Vietnam veteran shocked by unprofessional treatment at VA clinic

Mistreatment of veterans

I have been receiving eye care at a community care location for four years. My care consists specifically of injections that are injected into my right eye.

In April 2024, Veterans Affairs revoked the designation that allowed me to see my favorite doctor, forcing me to use an internal ophthalmologist instead. The one time I did let that doctor treat me, I was shocked that the VA would hire someone so immature and unprofessional.

Her answer to a simple question (“Are we almost done? I want to compare the process to where I used to go.”) was “Done? Uh… hmmm… I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”

That attitude made me angrier than I have been in decades. Treating veterans is an honor and a privilege, not a failed exercise in humor by some warm-body hire. I refuse to go there again for my eye photos.

The VA’s response is that because they have a resident doctor with that specialty, I MUST go to the clinic here in Akron. I think I’m gradually going blind, and the VA doesn’t seem to care.

The government has billions of dollars to fund the war in Ukraine, but can’t find the money to fund eye care for a Vietnam veteran? My last shot was due 90 days ago, and the VA has dug in their heels and continues to pressure me to go to Stokes Clinic in Akron.

I simply refuse to accept substandard care from a doctor who should NOT be treating veterans because she doesn’t understand that we deserve the best care possible, not a lower standard of care. Have other veterans experienced this?

Eddie Vidmar, Akron

An abnormal situation

I am writing in response to the article “People or goods” of July 7.

I hope to clarify two things: First, I want Angie Bergmann and every woman who has experienced an ectopic pregnancy to know that an ectopic pregnancy is an abnormal or diseased condition. The fertilized embryo cannot develop here and can cause the woman’s fallopian tube to burst, putting her life in danger.

Doctors understand this and recognize that she needs to be treated. They do not consider that treatment an abortion, and the procedure is not illegal in any state, and never will be. If the child were to continue to grow inside the woman’s body outside the womb, both would die, and therefore it is and always will be legal to separate the child from the mother to ensure the best possible outcome for both.

Second, there needs to be more education about fertility awareness to help couples who are having trouble conceiving. Women need to advocate for their health by working with their physicians to better understand what their bodies are doing and how to best treat serious issues, such as autoimmune diseases, that manifest during pregnancy. Physicians should strive to be fully informed about these topics in order to provide the best possible care for their patients.

Sarah McGervey, Executive Director, Right to Life of Northeast Ohio

Biden has not abandoned us

The Democrats have bought into a culture of image over substance. It’s not just hair, teeth and sound bites, it’s character.

Many, many average Americans didn’t even know that Franklin D. Roosevelt had polio — for years. He got the services he needed and went on to become the nation’s longest-serving president, and one of its most admired.

Do we all know older family members who have started to falter? Sure. We also know older people who are still running marathons, running businesses, and holding other leadership positions around the world.

This was an opportunity to change the narrative of just images, take a stand on content, and fight back against ageism. Joe didn’t fail us. We failed Joe.

Julie S. Nan, Kent

The main road

I hope that the majority of Americans who watched the televised announcement of President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race also noticed the reaction of former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio.

Instead of graciously accepting Biden’s decision and wishing him the best in his future endeavors, the two Republicans immediately went on the attack with vengeful, mean-spirited comments about Biden and the Democrats who could take his place on the ticket.

I hope that voters who support Trump and his ilk will think twice about whether they really want people who cannot behave like decent human beings, even in such a tense situation, to run this country.

Those who are willing to vote for a convicted felon who acts like a spoiled 2-year-old when he doesn’t get his way, and attacks those who oppose him when they put their country above personal gain, do not deserve to hold the highest office in the land in my opinion.

Laurel Gress, Guilford Township

Rhetoric led to this

We shouldn’t be surprised that someone tried to assassinate Donald Trump. When people at the highest levels of government, along with many media figures and social influencers, repeatedly call him Hitler and an existential threat to our democracy, they should expect that a deranged person would take their word for it and try to remove that threat.

If you really believe that someone is really Hitler, wouldn’t it be patriotic to do whatever it takes to prevent that person from becoming president? Don’t the media that spreads these inflammatory and irresponsible accusations also bear some responsibility for their actions?

Despite his calls to tone down political rhetoric, President Joe Biden refuses to acknowledge his role in using such extremist language in relation to Trump. Worse, he continues to call Trump a threat to democracy.

It is despicable of Biden and his cronies to use such extreme and inflammatory language in the first place. It is even more despicable that they continue to do so after Trump was nearly assassinated.

Those who support and vote for a person like Biden also bear some responsibility for creating an atmosphere where some people take actions like Thomas Crooks did. Therefore, we should not be surprised that someone tried to assassinate Donald Trump.

Terry Walrath, Hinckley

Violent words

At a 2016 rally in Sioux Center, Iowa, Donald Trump said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose a single vote, OK?” The audience laughed.

“It’s unbelievable,” Trump said.

He and the Republican Party used violence and dared to blame the Democrats for the attempted assassination.

Dennis Maneval, Green

This article originally appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal: Vietnam veteran shocked by unprofessional treatment at VA clinic