Beyond the Shield: All America Is Behind You, Well Almost........?

This entry was posted on 4/8/2006 10:43 PM and is filed under Op Ed, Disability, The Electric Chair.

September 20th, 2005
Op/Ed Columnist  Officer Thomas A. Porter D.P.O. MED. RET.  

 Who is America Behind? We are the over 1 million plus permanently paralyzed and disabled law enforcement officers who have been 'Hit In The Line of Duty'. We are the ones that disappear into the night. There was a time when we were thought about. That would be the day, time and place we were catastrophically injured for life. Now do not confuse reality with TV Land Shows and Hollywood Movies they produce. You know the shows, the whole Police Force at the hospital around the clock. Waiting for the flat line and sound from the monitor, that we have finally passed on to the big Shield in the Sky.

To many people have been brainwashed by the media and entertainment world. We are, on the other hand portrayed in film moments as the chosen ones, who are taken care of for life. That would be the fictional story line if we do not get to flat line, one would think. If we flat line we get all the perks. That also holds some fictional moments.  

Have you ever seen a more amazing funeral than one for a fellow brother or sister Law Enforcement Officer? We pull out all the stops, does it get any better? Then the shower of posthumous awards and accommodations are just overflowing. They are given to the surviving spouse, significant other, parents, children and fianc of our fellow Fallen Officer. Now if that is not moving enough, we have the presentation of the American Flag.

Now if we live, in the real world, your in for a major shock wave to hit you big time. Your a veteran of many years on the force. You have gone to school and gotten your degree in 'Criminal Justice'. You have gone to 'Academy'. You have arrived at your 1st assignment in the department or agency where you are to fulfill your life long quest. You are a certified, sworn, professional Law Enforcement Officer. It just does not get any better, well at that moment, that is what you think. You have stars in your eyes, your going to Protect, Serve and Save the world? At best your going to do your most to make the town, city, county, state or nation as safe as possible. For every tail light out, you have a convicted felon driving that vehicle. For every murder scene you are the chef, cook and bottle washer on that scene or you are backed up with a dozen crime scene investigative officers. That depends on the location of the country and budget of your department or agency.

Years go by and you have piled up many arrests and put away many criminals. The averages of an officer having to pull their service revolver to shoot someone are low. Then sometimes due to the most amazing justice system on earth, that murder one, rapist, robber, or to think a terrorist, is thrown out of court. The technicalities where a 'I' was not dotted or 'T' not crossed caused the Judge or Jury to let that person go scott free. Oh gee, we are still the most amazing justice system on earth? Ok, so just having the right person and right reports and witnesses are not enough. There are loop holes that can let someone off. All the back room deals made to have sealed convictions. This action makes one wonder why so many get off on lesser sentences. We have that period after surviving this event of mayhem to regroup. You discover there are more crimes being committed and your needed to once again Protect and Serve with Honor.  
You continue to work 24/7, always on call. Once a Cop always a Cop, right? It comes before anything. Your family or significant other and all those you provide for. Then you could be on your own and like it that way. It is in your blood being in Law Enforcement. We live, breath, talk and share with fellow officers the profession. We have our own code of talking that others just never understand. One would think we are always at a cook out with other fellow officers. That would be flashing back to TV Land or Hollywood. In all reality the whole force could not be at your home enjoying a cook out. Someone has to be Protecting and Serving. Another false image of Law Enforcement. Surely we do not leave the rookies at the helm and allow dispatch to be left biting their nails if any real crimes were called in.  

I have been amazed at the thought, that all America is behind us. It is a great theory, then reality always pops its ugly head up and surprises you on the road. Who is really behind you the day you get Hit In The Line of Duty in real time? You may be in that zone called, the 15 minutes before you get off. You have just had one of the most amazing days or nights in your professional career. You have answered to the worst accident scene of the day or night. You have covered a murder scene. You have saved another life In The Line of Duty. Oh gee, your flying high and the day or evening could not have been greater. Then the zone time appears. Your counting the minutes you will end your tour of duty and the call from dispatch comes over the radio. Unexpected, in the zone, you get Hit In The Line of Duty. It was from another vehicle crashing into you. It was from someone shooting you for sport, off their medications or on street drugs. Your run over. It happened from backing up one of your fellow officers. Your on full alert always, at any given time that zone hits, in less than 1 minute and your a changed person. You have not just a minor infliction to your body with a few sick days off. You have been Hit In The Line of Duty full blown, and your in rescue mode for your own life. Every coping skill you trained for and experienced prepared you for this moment, right? Wrong. No one is ever ready to cope, experienced enough, to deal with what is to follow.  

Dispatch hears the call come in, "Officer down and needs assistance at 104 Maple Street." Your holding on and waiting for back up to arrive. Your either doing the best at staying conscious or unconscious at the crime scene. Either way your still alive and holding on. Of course back up is coming. They are coming and back up will be there for you. Yes that back up will be there anytime. Sounds of sirens and lights flashing arrive. You see the 'Great White Light' they talk about, that is if your conscious to see and hear. Then you realize it is a fellow officer and his Mag Flash Light. Your fellow officers get the perp, read them their rights and take them away. Rescue arrives and your transported to the nearest hospital and the rest is taken care of to survive? Ok in theory that sounds great but it doesn't always happen that way. In some cases pandora's box appears and anything and everything that could go wrong goes wrong. Your professional life takes a major turn for the worse case scenario to happen.  
You may make it to the hospital but there are no other fellow officers. No one is in the waiting room to hear the latest update. If your fortunate enough to speak, you get the nurse to make a call. You need your spouse or significant other to know what happened and where you are.  

After E.R. has taken care of all life threatening issues and you have been stabilized, then the professional law enforcement officers mind kicks in again. You need to get home. You do what ever you have to be released from the hospital. That is your Safe House. You can maintain there and deal with anything, just to get to your own bed.   

Then comes the pain. The body parts have been damaged. The casts on your arms, hands or legs weigh you down like cement. The braces and splints, they all compound your mobility. The medications taken to cope with the pain and infections look like a sea of labels with disclaimers written in a foreign language. Some may have someone waiting at home to care for us. Some of us have no one at home. Well most of us have the one who is always waiting for us. He or She may be called Rusty, Mac, Cherrie, Bear or Shep. No real Law Enforcement Officer doesn't have a Companion Dog waiting for us with concern and worry. They see us and smell us and they know. They know something has happened to us and they don't like it. They were always at our side before, now they are on duty 24/7 on full alert. They have a built in ability to shower us with unconditional love. They bring our blood pressure down. They listen for everything. The door, phone or anything unusual to cause alarm for your security and safety.

Your phone will ring with concerning calls from fellow officers. They are calling to assure you are doing ok and if there is anything they can do. Cards may arrive in the mail of 'Get Well' wishes. Then the calls stop and the cards stop arriving. 

In Law Enforcement, we suffer from a 65% divorce rate above the national average of 50%. When you become permanently paralyzed and disabled the percentage rate goes up to 85%. Your not the same package you were the minute before you were Hit In The Line of Duty. Your world as you knew it has just been totally turned upside down. So much for, 'In Sickness and in Health'? The rate of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is sure to set in at some point. When that hits no one can realize what has happened. You cry uncontrollably and sink into a deep depression. All along your dealing with your permanent injuries. Going to doctors appointments and hospitals for testing. Your dealing with legal matters. At the same time your being pulled by your superiors with the offer of a desk job a.s.a.p. upon returning. You are a permanently paralyzed and disabled Law Enforcement Officer and your getting hit on to return to active duty?
If all this sounds foreign, then you have yet to experience the realities of life when you thought all America is behind you. You have yet to be in the zone. Your still moving forward and have not become one of the 189 Law Enforcement Officers who is Hit In The Line of Duty in America everyday. To imagine every year that total is 68,985 trained, professional lives.  

We have in place by our illustrious U.S. Congress a program that was enacted November 29th, 1990 to be administered by the U.S. Justice Department PSOB (Public Safety Officers Benefits) program. It was and still to this day is called, 'The PSOB Program'. This program was set up to provide a one time payment to any officer who was Hit In The Line of Duty and left with catastrophic injuries and who could never again obtain gainful employment. To any fellow Fallen Officer, it also was and is to make a one time payment to your spouse. As for significant others or relations the payment is not provided. On October 30th, 2000, employee's of the FEMA Agency were added to qualify to the PSOB program.  

We have Officers everyday on Workman's Comp when they are attempting to deal with their permanent catastrophic injuries. In most cases your given to the wolves of the Workman Comp doctors. They are surely not working on your behalf, they serve at the pleasure on the behalf of who is paying them. At 1st you think they care about your well being. Since we are trained professionals the reality of what is happening to us medically awakens alarms to go off. They are not helping, they are causing more injury to your life. You then discover the only way to get the proper care is to get a referral from your main family doctor. A referral from one of the workman's comp doctors is hitting a strike out. Of course this referral is all done for having a second opinion. Any other option and you would never get out of the loop of medical deceit being imposed on you.

During this time of your immediate medical recovery you get hit big time by PTSD. You feel your world as you knew it, falling apart beyond any understanding you have ever known. Try doing anything functional with PTSD stacked with catastrophic injuries, medical appointments, hospital tests, visits and rehabilitation. Then you want to add professional counseling to work through what happened and is happening to you.  

You can never leave out bills to be paid, maintenance on your place of residence. The very simple things we all take for granted now have become monumental tasks to perform for some and for others they are just not on the register of reality. Once you have an outside source for an honest diagnosis of your total medical condition, you then have the knowledge of what has really happened to you. What your options are, if you are strong enough to deal with them, is to fight. Not just one of physical, you also have one of mental duress to confront.
To add to all your going throu

gh lets add, President George W. Bush and his administration that continue to cause the 'Daily' suffering and deaths of the American poor, disabled, senior citizens, children, veterans and the unemployed by economic deprivation. It leaves no finger prints at the crime scene. You have gone from living above the poverty line to now living in most cases below the poverty line.

To file for Social Security Disability, you really need a lawyer. Very few have ever gotten it on their own. The system is not set up this way. You surely have to have 10 years of credits to qualify. You may have a pension and then again that pension can disappear without anyone knowing where it went. Do not ever assume, always presume anything. Then you have to check the latest changes in Social Security Disability Benefits, they can change daily.

When filing for the U.S. Justice Department PSOB program, be prepared to live a long life. Some have gotten these benefits, then they make mistakes when they do the right thing and provide the benefits. Only 12 people that have not been brain dead have ever gotten to the point of being heard in the Federal Courts after being denied one's benefits. They have each filed an appeal. Realize we are talking years to get to this point. It is the most dysfunctional division of the U.S. Justice Department we have to date. Imagine the staffing of this office that have worked under changing 'Acting Directors' of this department like people channel surf on a TV. It goes beyond ever coming close to being called a competent department. Most in government circles call it the stepping stone to the next level in the U.S. Justice Department. Thus it remains a changing Director. Just think, everytime one applies you get to deal with another 'Acting Director'.

Those of our fellow brother's and sister's who have given the ultimate sacrifice In The Line of Duty almost assuredly get their benefits. You will need to have your spouse apply. Do not think the U.S. Justice Department looks for you in the obits. No more than they look for you on the Catastrophic Permanently Paralyzed and Disabled List. They do as little as they can to aid, as they do as much as they can to deny. Is that called an oxymoron? Surely survivors will need the income to continue their life. Does the living Law Enforcement Officer also need to continue their life? Will there be expenses beyond anyone's imagination? Surely there will be. Is there any dignity to any of this? No, not at all. It is the lowest form of degradation to have to live through. Our government cares because our U.S. Congress set up the U.S. PSOB program for us. They just forgot once they did it, to have anyone over see the department. You can call your House of Representatives Office and your U.S. Senators. If possible see them in person. You would think they would help? They may show some compassion but your wasting your time with these folks. They do not have an ounce of power to do anything for you. Remember they are only U.S. Congresspersons and the U.S. Senators. They have no power over the U.S. Justice Department of PSOB. They will send letters to them. It gives you a false hope at the time. It makes them look like they are fighting for you. That is why they like to say to call or write or come see them. They like to have photo op's with you. They are always working on the next election. We who are catastrophic permanently paralyzed and disabled Law Enforcement Officers make for great 'Picture Op's' for the media. We are like their Poster Kids. You just discover at the end, Congress provides no help. Always remember, they care. Oh yes, they surely care, but this writer has discovered, actions speak louder than words, always remember that.

Medicare will pay you for a $200 dollar push wheel chair. With inflation rates they have surely brought the price up to $400? Have you ever sat in a manual wheel chair? If you have no upper residual capacity to operate a manual wheel chair, they serve no purpose. For Spinal Cord injuries, to even have another person push you in one is a hazard to the body and it's wellness to maintain.
You will find obtaining an electric wheel chair can take up to two years. That is, if you have your specialist doctor with the knowledge of how to fill out the prescription for an electric wheel chair. You do not want to see how it has to be worded. They do not teach this in Medical School. They can top the $21,000 dollar price tag and then some. Since more and more Americans get these chairs, who really do not need electric wheel chairs, Medicare and Medicaid policies have become more and more ridged to obtain an electric wheel chair. Of course the same companies that make them have also been found to falsify records for thousands of people who never needed an electric wheel chair to begin with. That would be your average citizen. While the 'Catastrophic Permanently Paralyzed and Disabled Law Enforcement Officers' in the thousands must suffer due to not being able to have what they need.

Through Medicare and Medicaid you can still get a Hospital bed for your home. A narrow twin size bed that is as functional as having to be in a hospital. You need a double or queen size electric bed. Which your Medicare or Medicaid will not pay for.  

You need a wheel chair ramp where you live. If one is not available, then you have to move where one is available if you rent. No landlord has ever heard of the ADA (Americans Disability Act). If you still own your home, you will need to have one designed and built.

Most catastrophic injuries for life takes any Law Enforcement Officer a good 3 years to come to terms with all the damage that has been inflicted upon their lives. On the inside, no one knows the pain and suffering that is going on 24/7. No one else, other than another 'Catastrophic Permanently Paralyzed and Disabled Law Enforcement Officer' and other citizens who suffer from catastrophic injuries. You might try sharing your feelings with other non Law Enforcement Officers who are permanently paralyzed and disabled. Your social outing to the hospital or doctors office provides for these encounters. There is a point you share a common bond. At some level when the discussion comes to professions, theirs was a profession in the private sector, dialogue change in conversation now. You share you were in Law Enforcement. Have you ever seen in real life, a person do a double take? I mean a real, amazing, double take? That real Barney Fife look from Mayberry? Let's not go back to TV Land or Hollywood. This is real life in real time. The look is very real.

The feedback from the private sector world is, "your taken care of for life. You don't have a thing to worry about. You have all the coverage and benefits, where I have to pay for everything my insurance doesn't cover." That is a common theme from those not in Law Enforcement. Then when you share the reality, your not in TV Land or Hollywood anymore, they are shocked. There is a lot of shock, so get use to it. You do not want to start hearing the drama of prescription medications to the list, unless your last name is Rockefeller.

90% of all Law Enforcement Officers who are Hit In The Line of Duty and left Permanently Paralyzed and Disabled for life from catastrophic injuries live on only Social Security Disability or S.S.I. or Welfare. What is provided each month can only for most just pay for the rent. If they own a home, they have lost it and if they have gotten another home to own, it surely is a handy person's special. That would be presuming that handy house is out there. That is right, most will have lost their home or apartment and most if not all they owned. What they have worked for years to have is gone in a matter of a short time. Between dealing with your Workman's Comp settlement, Social Security Benefits or S.S.I. you are left in limbo. Many Law Enforcement Officers have no funds for 9 months to a year. They leave that out of the scripts in TV Land and Hollywood. How can that be? Social Security will not start until what you received in your settlement with Workman's Comp amount is paid down to where Social Security is then started. If you do not qualify for S.S.D. then the same is for S.S.I. and Welfare. You won't see any funds or be able to file for S.S.I. or Welfare until every penny of your Workman's Comp settlement is gone. Remember the word 'Pending', it appears all the time. In most cases you have accumulated a stack of bills demanding payment from what your insurance agrees to pay. Once you settle with workman's comp, your offered that great insurance from your Law Enforcement Department or Agency. 

Now get ready for the gift of life to be offered. Out of the kindness of the medical insurance company, they offer to keep your coverage at a rate of three to four times the cost you originally use to pay when you were 'Active Duty'. They feel they are giving you some kind of helping hand? Between 90% to 100% can not afford to maintain the premiums on their former insurance so your coverage stops. If your approved for S.S.D. then you have to wait three years for Medicare. If you live on the bottom scale as most do, then you may qualify for medicaid, food and heating fuel assistance. Has anyone heard of the amazing 'Bush Prescription Drug Policy' for the poor? Inside tip, go to http://www.NeedyMeds.com and you will most likely have the best prescription drug coverage no money can buy.

Fuel Assistance this winter is going to be a sad affair. President Bush and his administration have cut the funding to every state by 90% for Heating Fuel Assistance. This was done way before Hurricane Katrina. What helped in past years to pay at least 1/4 of Heating Cost has now gone to almost zero. Now I have no problem with the over $200 billion to fight an unjust war of no WMD in the Mid-East. Keep bringing our dead Troops home. To provide over $200 billion to the victims of the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina at the same time. Do I hear another hurricane around the corner? It is a known fact in America we can print all the money we need whenever it appears it is needed. Well isn't that how it works? There use to be the thought that, 'Charity starts at home'. If we do not take care of our own citizens then how can we help anyone else beyond our borders. Ok that was logical thinking and that would even be more confusing to this administration we have now. It appears President Bush thinks 2+2=5. Math was among the many subjects he appeared to skip out on during his higher times of learning at those Ivy League Schools.

In Washington D.C. we have President George W. Bush and his administration wanting to make cuts on medical coverage for Medicaid and Food Assistance and Heating Fuel Assistance. The very people who need the help the most are now going to have even less to live on. While they are moving to raise the rates of Medicare by 13% next year. I call on everyone who supports to starve and freeze or bake their fellow Permanently Paralyzed and Disabled Law Enforcement Brother and Sister to raise your hands now! I didn't think I would see any hands raised. Now you ask the average citizen who is an able bodied person, you will get a mix review. Shocking? It most surely is. Can you change how they feel? Through first hand experience you can reach some. Most people can not fathom what your going through. How could they? None of you could before it happened to you. Oh you thought about it while on duty? It was a thought in the pan for a fleeting moment and then it vanished as fast as the thought came into your mind. Other than your spouse or significant other who is still there, really knows what you go through 24/7 of each day. TV Land and Hollywood comes into play for the average citizen. They have seen to many of those TV Land shows and Hollywood movies through the years. They appear to be under the impression that Law Enforcement is taken care of for life. Then they are set up for a rude awakening. They think any Law Enforcement Officer Hit In The Line of Duty has an E Ticket for Life! Well sad to say the E Tickets are a thing of the past as well as the basic needs for Catastrophic Permanently Paralyzed and Disabled Law Enforcement Officers. Some would like to keep us out of sight and out of mind. We are still a person. We have value and purpose in life. When we are out of sight and out of mind from others we once knew, it does not mean we are not a person anymore. Once a Cop always a Cop. We just are trapped in this body we did not order. We still have the same caring hearts and real compassion for others. We are just more guarded. We are more limited in so many ways. Our minds do not always like to connect like they use to. Short term memory loss is not uncommon.  

What about that domino effect? That is the one where you have to rob Paul to pay Peter plan to stay alive. If one unseen cost appears as in any cost increase, then the domino effect goes into play. Gasoline, Food, Prescriptions, Vehicle Repairs, Insurance on Vehicle, Car Tag's and Inspections. Then add your House and Renters Insurance and Utilities. These are what are called the basics. You have yet to even figure in the other items we need to have to live. They are not toys, the basic items needed to survive a daily life. When your a 'Catastrophic Permanently Paralyzed and Disabled Law Enforcement Officer', you might as well be in Las Vegas at the Craps table. Your life has become a roll of the dice. You know the odds are always favored for the house to win.

There was a time we could take a dime and make a dollar. Now we have to take a dollar and make a dime. This is only a small taste of what over 1 million plus of our fellow brothers and sisters who are permanently paralyzed and disabled from being Hit In The Line of Duty deal with 24/7. If any of this is confusing for you to understand, do not feel left out. Just remember, 'All America Is Behind You, Well, Almost.......?

 

Comments

• 6/24/2006 1:33 PM Ron Ouellette wrote:
  Tom,
  You tell it like IT IS my friend, they are behind us all right, with the KY Jelly and the Vaseline. Things are really sad when the National Media is more interested in Brangelina, Britney Spears, Barry Bonds, Terrell Owens et al. Our country is not going into the dumper, IT IS IN THE DUMPER and the people who have the power to change things DON'T CARE!!!!!!!! Their theory is "I got mine, now you go and get yours". I advocate voting EVERY
  INCUMBENT out of office this November and also in 2008 and can't wait for a new Political Party like Unity08 to field a third candidate. Times are changin and I plan on doing all I can to make that happen, thanks for sharing your article with us.
  Ron Ouellette
  
• 7/24/2006 10:01 AM Chip Holk wrote:
  Tom,
  Thank you! I am glad that I read what you wrote. So true.
  
  I had written a long reply, but I had to erase it.
  
  Thank You
  Chip