by Paul Kaminsky
If you ask a blinded veteran if he/she has spoken
with a VIST Coordinator and the response is "What’s
a VIST Coordinator?" you should take the time to make your
fellow veteran aware of the benefits available to him/her through
the VA system.
A posting in our BVA Forum on the BVA website a
few months ago disturbed me. There was a similar posting from
a different person several weeks later. I responded to both inquiries
but remained bothered by the realization that a multitude of our
fellow blinded veterans are totally unaware of our organization
and equally unaware of the benefits available to them through
the Department of Veterans Affairs. The first inquiry is paraphrased
as follows:
"Dad is a 100 percent disabled Korean War veteran.
He is totally blind in one eye. Glaucoma and stroke have done
a lot of damage, leaving him with basic tunnel vision in the other
eye. About the time he had cataract surgery, a social worker sent
my parents a letter about evaluating my dad for something because
of his eyes. That has been almost two years and we still haven’t
heard from them. Is there anything that can be done to help him?
It is so hard to watch his struggle. He fell three times last
week outside. He is the type of person that just keeps going.
Is there anything that can be done to make my parents’ life
a little easier?"
Such inquiries and pleas for help are more common
than many of us think.
When I first retired from active duty, I immediately
filed for my VA compensation as a legally blinded veteran. I knew
that the VA benefits were going to be there for me because of
my close association with the Armed Forces for more than 30 years.
I had been given the time and resources during the course of my
career to learn about these benefits. Using my computer, I searched
for aids and equipment that would enhance the eyesight I still
had. I also attended clinics and low vision seminars in northeastern
Florida, attempting to do anything that would help me. When I
found something that I thought could help, I would head straight
to my VIST Coordinator to see if I could be evaluated for its
procurement and issuance.
At one such seminar I was seated next to a couple.
The husband suffered from macular degeneration. Eavesdropping
on their conversation, I heard them marvel over the devices being
discussed and demonstrated. After a while, someone in the audience
asked about the price of the items. The couple gasped, noting
that there was no way they could afford such an item. Although
the product would be perfect for him and could probably return
a portion of his quality of life that had been absent for several
years, it was way out of their price range.
I began talking with the couple and asked the man
if he was a veteran. He responded that he had been involved in
many Mediterranean battles of World War II. I then asked if had
ever talked with his VIST Coordinator about being evaluated for
any of these items. His response: "What’s a VIST Coordinator?"
Our area VIST Coordinator just happened to have
a table set up outside the seminar. I asked the couple if they
would mind if I introduced them to someone who could help them
obtain the item. To make a long story short, the gentleman is
now in the VIST program and is a member of BVA!
After that experience, I have made it a point to
ask individual after individual with a visual impairment, everywhere
I go, if he/she is a veteran. I subsequently started strutting
around with all of my prosthetic aids hanging from various parts
of my body: small pocket magnifier on a chain and a monocular
both around my neck; special glasses, Voicemate, and Quick-Look
attached to my belt; and white support cane in hand.
Where once I hid the fact that I was visually impaired
(stubborn pride), I now draw attention to myself in order to locate
legally blind veterans and then steer them in the direction of
the benefits they have earned through their service. I also encourage
them to join forces with our organization to insure that our benefits
are retained and increased as new technologies and remedies are
developed.
Let us continue asking the question of our fellow
blinded veteran: "Have you spoken with your VIST Coordinator
recently?" In the very near future, I hope the response returned
more often will be: "Sure have!"
Paul Kaminsky is presently the National Sergeant at Arms and
a District Director within the Florida Regional Group. He is last
year’s recipient of the David L. Schnair Volunteer Service
Award.
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