From The Buffalo News in New York Sept. 30:Delonne J. Scharf (pictured) has lost a lot in his service to the United States.
Now the 64-year-old disabled Vietnam War-era veteran from West Valley may face life-or-death consequences because the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system, he says, is overwhelmed by returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I want other veterans to know what I have gone through. Maybe it will help someone else,” said Scharf, who Thursday finally won a battle to have the VA pay for follow-up cancer surgery and tests at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
In two weeks, when the procedures are performed, he says, he will know for sure whether his cancer has spread.
Scharf said that Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Buffalo imposed repeated delays in providing him care and that he never once saw a VA cancer specialist after he first complained of a lump below his right ankle in May.
His story of delays is a familiar one, according to the Disabled American Veterans, a Washington, D. C., veterans advocacy group. “It sounds like Mr. Scharf has been caught up in the funding system,” said Thom Wilborn, an official of the group, explaining that toward the end of the federal fiscal year in September, medical procedures and referrals are sometimes delayed.
“Without Congress’ approval of a funding plan, the VA is forced to reduce its health care services,” Wilborn said.
Although Scharf signed and hand-delivered a release authorizing the VA to respond to his complaints, VA spokeswoman Evangeline E. Conley on Friday declined to discuss his situation, explaining that it has been the VA’s long-standing policy to refrain from publicly discussing patient cases.
Scharf said he found himself in unfamiliar territory when the VA began delaying his treatment. For decades since the Air Force veteran lost his right eye and sense of smell in a service-related motorcycle accident in Spain, he said, the VA provided him excellent health care.
“They have great doctors, but they’re overcrowded,” Scharf said of the increased workload the VA faces with newly returning wounded veterans.
According to the military, an estimated 33,000 service members have suffered injuries, and thousands of them have filtered into VA hospitals across the country.
It’s an increase that local VA officials have acknowledged when announcing ways to improve keeping up with the demand for services. For Scharf, the increase hit home when he was told that the soonest he could receive an MRI was in late July.
The scan, he said, determined that surgery was needed. That was scheduled for about two months later. Scharf and his wife, Patricia, began complaining.“I asked them why they couldn’t get me in sooner, and they said they were filled right up,” Scharf said.
A VA doctor in Buffalo, he said, confided to him that if Scharf were a patient in his private practice, care would be delivered a lot faster.
Scharf’s complaints about delays appear to be confirmed by copies of his medical records he provided to The Buffalo News. A July 31 report from Dr. Bhaskar Bhattacharyya states: “[Scharf] is strongly adamant about having it removed ASAP, however it was explained to the patient that availability is an issue for podiatric surgery. Given that fact, patient will be sent to Dr. [Mark] Finkelstein to see if surgery schedule can be accommodated for patient.”
Patricia Scharf said VA doctors explained to her “that we have some [patients] who are more serious than your husband, and we have to see them first.”But the complaining cut the wait for surgery. On Aug. 15, a VA surgeon removed a tangerine- size section from Delonne Scharf’s right foot. A body scan was then scheduled for five weeks later to determine whether the cancer had gone into his lymph nodes.
That’s when the husband and wife, frustrated at more waiting, began seeking a VA referral to Roswell Park.
Patricia Scharf said the referral was denied because of the costs.
“I said they have doctors at Roswell and that’s all they do is treat melanoma,” she said. “The VA doctor told me he didn’t think we could get a referral because it would cost the VA thousands of dollars.”
Desperate, they went to Roswell Park anyway, as Delonne Scharf’s health began to slip. He said he lost 30 pounds, was sleeping all the time and was filled with anxiety. His relatives, seeking help, sent out e-mails and posted messages on an Internet site. The Scharfs also kept calling the VA.
Thursday, the pressure paid off. “I’m doing a whole lot better,” Scharf said. “The VA just called and told me they’re giving me the referral.”
Friday, he was at Roswell Park getting preoperative tests.
He says he won’t know for sure whether he is cancer-free until he undergoes the additional surgery in two weeks, but whatever happens, he wants to let the public know how he was treated by the VA.
His hope, he says, is that other veterans with serious illnesses are not forced to accept what he believes is government-rationed health care.
“They can spend the money over in Iraq,” Scharf said, “but they can’t spend the money to help the veterans. My story may help somebody down the line by getting priorities straight.”