Saturday, October 22, 2011

And Now For Something Completely Different

We closed on the refinance on the house on Friday. Our renters are excited to be getting into the house in the next week or two. We are still waiting on word from the medical review board. Other than that, there is not much of interest to report.

As a break from the normal doom and gloom, here are a couple of limericks written this week. They made us laugh, and hopefully they'll bring a smile to your face as well.

Miss Gibbs really needs smiting,
The results will be totally frightening.
I'll release fire ants
To go up her pants,
Or maybe I'll strike her with lightening.

Poor Sarah is sad and alone,
So the DPR needs to come home.
He is on a quest
To go be a pest
Cuz Fort Sill needs to get pwned.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Self-important Drill Sergeants make life difficult

The refinance on the house is temporarily on hold until Lloyd is able to get the cadre at Fort Sill to play nicely long enough for him to get the necessary power of attorney (POA) paperwork set. Until the forms are signed, we can not move forward with the bank. We are praying that they let him keep his appointment for Tuesday. Nothing else new to report. Just a lot of the same old garbage.

Thanks for your prayers. God bless!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Keep Your Fingers Folded

Lloyd signed his packet earlier today. The medical review board has it and should give their decision in the next 3 weeks. A lot is riding on what they have to say about what percentage of disability they assign. (It goes in increments of 10%) As we understand it, it mostly can be summed up as one of two results at this point.

  1. Medical discharge: Disability rating 10% or 20%. Lloyd gets an honorable discharge, and his GI Bill pays for school. He files paperwork with the Veterans Administration, and (after they go through a whole different process) they send him a monthly check for his disability.
  2. Medical retirement: Disability rating 30% or higher. Lloyd gets an honorable discharge, and his GI Bill pays for school. He files paperwork with the Veterans Administration, and (after they go through a whole different process) they send him a monthly check for his disability. Additionally, he receives a military pension, continues medical insurance at very low annual cost, and gets a lot of other benefits of being a retired disabled veteran.
Obviously, medical retirement is the "better" of the two. It's also not very common for the review board to grant it with good reason. (Unless you're missing a limb or wheelchair bound of course.) We are praying that in Lloyd's case that they do. Of course, the long term financial benefit is there. However, there is a much larger aspect to it. The medical issues that Lloyd has that are directly related to his time in the service are significant. We are hopeful that some of the symptoms might get better with time and treatment, but there are no guarantees of that, and it could very well be that what he needs isn't covered and needs to be paid for out of pocket. The conditions as they are now are going to have an as of yet undetermined impact on what he is able to do. Finally, this is an official acknowledgement of what happened and its long term effect on our life. This factor is intangible, but that doesn't lessen its importance.

A lot is riding on these next few weeks, and we appreciate your continued prayers and support.

God Bless!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Pardon the Skepticism

Lloyd has gotten word from the folks at Fort Sill that they want to have everyone currently in his status cleared through the process and home within the next month, so we'll be praying that this happens. We'll believe it when he has his discharge orders in hand and his boots on the ground in Green Bay.

God bless!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Needed: Itching Powder

Things are starting to roll for the refinance on the house. It's taking longer than the bank had planned, but that's actually par for the course when dealing with the Sheffers. Paperwork always seems to get delayed for us. Provided there are no snags, we should be able to finish through it all within a week or two. We're just waiting to set the date for closing.

News out of Fort Sill hasn't been nearly as promising. After hearing that the NARSUM was ready for Lloyd's signature more than a week ago, he still hasn't been able to sign it, and he has no idea when he will be able to put  pen to paper. This is why we're always hesitant to celebrate when someone tells us that they have good news. We've gotten burned too often to get too excited. We're back to wishing unpleasant and uncomfortable things on people who aren't doing their job. (Current favorite is try to curse Miss Gibbs with an itch in a place that is socially unacceptable to scratch.)

Because we are still getting so many delays from Fort Sill, we are moving forward with relocation plans. Sure, there's a chance that they'll get the paperwork rolling. Sure, it's about as likely as a football team coming back from a 15 point deficit with 2 minutes to play in the game, but, it could happen. Realistically though, it's pretty unlikely that they're going to get everything together before the move happens. The house is starting to look pretty empty. There's still plenty to do, but it's really starting to feel real.

Charlie battery continues to be an unpleasant and frustrating place for Lloyd. The Blue Falcons have been out in full force, and there seems to be no stopping them. It has severely limited Lloyd's free time making it difficult for him to call home or have any chance to relax, and it's gotten much worse the last couple of weeks. In the past, when it was just a few days, Lloyd was able to keep his spirits up. It's getting much more difficult though as the weeks pass. Our prayer is that we catch a break and the stress eases up to allow us to restore our strength for whatever we have to face next.

God Bless!