Laying in his hospital bed with his service dog Rebel curled up on his legs, 8-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran Steve Smith has been getting impatient.
The Jacksonville veteran said he’s waited three weeks for VA approval to have a large kidney stone surgically removed.
On Wednesday, Smith was hospitalized with complications from that kidney stone; still, no VA approval.
“Right now, I’m in a pretty good amount of pain,” said Smith. “You call one office and they point the finger at another office and it’s just an endless runaround.”
Smith reached out to Action News Jax for help.
“It seems like the only time that the VA will move is if the media gets involved,” said Smith.
Hours after we first started calling the VA, spokesman Daniel Henry said, “They are working on the issue with this particular veteran right now.”
Smith was approved for surgery less than an hour later.
“I can deal with pain. But it’s the next guy, the next veteran in line that’s in the same situation,” said Smith. “Some of the systemic failures that are ingrained into the VA are still there.”
Henry said the best thing a veteran can do if they’re in a situation like this is to call the VA Patient Advocate hotline. At the Jacksonville VA, that number is 904-475-5800, extension 5849.