First a huge thank you to everyone who continues to share and sign the petition. We’re almost to 1000 signatures!
Jolly’s procedure on Wednesday went well. He did have a bit of a reaction during but is feeling better today. We got the denial from the VA caregiver program in the mail after we got home from his appointment. I had a feeling it was coming even though I’m quite literally his full time caregiver, VA programs like this are specifically built to deny the majority of claims and get vets caught up in the bureaucracy of the appeals process hoping they give up somewhere along the way. In fact 88% of all claims for the VA caregiver assistance program are denied and the vast majority of those are post 9/11 veterans.
Right now Jolly is at the VA for his C&P appointment for the current claim. Typically I go to all his appointments with him but this one is for mental health and he asked that I take him to the appointment and let him go in alone. These appointments are always very trying so I’m planning to take him and the kids out to do something fun as soon as it’s over.
Even though there’s a lot still going wrong right now for the first time since he got home from deployment I have real hope. I’m continuing to collect and sort through the hundreds of pages of paperwork, medical records, documents, emails and pictures that I have saved over the last nearly nine years. I’ve gotten messages from nearly a dozen other veterans on this deployment all facing health issues and continued VA denials.
This isn’t only about Jolly—it’s about a larger question of how we, as a nation, treat our service members and veterans. If we allow these issues to be ignored, if we accept the gaslighting and the denials, then we are failing in our most fundamental duty. What happened on the USS Boxer, and what has happened since, should deeply concern every American who values the sacrifices made by our military service members.
If you were on the USS Boxer in 2016 and have any documentation or details to add in the pursuit of accountability please email me at ashleygonos@outlook.com
With love and eternal gratitude,
Ash