Hi,
I need help.
I am a healthcare worker that stopped working five years ago because my fungal infections kept getting worse, and were unresponsive to oral and topical antifungal.
I am also former military, and the VA only treats "service connected" diagnoses.
My active duty records are sparse. When we needed care, we asked a coworker. I do have documented admissions for IV fluids due to illness (*strep?). In 1988 there is also a note that shows a false positive Tb skin test. I have a red spot in the same spot on my arm right now that looks identical to the one from 1988, but have had no test for Tb since 1988. All subsequent chest X-rays were always clear.
When I got poison oak I treated it like poison oak , and wondered how I got exposed. When I got jock itch I treated it like jock itch , and when I got Ringworm I treated it like ringworm . None of the aforementioned maladies improved with the medically prescribed treatment for them . Only time and a reduction of stressors helped make them disappear .
It is quite clear now that psoriasis was the cause of all of the above. (*or did i somehow mystically get poison oak, ringworm, and jock itch all together without exposure last January?) Topical corticosteroids relieve a lot of the itching and pain , and the plaques shine under woods lamp . The diagnosis also explains the periodic thickening and cracking skin I get on my elbows and knees which is painful to pick.
I need help to show that the psoriasis existed while I was on active duty so that I can obtain appropriate medical treatment through the VA for its consequences . Like any large bureaucracy , the VA is rather obtuse in making the logical connections that I have described for you allowing them to see the psoriasis as part of my service to our country .
I need a "big gun" to point at the VA and send them a letter that states " having read the available medical literature and reviewed his medical history, it is more likely than not that Brent Stuart Ferguson's psoriasis was derived from his time serving active-duty for the US Army. "
This administrative letter will be entered into my record and seen by no one other than the VA administrative staff . The veterans administration will not be contacting the writer and he will not be called to question for his statement . The sole cost to the person who assists me with this letter is the time they invest in writing and sending it to me.
Unfortunately time is of the essence, as the VA has my case under review right now . It would be greatly beneficial if the writer of such a letter could email it to me at [email protected] , preferably as a signed off file.
Thank you very much for your time reading my request . If you cannot write such a letter with the kind of authority that can move the VA to action , please either direct this request to someone who can or direct me to someone who can .
Sincerely, Brent S Ferguson