'They don't stand by me now'

[Guest guest]

'They don't stand by me now' Former Plymouth soldier disputes lack of benefits

after illness.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061226/News01/61226\

0368

IDA CHIPMAN

Tribune Correspondent

PLYMOUTH -- Bradley Brown seemed to be perfect for the Army.

He was strong and athletic, having run track and played football and basketball

at LaVille High School.

After his graduation in May 2004, his ambition was to serve his country.

He hoped to make it a career-long commitment. He would qualify

for the G.I. Bill and when, honorably discharged, go into some form of law

enforcement.

After a series of short factory jobs, Brown enlisted in the Army on Nov. 9,

2005.

" Being in wartime, it made me nervous, " said his mom, Sheila Annis. " But I knew

he always wanted to serve our country, and I supported him in his decision. "

Brown passed the physicals in the MEP Center in Chicago with flying colors, she

said.

Sent to Fort Sill, Okla., he trained with fellow soldiers doing the routine

things -- marching with 100-pound backpacks and qualifying on obstacle courses.

On Dec. 3, 2005, Brown went to the Army doctor, complaining of severe back

strain.

Brown said the doctor gave him an anti-inflammatory nonsteroid prescription for

Naproxen and shot dye into his veins for radiographic (X-ray) studies.

The results had not come back by Dec. 8, 2005, when the troops went home on

Christmas leave.

Brad was sick. He was dizzy, had hot flashes, pain and a sore throat.

On Dec. 19, his mother took him to the emergency room in the Saint ph

Regional Medical Center, Plymouth, where he was initially diagnosed with a

urinary infection and strep throat. He said he was given an I.V. with

antibiotics and sent home.

By Christmas Eve, Brown was no better. Back at the hospital, a kidney infection

was suspected, and he was hydrated with a stronger dose of meds, he said.

The blood vessels in his eyes ruptured. Back in the emergency room, the doctor

on duty diagnosed Brown's condition as acute renal failure, as much as 75

percent. " Where do you want to go? " the E.R. doctor asked him.

" What do you mean? Why? " Brown said.

" You're dying, " the doctor replied.

Hours later that night, two days after Christmas, the young soldier was taken by

ambulance to Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis. His fiancée,

Burnside, a junior at Saint 's College, rode in the ambulance with

him. His mom followed behind.

The tissues in his body swelled. During the ride to the Indianapolis hospital,

his blood pressure shot up to dangerous heights. Brown, heavily sedated with

morphine, doesn't remember the first four days of his hospital stay, from Dec.

27 to Jan. 9. He was in complete kidney failure.

Dr. Hellman, an IU kidney specialist, did a biopsy and has said Brown

will need a kidney transplant.

He says he has some stuttering and short-term memory loss. Out of work for 11

months, he finally got a job last month with the Elkhart Correctional Facility.

'The Army broke him'

At home in Plymouth, Brown and his mom can't help but feel they've been betrayed

by the Army.

They say the Army ruined his kidneys and, even worse, has turned its back on

him.

" The Army broke him -- my 20-year-old-son -- threw him out, sent him back to me

and refuses to pay his medical expenses or give him any benefits from injuries

incurred in the service, " Annis said.

Given an " uncharacterized discharge, " handed out to individuals during their

first 180 days of military service, Brown was released from the Army on Jan. 30.

He was paid no back wages. In fact, the time he was in the hospital and the two

weeks of recuperation at home were deducted from his paycheck. His mother said

the family had to pay his travel expenses back to Fort Sill.She said Brown has

no military medical benefits and no insurance, with the exception of Medicaid,

which he will receive on Feb. 1.

Annis works in human resources for a Bremen company. To her, it is inconceivable

that an employer -- in this case, the Army -- could refuse to compensate an

employee whose illness or injury occurred on the company's premises.

Brown has been diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy -- Berger's disease -- with acute

tubular necrosis, a kidney disorder involving damage to the renal tubule cells.

His disease is an autoimmune disorder that can be caused by a number of things,

two of which are reactions to dye used for radiographic studies and nonsteroid

anti-inflammatory medication.

But the military services apparently aren't like other employers.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld special protections for the military, so the

government can't be sued for injuries resulting from the negligence of others in

the armed services.

It's called the Feres Doctrine, resulting from a 1950 case in which an Army

lieutenant died in a barracks fire and his family sued for damages.The argument,

basically, is that the military cannot be held to the same standards of care and

safety because the preparation for war itself is a dangerous act. So the

government has its own procedures for determining which claims should be upheld.

Typically, the first step would be to file a claim with the county veterans

services officer.

Stapan, the Marshall County veterans service officer, could not confirm

whether Brown filed such a claim.

" I'm not at liberty to discuss cases, " he said.

But typically, a veteran with an injury can file a claim through his office,

which sends the file along to the department of Veteran Affairs, he said.

Once the VA issues its decision, appeals can be filed. Depending on the issues,

he said, it may take a couple of months or a year to resolve the case.

In addition to being denied help from the military for his medical expenses,

Brown also was denied access to the GI Bill. The premise was that his medical

condition existed before induction, Annis said.

Debate over benefits

Brown's family doctor, Dr. Tripp, disagrees strenuously.

Tripp sent a letter to the VA saying he has cared for Brown for the past 12

years and " that he did not have any previous kidney disease. "

Annis said Brown has sought help from his congressman, but he received no reply.

U.S. Rep. Chocola lost in his re-election campaign in November. His office

is closed, and his staff was unavailable for comment.

A new congressman, Joe Donnelly, doesn't take office until January.

Annis said the message she's getting is that Brown doesn't qualify for help

because his injury and illness occurred so soon after his enlistment.

In its rating decision of Oct. 31, the Department of Veterans Affairs admits a

connection between Brown's service in the military and his kidney disease.

But still, there is no compensation.

Brown and Annis had worked through the Amvets organization as well in filing the

claim.

Feeling that the Army has turned its back on her son -- and because he was still

a minor -- she has appealed the decision on his behalf.

When Annis decided to pursue an appeal, Amvets objected.

" ly, I think you are getting ready to mess up, and I choose not to be a

part of a battle where a veteran's mother is doing the arguing, " LaMonte

Crenshaw, Amvets national service officer, wrote in a Nov. 15 letter.

" We are going to appeal, " Annis said, " and, of course, like any other parent, I

am going to represent my child. "

She's following the procedures and hasn't hired a lawyer. " We're trying to do

everything politically correctly, " she said.

Still, she wonders how many young men and women have been damaged and discarded

by the military.

" I don't know how this is allowed, " she said. " I sent them a perfectly healthy

child. Now we have a broken one. "

Brown is maintaining some kidney function, with the help of fish oil

supplements. But, at some point, it's likely he'll need a transplant, Annis

said.

But Brown also is almost destitute. He says he owes on car payments and other

loans, and his medical bills will amount to an estimated half-million dollars.

Staff writer Ken Bradford contributed to this report.

Randi J. Airola, © 517-819-5926

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