during a town hall meeting in Hampton. "You open up these wounds and then you have no provisions to deal with it."