Aloha,
I served 8 years in the Army and I just got out and moved to Hawaii to use my Vocational Rehabilitation program at Hawaii Pacific University. I could use some personally tailored advice as to what to expect with my claim for compensation. My voc rehab request was approved rather quickly and I have been using the benefits without a hitch and doing well in school. However I am spooked about my claim for compensation. To start with the VA Date Stamp is 2011 May 31 but ebenefits reflects a different date which is 2011 October 17 which is the day after I ETS'ed. Will my back pay start at the end of November? Also, does anyone have an educated guess what my Award will be or how many more months before I receive my golden envelope?
Time Frame:
2011 may 31 submitted VA Form 21-526c BDD 6 months before ETS aka Honorable discharge
2011 may -july was sent to 5 different Doctors to re-examine what was already diagnosed in my medical records but they didn't re-exam me for my Radial Brachial Plexopathy or my sleep apnea
2011 october made ebenfits account to track progress site stated claim was received october 17 2011
2011 November already in review of evidence skipped some steps or did i do them while I was still Active duty
2012 Janurary 11th recieved letter from Kimberly Albers Veteran Service Center Manager apologizing about the wait gonna take a guess that she is not my rater and these come out automatically
2012 February moved to preparation for decision after 4 months
2012 April 16th recieved duplicate letter just dated april 16th
this is what the VA Rep at FT Sill claimed for me... I would not have claimed most of these so I am glad he filled out the papers for me
1 Sleep Apnea with CPAP 5-23-2011 I have the escape 2 with humidifier set at 12 and I included the receipt from the CPAP machine after I picked it up
2 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 4-6-2011
3 concussion 3-5-07 also put Headache Syndrome 12-22-09 under 3 to is that a mistake?
4 tinnitus 6-24-10
5 Elbow Sprain 12-08-08
6 radiation plexopathy 4-28-2011 i think it should be Radial Brachial Plexopathy the docs shoved steel needles in my arm and shocked me to confirm this but why radiation?
7 Esophegual Reflux 4-26-2011
8 CHest Wall Contusion 6-22-05
9 Hemorrhoids 9-2-2010 had surgery for this but they came back have internal and external but when they reexamined me they only found one internal so guessing it will be a 0%
10 shin splints 6-17-08
11 Costochondritis 1-18-08
12 Closed Fracture Ankle Right 9-22-08
13 Lymphadenopathy 3-26-08
14 Brochospasms 1-25-07
15 ureturitis chlamydia trachomatis 3-26-08
16 Hip Sprain Left 6-23-08
17 Cataract 09-12-08 when i was rexamined the optometrist said that my cataracts and stigmitisms were not SC but I am pretty sure it was but she writes the report eh?
18 Hearing Loss 10-22-07 issued hearing aids but was told this is not SC cuz army issues you hearing protection
19 Lumbago tuora columbar spine 10-22-07
20 Tumor in the neck 05-15-11 they found it in some gland in my neck by accident when they were examining a lesion on C8 did an FNA and found out its benign
My medical records are pretty thick so I am expecting a year total in wait time so Hopefully I will get My Envelope this october and a fat backpay check. I would like to thank everyone on here that served and especially those that continue to serve. My Voc Rehab contract is for a Masters in Social Work and upon completion I hope to work as a Voc Rehab Counselor in the VA. So again my question is really just what should I expect time and SC Award wise. Thanks again for reading my post and I really appreciate any advice.
