An Army veteran says that the Veterans Administration is denying him access to a surgery that would help him treat his medical condition. So instead, he’s turned to crowdsourcing to pay for his out-of-pocket medical costs.
In 2009, Brandon Donovan, 28, said that he began suffering from “debilitating stomach pain and nausea” when he ate and exercised.
“After years of going through any and all tests through the VA and being told each one came back normal and just trying to live with it, my health had deteriorated to a point where I had to push the VA to try to figure it out again, doing repeat tests early 2017,” Donovan, who’s based in Eugene, Oregon, wrote in a Facebook post. During that time period, he went from 160 pounds to 109 pounds.
The same year, Donovan went to a vascular surgeon, Dr. Richard Hsu, who diagnosed him with Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome, a rare condition that causes severe abdominal pain, reports FOX 8 Cleveland. Hsu also recommended surgery to treat the pain.
Donovan then said the VA denied the procedure twice. The first time, FOX 8 Cleveland reports that the VA claimed it has its own vascular surgeons. Donovan said the VA surgeons recommended he see Hsu because Hsu was more qualified. The second denial stated that Donovan did not have the proper billing code and “no evidence based information.”
“They try their hardest to get you the care, but they don’t follow through with it, and you will be forgotten if you don’t advocate for yourself,” Donovan told FOX.
On Tuesday, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden told NBC 16 that the VA has approved a consultation with Hsu, though it’s still not clear if Donovan’s surgery will be approved.
“Senator Wyden’s office is continuing to work with the VA and the veteran to bring this case to a successful resolution,” Wyden’s staff wrote in a statement to NBC 16.
For now, Donovan is raising money on GoFundMe to cover his medical costs and pay for his surgery. So far he’s raised $23,990 of his $80,000 goal.
“That’s how veterans slip through the cracks, remain untreated, and that’s how many veterans can revert to suicide … Feeling left, forgotten and overwhelmed. We have to change that,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
