Battalion is Cleared! (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 291

This morning’s formation was at the gym as usual because it’s Tuesday. I came in ACUs because I’m out-processing. Once accountability was over, I headed to my car and drove to the WTB parking lot. I then listened to the radio, slept, and then ate breakfast. At 0800 I had an NCM appointment…nothing new and no refills needed. I then went to the SFAC to check my army email and print off some application paperwork that I need for a job I’m applying for out in the real world.

I went to S-3 to out-process and the guy is there! I’m always pleasantly surprised when something actually works out in the army. After he signed my clearing paperwork and took down some information, I headed to my last stop at S-1. I signed in on the sheet and waited in the lobby. After about 10 minutes or so they brought me back and had me first see the meal card guy. I have never had a meal card, so he signed my paperwork and took me to another lady in the office. This lady signed a few things, then told me to go back outside and sign in on the finance sheet. I did so, and waited for another 10 minutes or so. The finance lady came out and took me back to her office. She signed off on my clearing paperwork and then I went back to the office lady I saw previously. She signed another portion and then took me to the battalion commander. He signed my clearing paperwork and then the office lady made a copy for her records. I have to come back and bring a copy of my installation clearing paperwork as well as a copy of my DD-214. She then turned me loose…I’m now officially out-processed from battalion! This is a great feeling…I’m one step closer to actually getting out of here!

I then drove home and did schoolwork. I had lunch and then chatted with SPC Mac for a while. He just received his leave form and battalion out-processing paperwork…and he’s excited as well.

A Little Clearing - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 283

On the way out of Waller Hall...not sure what's going on with that hair!

I headed to morning formation in my ACUs because I’m officially out-processing now. It’s so nice not even paying attention to whatever the first sergeant is saying. I just wait until after accountability and leave. I went back to my car and slept until about 0800. I ate breakfast in my car, then went into the SFAC and checked my army email. I went to the mailroom to try and clear, but there is nobody there…yet again. Clearing would be easy if everyone was where they are supposed to be.

I went to Madigan and cleared from out-patient records. I had to fill out some paperwork and they will mail me my records. I then went to WTB and cleared from the VA rep. I checked the supply room, but nobody was there…again. I then drove to Waller Hall and cleared from EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program). It just seems to me that with today’s technology, they should be able to query a database and only list places we actually need to clear from. It would see that I don’t have anyone in the EFMP program and then not even list it as a place I need to go. There are a number of steps that would be taken out of this stupid process.

I then drove home and did schoolwork. I received a text stating that my orders are ready for pickup at Waller Hall. Unfortunately it’s about 2 hours late, or else I would have picked them up today. I’ll be sure to get them tomorrow. I spent the rest of the evening watching college basketball on WatchESPN…that is until my wife came home and we went to the YMCA to get a little cardio in.

JAG - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 259

Headed to morning formation in ACUs because I had a 0700 appointment with my PCM. Once accountability was over I went back to my car and quickly ate breakfast. I then went to my 0700 appointment with my PCM. I let her know I was doing pretty good except for the 3 day spell earlier this week. I had her put in prescriptions as usual for my pain medication, then left. I had a 0800 acupuncture appointment at the pain clinic. This went as usual, first walking on the hard plastic rocks in my socks and then laying on my back and getting poked in my forehead, wrists, hands, shins, ankles and feet. One the needles were all in, the relaxing music was on and the lights off, I pretty much just relaxed and slept for most of the time.

After my appointment, I headed to my chiropractic appointment which was pretty quick. The doc just had me lay down while he did his manipulation on my neck. After that was over, I headed to the hospital pharmacy and picked up all my refills and prescriptions. The pharmacy was of course busy, I had to wait for a while…luckily I had my iPhone to keep me entertained.

I had lunch in my car and then waited for my 1230 physical therapy appointment for my positive profile. This is something that just appeared out of the blue on my appointment sheet. My NCM said it was located on the 8th floor of the hospital, but that was all I knew. I wandered around for a bit until someone finally showed me where the office was located. Once there I spoke with the physical therapist for a while. We went over all of my issues, then she took measurements on my range of motion with my legs, arms and neck. She also did some resistance test and logged everything in her computer. I guess I’ll get an updated positive profile in a week or so. A positive profile basically states what I can do versus what I can’t do.

After this appointment I headed back to my car and took a nap. I then went to the JAG office. While in the waiting room I received a text from my squad leader stating that I had to do staff duty on Monday. I really hate this place and I hate staff duty. This just really pissed me off. I did find out later that I would only have to do it from 0800 to 1600, this is much better…but I was still pretty pissed. I hate the short notice and I also hate that I was told that everyone only has staff duty about once every three months. I just had one about a month ago, so this really sucks!

At JAG I spoke with a lawyer that specializes in the medboard process. My PEBLO suggests that everyone have JAG look over the findings and make sure everything looks good. I was fine with my findings and the lawyer just wanted to make sure I was fine with getting out of the army…of course I am…I can’t wait…I’m done with all this stupid shit. After JAG gave their blessing I went straight to my PEBLO and signed all the paperwork. I was going to wait until Monday which was my final day, but after the staff duty text, all I wanted to do was get this process started and get the hell out of the army.

I headed home after signing everything. I was told the next step will have me put into transition processing. Once this is done I’ll get a call from my PEBLO and she will give me a date for my retirement brief that I’ll attend. At this brief I’ll find out all the steps that I’ll need to do before getting out. The max for getting into transition processing is 30 days, but my PEBLO said it can be as short as a week.

Tonight just my girls came over to stay the weekend, my son has the flu and is feeling pretty sick. We had a great homecooked meal and then watched a couple of movies that arrived via Netflix. The first was Charlie Bartlett, which was a comedy about a rich privileged student who gets kicked out of private school and must attend a public school. It was pretty good and kept my girls entertained. The second movie of our double feature was Untraceable, which was a thriller about an FBI agent who is trying to track and capture a villain who is killing people and broadcasting it live on the internet. This movie was also decent, it kept everyone entertained.

Sergeant’s Time Training…No Thanks - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 258

Headed to morning formation at 0630 in winter PTs. They do all the general announcements as usual and since it’s Thursday, there is sergeant’s time training at 0900. Luckily I have an appointment at 1000, which I of course need to arrive 15 minutes early to…so I will not even be attending the stupid training. I really can’t wait to get out of the army and back into normal life as a civilian doing a civilian job. I did the warm ups with the group for PT, but once we started walking I just walked straight into the building. If anyone stopped me to ask, I was going to let them know I had to take a piss…which i did. I then just headed to my car, it’s cold out and I was in a bad mood already.

Once in my car I ate my breakfast, then pulled up my blanket and slept. At around 0900 I made my way to the SFAC and checked my army email. I then went to the pain clinic and had my acupuncture appointment at 1000. I started off as usual walking back and forth on the hard plastic rocks in my socks for about 10 minutes. I then laid down on my back and the acupuncturist put needles in my forehead, hands, wrists, close to my knees, ankles and feet. Once she turned on the relaxing music, turned off the lights, and left, I pretty much just slept the whole time. It’s always a very relaxing experience, even with all those needles in me!

After the appointment, I drove home and did my schoolwork. I then spent some time looking for jobs online. I’ve been applying to an average of about 1 a day and I’ve heard back from a couple so far. If I don’t find something soon, I’ll probably open my search to a wider area.

A Day @ Ft. Lewis - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 236

I always catch the statue at the end of the hall and think someone is there half the time

This morning I headed to formation in my ACUs, I have an appointment with my NCM at 0800. After accountability, I headed back to my car, pulled up my blanket, and went back to sleep. I had taken a muscle relaxer last night and was still groggy from it. I got up and ate breakfast in my car before heading up for my 0800 NCM appointment. I must have still been pretty groggy because right after arriving and sitting down with my NCM, I spilled my coffee all over my leg. Good thing ACUs are camouflaged right? I did my best to wipe everything up with a couple napkins my NCM provided. Nothing new with the NCM, so the appointment only took a few minutes.

I left and drove to Starbucks where I picked up another coffee, maybe this second one will help me wake up a bit. I brought in my textbook to read, but it was a little too noisy in there to try and do schoolwork. I left and went to the library, then proceeded to do my schoolwork. After I finished, I surfed the web for a bit and just passed the time until noon. I then drove back to the WTB parking lot and ate lunch in my car.

At 1300 I had another FTR preparation group meeting. We went over any loose ends during this meeting. I realized that I have to actually print out my transition plan to give to 6 different people during the actual FTR. My appointment is next week, so I guess I better put something together this weekend. It isn’t going to be too hard for me because I already have a plan when I get out and I’m taking steps now towards that plan.

After the meeting I went over to the pain clinic to see if I could get in any earlier for my chiropractic appointment. Usually if I arrive early I can get in early. That was the case today, I sat in the waiting area reading news on my iPhone for about 15 minutes before he called me back. The chiropractor did the normal manipulation to my neck and then gave me an aid to help isolate some stretches to do on my own. It’s basically a rope with knots on each end and has a softer foam piece in the middle. I place the foam piece on the back of my neck while holding the two ends of the rope in front of me. Depending on the position I hold the rope, I can stretch my neck and isolate certain portions. He went through each of the various stretches, first showing me and then having me give it a try.

Once finished I went over to my company headquarters in the WTB. I had to attend the required 90 day appointment with the social worker. The first part is filling out a sheet full of questions with yes or no answers. The questions are stuff like: Do you want to kill yourself? Do you want to kill someone else? Do you believe you have superpowers? Once that was filled out the social worker asked how everything was going and how I’m doing. I told her everything is great unless I have to come to Ft. Lewis. The meeting went fairly quickly because I don’t have any behavior health issues. It’s just one of those “check the box” requirements that have to be done while assigned to the WTB.

After the meeting I left for the day and drove home. I didn’t get home until about 1730, so I’m glad I was able to finish up my schoolwork earlier today.

Dragon’s Blood - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 228

The plastic rock path I walk on with my socks before each acupuncture appointment

This morning’s formation was in winter PTs as usual. After the warm-up exercises, we headed to the parking lot to do the usual walking. I had planned on just ditching everyone once we started walking, but the first sergeant decided to join us today. This means there will be no disappearing. I may have to change my morning routine and come up with a better plan. Walking around in a big circle in the cold is not what I plan to do each morning.

After PT I went to my car and did the usual routine, listen to the radio, eat, and take a nap. At 1000 I had an acupuncture appointment. It started off the same, I took off my boots and walked along the hard plastic rocks for about 10 minutes. I then took off my socks and my shirt and laid face down on the exam table. I then proceeded to get stuck with needles in my wrists, my ankles, the top of each foot, and many on each side of my spine. As I lay there with needles sticking out of me and listening to relaxing music, the acupuncturist then put some ointment on the back of my neck. She said it was a combination of cinnamon, peppermint, and dragon’s blood! She also moved some hot lamps above my neck and feet, then turned off the light and left. I got totally relaxed and probably dozed off a few times. She usually leaves for about 15 minutes before returning to take out all the needles. Even though I only lay there with the needles in for around 15 minutes, the entire appointment takes a good hour. This includes the walking on the plastic rocks, answering any questions she may have, and the process of putting in all the needles.

I then went to the pain clinic desk and scheduled my next couple of weeks worth of chiropractic and acupuncture appointments. After that I headed to my car, listened to music and ate lunch. I had an FTR (Focus Transistion Review) group appointment. This is a new mandatory class that we have to go through to prepare us for the actual FTR meeting that will be coming up within the next couple of months for each of us in the class. The army wants to make sure we all have a plan for our transition when we get out. We went over education and finances during this class. There was not really much group participation because you could tell nobody wanted to be here for it. It’s just another one of those “check the box” requirements that we have to get done before we can get out.

After the group meeting, I headed home and did schoolwork.

Staff Duty - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 221

A great little place to grab some good food just outside of JBLM

I headed into morning formation in winter PTs this morning. Each morning formation is usually pretty much the same. Everyone forms up, the first sergeant is in front of the platoon and receives a report from each platoon sergeant letting her know if everyone is accounted for. Once that is finished, she usually gives out some company wide announcements, sometimes these are just an excuse for her to bitch and moan. Most of the time it goes pretty quick. After that the first sergeant has everyone with appointments fall to the rear of the formation. While she asks each person who has an appointment when and where the appointment is, everyone else starts PT. I did the warm up exercises with the group and then we all started walking around the large overflow parking lot for the WTB Barracks and Madigan hospital. There are a few people that can actually run in the WTB, these are usually people that have either behavior health issues or they have healed completely from an injury. This small group takes off for a run, while the rest of us walk around in giant circles. This morning, like most mornings these days, I was just not in the mood. It’s cold outside, which has all my muscles tight and generally puts me in a fowl mood. I took one lap around the parking lot and just broke off and headed to my car. I wasn’t going to do a stupid walk around the parking lot freezing my ass off and call it PT. If anyone tried to stop me I would have told them I needed to use the bathroom or take some pain medications…luckily nobody did.

Once at my car I pulled my blanket on me, turned on the radio, ate my breakfast, then took a nap. I slept pretty hard until 0900 when my NCM called my phone. It turns out that an appointment was added to my schedule since the last time I saw her and nobody told me…that appointment was at 0900! This pissed me off a bit, I double checked my appointment sheet and sure enough there was nothing scheduled. Luckily I was in the parking lot and could make it to the WTB fairly quickly. The appointment was with an occupational therapist. She was all smiles and very easy going, that helped get me out of my bad mood and back to normal. I let her know why I wasn’t there on time and she said it was no problem. She just needed to update my progress with my MOUs (navy internship and school). I let her know both are going well and I’m getting close to finishing up school. That was about it for the appointment…no big deal.

After I got back to my car, I headed to the gym and used their locker room to change into my ACUs. I then headed to the library which is fairly close to the gym. I had my laptop and used the library’s free WiFi until lunch time at which point I drove back to the WTB parking lot and ate my lunch.

At 1300 I had an appointment that just showed up last week on my appointment slip. I had no idea what it was other than the guy’s name who I was scheduled to see. It was in our company’s conference room and turned out to be a group meeting to prepare everyone for an upcoming FTR (Focus Transistion Review). This group meeting is a new requirement and there are 4 of them that we have to attend before the actual FTR. The FTR is when I will have to tell a group of people such as the company commander, my squad leader, my NCM, and some other social workers what my plan is when I get out of the army. I thought I already did this once, but I guess with the new regulations, I will get to do it again. Today’s meeting focused on our current medical and behavior health treatments and our plans once we get out of the army. Right now all I can see for my future is daily chronic pain in my knee, neck, and head. Perhaps I’ll give medical marijuana a try when I get out, I wonder how that would go over in my FTR LOL?

After the meeting I went back to my car, listened to the radio and just leaned my seat back and relaxed for a while. I was in and out of consciousness. At 1600 I drove off post to a great teriyaki joint I came across a while back. I picked up a to go box and headed back to the WTB parking lot where I ate my dinner. At 1700 I started my staff duty shift with my squad leader. I started the shift off by taking my pain medications. The stress of doing this stupid shift may have caused what was the start of a killer headache. The lobby where the staff duty desk is located was full of people, mostly civilians. There was a New Comers Brief going on in the multipurpose room next door and each of these people were waiting for their turn to throw out a bunch of information nobody’s going to remember at all these new soldiers. It’s just one after the other blasting out all this information to new people here. It’s a little too much all at once I think. With all these people hanging out in the lobby, doing any schoolwork was going to be pretty tough…these were some noisy people.

Then all of sudden I see and hear a lot of commotion going on to my right at the edge of the room. Turns out one of the soldiers in the WTB that was just walking through the lobby had a seizure and collapsed on the floor. He laid there unconscious with a crowd of people around him. Someone runs over and calls 911 and explains the situation, there is a soldier here with a history of seizures that just collapsed and is now unconscious. I go out to the front and wait for the ambulance, which only takes a couple minutes because the WTB is literally right next to Madigan hospital. Once the ambulance arrived the EMTs put the soldier on a gurney and carted him off. So far this has been the most active staff duty shift ever.

Unfortunately one of the other soldiers didn’t show up for staff duty, so I will not be splitting up the night to take naps like last time. I also had to man the staff duty desk in the WTB barracks in the building right next to this one. I pack up all my crap and head over to the barracks. The good news is that it’s very peaceful, I break out my textbook and start to study. There is also free WiFi available so I took breaks and surfed around on my laptop to try and break up the monotony. At this point I’m thinking the night might not be too bad…boy was I wrong.

Getting Poked! - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 219

The acupuncture bed I laid down on and had all the pins stuck in me. 

Pretty much your basic examination bed.

This morning I headed to formation in my ACUs because I have a 0800 appointment with my NCM. After accountability, I headed back to my car, grabbed my blanket and took a nap. At 0800 I went to my NCM appointment. It was the same as usual. The same questions, the same answers, the same everything. After the appointment I went back to my car and listened to the radio while eating breakfast. I hung out in my car until my 1000 acupuncture appointment.

I was looking forward to this appointment, I’ve never had acupuncture done and I’m optimistic about trying anything now. I’m so tired of always being in constant pain. The appointment started with the acupuncturist asking me a few basic questions and then rolling out a mat that was full of very hard plastic rocks. She said while she is inputting information in the computer, she wanted me to take off my boots and walk back and forth across this mat with my socks on. I could use the edge of the examination bed to help balance during this time. She proceeded to show me once by doing it herself. I took off my boots and started the walk…the walk of pain…lol. I’ll admit I have tender feet, I don’t go around barefoot much. This mat full of hard plastic rocks is about two feet wide and 5 feet long. I tenderly walked back and forth very slow and using the exam bed extensively. I’m not sure what this does, but I did it.

I then laid on my back after taking off my socks and my ACU jacket. The acupuncturist then used a little alcohol to clean up each of the places I was going to get stuck. She then stuck a needle in the middle of my forehead, I didn’t feel a thing with that one. The others went into each wrist, each ankle, and on the top of each of my feet. I could feel a little stick, but nothing hurt. The tops of my feet were the only that were a little more intense for the slight moment she was sticking the pins in, but it was nothing to complain about.

I then listened to relaxing music for a total of almost 15 minutes or so. Laying on the exam bed, listening to relaxing music, focusing on my breathing, with 5 pins stuck in me. She came back in and took out all the pins. To tell the truth I didn’t feel any different, but I guess it will take a few sessions before I notice anything. I then headed straight to a class in the pain clinic that my acupuncturist was teaching and suggested that I attend. The Class was CTM (Chinese Traditional Medicine) Nutrition. We covered a lot of things, but basically focused on the benefits of nutrients and sleep. The class was interesting, as is all of this eastern medicine that the pain clinic focuses a lot on. I’m going to go all in with this eastern medicine stuff. I’m still surprised that the army pays for all of this because it’s so alternative to what western medicine is all about. I may have said this before, but I don’t think I have anything to lose by trying out and learning all I can about eastern medicine. So far western medicine hasn’t done much. I get pills that dull the pain at times, and that is about it. I guess we’ll see what the east has to offer!

Pain Clinic - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 213

The True Freedom church right next door to Excitement adult video. 

Not sure if the church wants members to have true freedom and 

partake in the adult video, or if they are there to save Excitement's customers??

This morning I headed to the morning formation held at Keeler gym on Ft. Lewis in my ACUs, I had a 0800 appointment with my NCM. We had our formation, then they told everyone to head inside the gym. Once inside in one big formation, they had all people with appointments fall out to the rear. I fell out and waited for the first sergeant who came and asked each one of us when our appointment was. Once I said 0800 and she moved on, I headed out.

I drove to the WTB parking lot, ate my breakfast, then grabbed my blanket and took a nap. I headed up for my NCM appointment, but when I arrived at her office door it was shut. I went back out to the waiting room and called her number. Nobody answered, so I left a message saying I was there and would hang out for another 15 minutes or so. Once 15 minutes were up, I went to the SFAC and checked my army email.

At 0900 I had an appointment at the pain clinic. This appointment was with one of the doctors. I gave him an overview of my symptoms and a little history. He then explained a little more of what they do here. A lot of it is based on eastern medicine and ideologies. He has a very optimistic outlook and thinks they will be able to help me out a lot. This made me a little optimistic as well, I’m so tired of being in pain almost every single day…it can really make life suck! He said there was an opening with an acupuncturist tomorrow and had me make an appointment for that and also put me on the list for their program, which will eventually develop a personalized plan for me involving all the other areas such as chiropractic and massage therapy. I’m actually a little surprised the army is offering these alternative solutions, but I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to give them a try.

I then headed to my next appointment which was an ACAP follow-up. I found out they keep changing the requirements, so now I have a little homework that I need to do before I see him again in three months. It’s not a lot really, but I have to fill out a number of sections in their workbook and also show proof of a job that I’ve applied for and also have to show that I have three references.

I then headed to the WTB bathroom and changed into my civilian clothes. I drove to my best friends new restaurant that he’s running to check it out. We had lunch together and we hung out for a while. After that I drove up to Sultan and hung out with my kiddos after they got out of school until my daughter’s basketball game. It was a lot of fun to watch her play and win, but I didn’t get home until after 2200…then I had to do my schoolwork.

Interdisciplinary Pain Management - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 208

I headed into Ft. Lewis this morning and when I went to the morning formation nobody was there. I’m guessing they either moved it or more likely changed the time. I really don’t care, I just headed back to my car and ate breakfast, then pulled out my blanket and took a nap.

I headed into the SFAC at 0730 when it opened and checked my army email. I received an email from a special forces recruiter…lol yeah right. I then headed up to see my NCM to setup next week’s appointment and also to find out where the pain clinic is located. My NCM called and told me about the appointment, but this will be my first time there. Fortunately it’s easy to find, pretty close to my PCM.

I then passed a little time in my car listening to the radio before heading up to the pain clinic appointment. This first appointment was a group orientation appointment. Their office is officially called Interdisciplinary Pain Management, but for ease of use I’ll keep referring to it as the pain clinic. The orientation included a short video, a PowerPoint presentation, and finally paperwork to fill out. The goal of the pain clinic is to try various ways to reduce pain including what I’m interested in which is massage therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture. Even the mention of Chinese medicine peaked my curiosity. I just hope that something can make me feel somewhat normal again. Chronic pain every single day really sucks!

After the appointment was over, I took off and headed home for the day. I ate lunch, watched some college basketball and then did my schoolwork. Another day down!

Back to Ft. Lewis - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 201

At Madigan near the WTB clinic. No description or anything around it, 

but I thought it was pretty cool

This morning our morning formation wasn’t until 0800, but I had an appointment at 0800 with my NCM so I just headed straight to my appointment. The actual appointment went as planned. I answered all the usual questions and nothing is really new. My NCM wanted me to give her a call later on today and let her know how my appointment with my PCM goes. I headed to my car, ate breakfast, and then pulled my blanket up over me and took a long nap.

I made my way up a little early for my PCM appointment. This place is dead today. The parking lot is half empty and there is hardly anyone wandering around the hospital because of the holidays. There was nobody at the WTB clinic, so I was let in early to see my PCM. I asked her about alternative solutions such as massage therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture, because I am really ready to give anything a try. I know massage therapy will help because when my wife massages my tight shoulders and neck, I always feel better. I have constant chronic pain and it’s really keeping me from actually enjoying life. When my head is killing me, I don’t want to do much of anything! My PCM said all of that is done through the pain clinic and she’ll put in another referral for me to see them. I had a referral before, but the pain clinic wanted me to see neurology before I saw them. Now that I’ve finished with neurology, I can now see them. I also had my PCM give me refills for my pain medications. Usually I have a few left by the time I see her, but I’ve been completely out for a couple days now.

I went down to the pharmacy after our appointment and picked up my refills. I then headed home and did schoolwork. Once finished with the schoolwork I just laid down on the couch. I feel like my head and neck are still in a very fragile state, it seems like it doesn’t take much to trigger a lot of pain for me. Laying down on the couch with the heating pad and taking it very easy seems to help somewhat.

NCM & Dental Cleaning - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 157

We had morning formation today inside the gym because of the rain, finally there seems to be signs of common sense…but I won't get my hopes up too much. Once accountability is done I head to a stationary bike and peddle at a very slow pace…I mean so slow that if I were on a real bike I think an old lady in a walker could have beat me in a race. I've mentioned this before, but I really don't like to work out with my unit in the morning. I usually don't even wash my PT uniform for a long time because I don't wear it very long and I do not sweat in it. I really don't want to get all sweaty and have to take a shower at the gym each morning. I'd rather work out on my own at the YMCA with my wife. I get a better workout and I am a lot more motivated for sure. After about 15 minutes on the bike I then headed out to my car and took off to the WTB parking lot. I then ate breakfast, listened to the radio and then took a nap.

I went to my NCM appointment at 0900. I let her know about the bad weekend full of pain and some bad sleep last night, but other than that everything is pretty much the same. I left there and headed to the SFAC for a few minutes to check my army email. I then had to head to the dental clinic for a cleaning. When I got seated in the chair with my bib and glasses for the cleaning, the dental hygienist asked me how old I was. I responded that I was 40 and she shook her head and said "no way". I kinda laughed and said "yup, but I do feel a lot younger in my head". She said the soldier in her before me was only 30, but looked much older than I do! I guess I'll take that as a compliment.

After the cleaning I headed home and ate lunch, then did schoolwork.

NCM & The Physical Therapist - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 150

Me posing in my portable traction unit at home...

time to separate the head from the shoulders

Headed to morning formation at the gym. Once accountability was over and we fell out to head into the gym, I just headed to my car instead. I drove to the WTB parking lot, ate my breakfast, then promptly pulled up my blanket and took a nice long nap.

I headed into the WTB bathroom and changed into my ACUs and then headed to my NCM appointment. I had nothing to update and didn't need anything from my NCM, she asked me the usual required questions (do I feel like hurting myself or others?). I did get the dates for the upcoming holidays and added them to my electronic calendar. My NCM keeps asking me if I've heard anything from my MEB, I told her when I check on AKO it says I'll be out on May 25th…she seems to think it will be much earlier than that, I guess we'll see.

I head back to my car and do a little writing on my laptop while listening to the radio. Once I got tired of that, I took another nap…yes it's what I do here at the WTB. When I woke up I headed into the SFAC and ate my lunch. I then went back to my car and drove to the commissary and picked up a few things and then came back to the WTB parking lot. I spend some more quality time in my car listening to the radio passing the time. I finally had my physical therapy follow-up appointment. The therapist asked how everything was going. I let him know things are better and I'm looking forward to using my portable home unit. He said I could use it nightly if I wanted to, it's basically up to me to gauge how I'm feeling and how much to use it.

I headed home and hung out with my wife until it was time to hit the sack…I used my portable traction unit for the first time. It's very easy to use and I'm hopeful that using it nightly will help lower my daily pain. I'm cautiously optimistic!

A Long Day - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 146

Sunrise this morning at Ft. Lewis from my parking spot...unfortunately 

I was driving and couldn't take an amazing view with Mt. Rainier 

in the background a few moments earlier.

This morning we had our morning formation at 0830 in ACUs. I arrived and was thankful to be able to sleep in a little. Our first sergeant arrived in front of the formation and I guess wanted to stroke her ego or something. She had everyone who was on profile that cannot do push-ups move to the back, the rest of us had to start doing push-ups. Doing push-ups is fine, but it just pisses me off when people have to strut around and show people who's boss.

My mood worsened when after formation we broke up by platoons and I was voluntold to clean the stairwell in the barracks along with another soldier. I was pretty pissed off. All I did was just glare at the NCO while he was instructing us what to do. What made it worse was that I was really looking forward to my coffee that was waiting for me back in my car. Instead I have to clean up a stairwell in a building that I don't live in or ever use…but that is the story of my army life…cleaning up after others it seems. The other soldier quickly volunteered to do the sweeping leaving me with mop duty…this morning just keeps getting better.

I do the cleanup and then head to my car where I finally have my coffee. I get a text shortly after from my squad leader telling me I have to sign my appointment slip at his desk. Stupid new rule. I head up and do that, then head to Starbucks on post, get a coffee and hang out in their lobby with my iPad making use of their WiFi. I needed to get away from the WTB for a little while. After that I headed to the JAG office to inquire about electronic repair estimate forms that the moving company needs me to have filled out because they broke a few things during the move. The JAG officer gave me the forms, but said if there is no physical damage evident that "the little elves inside electronics just die sometimes" and I will not be able to get reimbursed for the damage. They broke a 2TB external hard drive of mine and a pair of Bose wireless speakers. Both are not cheap, and now I realize that I will probably not get reimbursed for them. They worked fine in Germany before they were packed up and shipped here by the movers. That just pisses me off.

I head to Subway for lunch, then hang out some more in the lobby with my iPad. I head back to the WTB and wait in my car for a while…taking a small nap. I then went to my hydro massage appointment at 1500. The massage was great as usual. When I left I saw my company all getting in formation, there is no way I'm going to join them…I just head to my car and head home. Luckily I'm enrolled in class, so I don't have to attend any evening formations even if I'm not working with the navy.

I get home, do my schoolwork, then prepare for the weekend!

NCM & Therapy - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 143

A close up of the TV in the Bravo Company waiting room

Morning formation was at the gym as usual for a Tuesday. I had plans to just head to my car once accountability was taken. Usually appointments head to the back to get checked and everyone else is told to fall out and head to the gym in one big crowd which is easy to slide out of and make the break for my car. This morning we had a change of plans…we had a new NCO in charge of the formation and he wanted everyone to march into the gym. This actually turned out to be pretty funny. I am in first platoon and in the third squad, which is the last row in the formation. This morning I ended up to be second in line right next to a guy who has to use a walker. While in formation he usually just turns it around and sits in it. Well the NCO had all the other platoons fall into one mass formation behind 1st platoon. He then called out the command "file from the right, column right…march". That was my column…the sergeant in the walker started to move and I just stayed in step behind him. The line was marching about a quarter of a mile per hour or slower. The new NCO came around to see what was taking so long and then told me to go around him…all I could do was laugh…it was pretty funny. It also left me no chance to disappear from the crowd and make my escape.

We headed into the gym and formed up once again. Now the new NCO went to the front and started the standard army warm up exercises and stretches. It was painfully slow as he explained after each exercise that we shouldn't break profile and just do what we can. He also went through various alternate exercises and stretches we can do for each exercise. It was painfully slow and very redundant, everyone here knows what they can and can't do. All it did for me was piss me off…I really hate any and all formations at this point.

Once we were finished we were told to either exercise on equipment, play wheelchair basketball, or sit volleyball. I chose the stationary bicycle and basically just sat there listening to music on my iPhone. I think after a half hour I had totaled a total of 11 calories burned. I got up and left.

I drove to the WTB parking lot where I proceeded to remain in my car and eat breakfast, listen to music, then break out my blanket and take a long nap…my usual morning routine. Before my NCM appointment, I headed into the WTB bathroom and changed into my ACUs. I then headed up to see my NCM. The appointment was pretty much the same as every other week. I let her know I'm doing fine…basically going through the routine of similar questions asked and me answering, completing the required weekly check in with her.

I head back to my car and proceed to grab my blanket and sleep for 2 hours. My life in WTB at Ft Lewis consists mostly of me sleeping in my car. I then went to my WTB physical therapy appointment…hydro massage. I never mind this appointment, I got the half hour massage with the warm water jets up and down my back, while I listened to music from my iPhone…just relaxing.

After the appointment, I went back to my car and relaxed while listening to the radio until my physical therapy appointment at the hospital. I went to that appointment and had traction done on my neck. The traction only lasts for about 12 minutes or so. I then headed home for the day finally and did schoolwork. Once my wife came home we headed to the YMCA and I had a pretty good cardio workout. Later on that night we headed to my in-law's house for a rosary. While I'm not catholic, I just went to show my support.

Physical Therapy - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day139

I got a text last night stating that the morning formation was at 0830 and in ACUs. I had to reply back letting him know I would be missing it because of an appointment. So I got to sleep in a little and get ready for the day at my house. It's always nice being able to take a shower in the morning and eat breakfast at my house before heading out. I usually shower the night before then get up and leave while in zombie mode.

At 0845 I had a physical therapy appointment for traction. It was the same as usual, lay down on a bed and have a machine gently pull my head away from my body relieving the pressure that builds up within the disks in my neck. I haven't noticed anything right after the appointment, but I have noticed that overall I've been feeling better because of them.

I head to my car and take a nap…well I was trying to, just as I was just about to fall asleep I get a text from my squad leader telling me that he needs to see me. This pisses me off just a little, because I was just about to enter dreamland and all of a sudden I'm jerked out of it. I head up to see him and find out that there is a new policy. Everyone will receive 2 copies of their appointments each Friday. One is to keep and the other needs to be signed and dated acknowledging that we received it. This is pretty stupid. I'm sure it all came about because someone missed an appointment and said they didn't know about it. Now everyone has to go through this process once a week…and I was almost asleep!

Speaking of sleep, I headed back to my car and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, it was lunchtime. I grab my lunch and head to the SFAC. When I arrive I see they are having some sort of Mexican food party. I get asked why I'm eating my own lunch and not all the Mexican food…I say I didn't even hear about it. I love Mexican food, but in reality I probably would have avoided it anyway…I don't really want to spend any time with army people unless I have to now. I wait a while then take my turn to use the microwave and heat up my leftovers, then eat in the SFAC.

I head to the WTB physical therapy office for a hydro massage appointment. On my way there I see Bravo company getting in formation, I just shake my head and continue on. Hydro massage is awesome as usual, a half hour of nice warm jets up and down my back while listening to music on my iPhone…bliss!

After that I headed home and did schoolwork.

HydroMassage - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 129

I guess I won't be taking that elevator down!

I headed to morning formation, but when I arrived there was nobody there. It was then I realized that it was Tuesday (not Monday because of the long weekend) and on Tuesdays we form up at the gym. Not much I can do now, I headed back to my car and ate my breakfast and listened to music. I'm guessing my squad leader probably thought I was at my internship with the navy…who am I to let him think otherwise?

I headed to the SFAC to check my army email and then to my NCM appointment which was at 0800. Everything's going the same, no changes, so the appointment went by pretty quick. I then went back to my car, covered up with my blanket, and then took a very long nap from about a little before 0900 to a little after 1100. I ate lunch in my car and listened to music for a while. I'm starting to feel as if I live in my car, I spend quite a bit of time in there. I listen to the radio or my iPhone. I have a lot of music on my iPhone as well as Pandora, the iTunes radio, and podcasts…and I make use of all of them to mix it up a bit.

I headed back to the WTB physical therapy office and then had a hydro massage once again for a half hour. I guess I'll get 6 of these total as part of my therapy…and I have no complaints. I mentioned before that it's a pretty awesome experience! The hydro massage lasts for a half hour, then I put my boots and coat back on and head back out to my car. I head home and do schoolwork. When my wife gets home we head off to the YMCA and I get another good cardio session in.

Lack of Communication - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 117

I arrived for morning formation and as usual I headed inside the building where we form up in front of. As I was sitting down passing the time dinking around on my iPhone I notice my squad leader is at the staff duty desk. He sees me and says "Oh, I meant to tell you last night when I called you that formation this morning is at 0830". That sucks…I could have slept in quite a bit this morning. I head back out to my car, eat breakfast, then pull out my blanket and take a nap. A little before 0830 I head back to where the formation should be and don't see anyone there. I think my squad leader also forgot to tell me that the formation is at the theatre today for a town hall meeting. I don't really care, I have an appointment anyway. I head back to my car and listen to the radio for a while.

I head to physical therapy and get traction done again on my neck. This time they up the strength to 16 pounds. It's not too much and I lay there for the 12 minutes or so relaxing while the contraption pulls on my head stretching it away from my body. It may sound like a medieval torture instrument, but it actually seems to be helping my pain! Once therapy was complete, I made my way home and did schoolwork. With the government shutdown and no budget being passed, I'm now starting to worry about both my paycheck and tuition assistance for future classes. I've been told that military will be getting paid on time, but I would like to see the check deposited in my account before I rest easy. As far as tuition assistance goes, there is no telling whether it will be part of this next year's budget or not. I'm so close to getting my degree, I sure hope it at least gets partially funded.

Surprise Appointment - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 115

A random photo I found on the web showing the hydrotherapy bed

pretty much the same as I used 

This morning's formation was at the gym as is every Tuesday. We had accountability, then everyone was told to go into the gym. I was in ACUs and hung out with everyone else in ACUs that had appointments. We waited and waited, then we all just took off because it didn't seem like any NCO was going to come over and say anything. I think we all had better things to do with our time than just stand there and look stupid.

I eat breakfast in my car and then take a nap. It's been getting colder lately, so I've started to leave a blanket in my car to use for the long naps I spend in my car. I don't want to leave it running with the heat and just waste gas, so the blanket is going to work out great.

I headed to my 0945 physical therapy appointment and had traction done again on my neck. The process was good, they applied heat to my back and stretched my neck and it all felt great. I headed back to my car afterward and listened to music for a while. For some reason an extra mystery WTB physical therapy appointments showed up on my schedule and the first one is today at 1330. Nobody I asked seemed to know what they are for, so I am getting a little pissed. I wasn't even sure where to go exactly and I'm a little surprised they just showed up without anyone even calling and talking to me about them.

I go to the SFAC and eat my lunch, then check my army email. I then headed over to the main WTB therapy center and checked in at their desk, which happened to be the right place to go. I then find out this is probably the best surprise appointment ever! The therapist takes me back to a room for something they call "hydrotherapy". I lay down in what looks like the bottom of a tanning bed, but instead of light tubes, it is filled with a small water bed. I take off my boots and my ACU top, then lay down in the bed. To my surprise it's nice and warm…very relaxing. The therapist explains a little about it, gives me some big noise canceling headphones which I plug into my iPhone and start listening to music. Jets start shooting water inside the bed slowly up and down my back and it feels pretty darn good. The surprise therapy lasted a half hour and it was pretty awesome. I was able to totally relax and just let the warm water massage me.

I then headed home and did schoolwork. When my wife came home we headed off to the YMCA for a good workout.

Gimme Some Traction - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 100

A random photo on the web that I found. This shows pretty much

what the cervical traction device looks like in physical therapy.

I headed to this mornings formation in ACUs. When all appointments form up at the back, I tell the NCO that I have an NCM appointment (technically I'm not lying, I just don't have an actual appointment at 0830 or before…mine is at 0900). I have no desire anymore to do anything at all with the army. The army PT is just a waste of time and the entire time I'm doing it, all I do is get pissed off. It's better for my well being to just get away as fast as possible.

I head to my car and eat breakfast then take a nap. At about 0830 I head into the SFAC to check my army email, but the room is full…I just head up to my NCM appointment a little early. The weekly NCM appointments are just to make sure everything is moving along smoothly and I don't need anything like refills or extra appointments made. I've mentioned before that the NCM is my central point of contact during the medboard process. The NCM makes all my appointments and lets me know if I have any new ones coming up. My NCM sees that I've been referred for physical therapy and makes a call while I'm there. They make an appointment for next week…I take off.

I head back downstairs and check my army email at the SFAC. A few minutes later I get a call from my NCM telling me that physical therapy called back and changed my appointment to today at 1345. This pisses me off quite a bit. I didn't pack a lunch, I had plans to head home eat lunch and do my schoolwork. I have to take the appointment, so I get to sit around and twiddle my freaking thumbs until 1345 this afternoon.

After my head cools a little I call my friend who happens to live about 10 minutes away from Ft. Lewis. We meet up for lunch and then hang out in a coffee shop for a while just chatting and passing the time. This worked out perfect, we got to catch up and I wasn't bored out of my mind while waiting for my newly scheduled appointment.

I headed to the physical therapy appointment with pretty low expectations. I had several weeks of physical therapy while in Germany and it didn't help much at all. When I arrived and was called back, my therapist asked a bunch of questions and to my surprise he has already done a check over my medical records and even took a look at my MRI. He performs a few tests such as having my arms in various positions and resisting as he pushes or pulls on them. There was one that he did twice which had both my elbows to my side with my arms out in front of me. He pushed down on my left arm and I resisted, but when he pushed on my right arm it went down fairly quickly. In my head I though he was just using more force. He asked if I was right handed (yes) and did the same test again with the same results.

He then has me lay down and place my neck in a device they use for something called "traction". As I lay down and place my head in a cradle, the therapist straps my head in place and tells me to relax. The device slowly starts to stretch my neck, slowly moving my head away from my shoulders. It didn't seem to stretch a lot, but it was definitely noticeable. After a few minutes he unstraps my head and has me stand up. We then perform the same test with my right arm, this time I am able to resist his push downwards. This was a total surprise to me, in fact it seemed like a magic trick. He assured me that he was using the same force every time he tried to push my arm down. He said it seems there is some compression in my neck, and this traction device will help relieve the compression. This is the first physical evidence I've seen involving my pain in neck and head. Usually all I can do is describe the pain all the time, but now I see that it's actually affecting me physically as well.

The therapist then puts me on a schedule for traction twice a week for 3 weeks. He says if it helps with the pain as well, he will recommend a portable unit for me to use. I actually feel optimistic again…maybe I can do something to actually reduce the pain I'm feeling on a daily basis. When I go up to the front desk to schedule the remaining appointments I find out I can only do it on Tuesdays and Thursdays…looks like I have to change the days I'm doing the internship, at least temporarily.

I head home excited with the news and the possibilities. I labor through my schoolwork which is pretty tough. The class I'm taking is business law. All the reading is pretty dry and I have no real interest in the class other than just getting through it. Every day with this class is going to be tough just to get through!

On a side note I see that I've now been at Ft. Lewis for 100 days now. I've done everything I can do, now it's just a waiting game to see how long it will take to get my percentage results from the VA. On one hand I want to get them and get out as soon as possible, but on the other hand I'd like to finish school before I get out. I guess we'll see which comes first.