美国国家公共电台 NPR Veterans Urge Changes Before Expansion Of VA Caregivers Program

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

When wounded troops come home from the battlefield, they often need full-time¹ care. And more often than not, that comes from a family member. The VA has been giving these caregivers a stipend² to help offset³ the costs for families. But now some vets⁴ are getting kicked off the program, vets like Matt Lammers, who lost both his legs and an arm in the Iraq War back in 2007. Recently the government decided⁵ that he and his wife no longer qualify for support, in part because of Matt's behavior. As NPR's Quil Lawrence reports, their story brings up questions like which veterans deserve support and how long should they get it?

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE⁶: At times, Matt Lammers looks like he doesn't need anyone's help.

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: In the No. 1 position, Matt Lammers, from the Army.

(APPLAUSE)

LAWRENCE: This summer at the Pentagon's Warrior⁷ Games in Tampa, Lammers competed in sitting volleyball, swimming and indoor rowing.

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: The results of round one.

LAWRENCE: He rigged a brace⁸ to hold down the stumps⁹ of his legs while he hauls with his one remaining arm, flinging his whole torso backward against the rowing machine.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Final results.

LAWRENCE: He won his race, and at the end of the games, the U.S. Army gave him the Heart of the Team Award. It's a title you could also give to Matt's wife, Alicia, who he says did what it took to get him here.

MATT LAMMERS: I'd honestly say - not to be smart, but - the question's more, what doesn't she do? Because she does so much.

LAWRENCE: Back at their hotel room, Matt Lammers makes a list.

M LAMMERS: She helps me shower, in all honesty. Clipping my nails. That's a huge one. I - we don't like saying the word can't in our family. However, that's something that I really can't do with one arm. She helps me transfer my wheelchair, drives me to my appointments.

ALICIA LAMMERS: It's a way to support each other. His goals became my goals.

LAWRENCE: Alicia Lammers has been her husband's caregiver for much of the past eight years with a stipend from the VA. And Matt can be difficult. He's tough to take care of.

A LAMMERS: Not just the physical disability. We're talking about the mental disabilities, too, that is very challenging. It's an everyday - it's a constant change.

M LAMMERS: Reminding me of why we're still in the fight, why we still go on. Why we never give up. She does a lot. Without her, I don't know where I'd be at this point, just after all of my mistakes in the past.

LAWRENCE: And he has made mistakes. He's had trouble with drugs. He's abused his wife and others, sometimes physically¹⁰. He's mistreated VA staff. He's no poster child, except maybe for survival, and for how much worse it could be without the help of a spouse¹¹ willing to make taking care of him a full-time mission. Caregivers say the VA program validates¹² their sacrifice. That's why it was so devastating¹³ last December when VA kicked Alicia off the program. In a letter, the VA in Fayetteville, N.C., said Matt had made no significant improvements since 2011 and hadn't consistently engaged in treatment.

A LAMMERS: I feel, like, a stab in the back - like what I do is not worth it in their opinion, like I'm not part of their team like I thought I was.

LAWRENCE: They're not alone in their frustration¹⁴. The caregiver program has been overwhelmed by applications from its creation in 2011. It's been administered inconsistently with some VAs purging¹⁵ huge numbers from their rolls. Media coverage¹⁶ by NPR and others has driven the VA to freeze all removals twice in the past two years, most recently, in December, after Senator Patty Murray pressed VA Secretary Robert Wilkie at a hearing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PATTY MURRAY: We're hearing that this is a continuing problem in the VA's management of this program.

ROBERT WILKIE: I am going to do everything I can to make sure everybody stays in the program. It's that important to me, personally.

LAWRENCE: Following that hearing, Secretary Wilkie halted all removals from the program. That was December 20, six days too late for Matt and Alicia Lammers. They had just moved from Arizona to near Fayetteville. A letter from the Fayetteville VA dated December 14 kicked them off the program. Fayetteville also denied their appeal in the spring and then rejected Alicia's brand-new application on June 28. Her response...

A LAMMERS: I'm not leaving. I'm still with him, and I'm still going to do what I do.

LAWRENCE: The Fayetteville VA told NPR that the program was, quote, "no longer in his best interest. He refused to follow his care plan, seriously endangering his health and that of those around him." The bottom line appears to be Matt Lammers' past abusive behavior. That's what drove the Fayetteville VA to drop his wife, Alicia, from the program. The Lammers' case, says Sherman Gillums with the group AMVETS, highlights a faulty assumption from the start of the caregiver program.

SHERMAN GILLUMS: That VA would argue sometimes it was never meant to be a permanent program. Well, amputations and paralysis¹⁷ are permanent conditions.

LAWRENCE: Gillums is a former Marine¹⁸ who's paraplegic. He's on the VA's advisory¹⁹ board for the caregiver program. He says it was created as a short-term, recovery-based intervention²⁰, and that's not the reality for some vets.

GILLUMS: It's not about recovery. It's about sustaining your life. That person is going to be a part of the caregiving function for that individual for the rest of his or her life in some way, shape or form. Even if they're cut off from the program, they're still needing that care.

LAWRENCE: Gillums says the program needs to accept the reality that catastrophically injured vets may always need help.

GILLUMS: So when you hear about a triple amputee who's not going to the hospital or keeping appointments, and that's the standard by which you judge whether caregiver support will be given, I think it's wrong.

LAWRENCE: VA told NPR it understands that some program participants may always need a caregiver, but even those veterans need to stick with their treatment plan. For now, VA has reached out and encouraged Matt and Alicia Lammers to follow their care plan and then reapply in six months. And they say they will, but it still hurts that the VA said Matt hasn't improved in eight years.

M LAMMERS: All three of my limbs are still amputated, as they were June 10, 2007. Those have not grown back.

A LAMMERS: I still have to help him. I still have to drive him. I still have to take him to appointments.

M LAMMERS: And I wouldn't change anything for the world. I'm not complaining, and I don't get hung up on injuries.

A LAMMERS: I'm still going to do it, even if you pay me or not.

M LAMMERS: But what exactly do they expect from us triple amputees, single amputees, paras? I can't really comprehend that.

LAWRENCE: They agree Matt is doing better right now than he has in years. But the Lammers say that's not the point. At his best and at his worst, it shouldn't matter. They've earned it, and they need the help.

Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Tampa.

1 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

2 stipend   

n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金

参考例句：

• The company is going to ajust my stipend from this month onwards.从这一个月开始公司将对我的薪金作调整。
• This sum was nearly a third of his total stipend.这笔钱几乎是他全部津贴的三分之一。

3 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

4 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

8 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

9 stumps   

（被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分

参考例句：

• Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
• If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆，如果你不快走，上学又要迟到了。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

12 validates   

v.证实( validate的第三人称单数 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Other research validates that when it comes to chocolate, type does matter. 其他的研究也证实了不同种类的巧克力确实功效不同。 来自互联网
• Trouble shoots equipment, review and validates data and complete reports. 管理错误描述设备，审查并确认试验数据，完成试验报告。 来自互联网

13 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

14 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

15 purging   

清洗； 清除； 净化； 洗炉

参考例句：

• You learned the dry-mouthed, fear-purged, purging ecstasy of battle. 你体会到战斗中那种使人嘴巴发干的，战胜了恐惧并排除其他杂念的狂喜。
• Purging databases, configuring, and making other exceptional requests might fall into this category. 比如清空数据库、配置，以及其他特别的请求等都属于这个类别。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

16 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

17 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

18 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

19 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

20 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。