MACON, Ga. — A Warner Robins Army and Air Force veteran says mistakes made by the Dublin VA are endangering her health. Lori Llewellyn said she's worried that mistakes and what she calls substandard care will cause her symptoms to get worse before she can get help.
"I'm treating this like a battle, so I have to basically be mission-ready," Llewellyn said.
That's how Llewellyn said she is approaching her healthcare at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin. She feels the care she's received could be hurting more than helping.
"I'm worried they're gonna kill me because they're lazy," she said. "These blatant delays are killing us."
Llewellyn served in the Air Force from 2000 to 2006. Afterwards, she joined the Army as part of the 62nd Medical Brigade, taking part in medical evacuation operations in Iraq.
"We had like 14 rockets come in, and I just remember my head slamming off the wall," Llewellyn said.
After earning several commendations for service, Llewellyn was medically discharged in 2010, according to records she showed to 13WMAZ.
"I loved my job though, because that way I'm saving lives instead of taking them," she said.
Llewellyn said her problems began when started losing a lot of weight. 13WMAZ last saw her in July when her husband, Paul, was struck by lightning. She said she's lost over 50 pounds since then.
"I actually wear a 6 now, when the last time you saw me I was wearing like 16s," Llewellyn said.
Because of the weight loss, she went to the Dublin VA for help in January. In March, she received a CT scan, but Llewellyn said doctors put off looking at her radiology reports.
"I had to file a complaint to get it read, so that was fun," Llewellyn said.
Llewellyn's reports say her urgency to have reports read quickly is partly because of a history of cancer in her family. When a doctor did look at it, the scan revealed ground glass opacity in her lungs, particles that didn't belong.
Llewellyn said they may be linked to her time in Iraq.
The VA gave her orders to doctors in their community care system. Llewellyn realized the paperwork the VA gave to the doctors was incorrect. It said the problem spots on her lungs were on the upper left and right lobes of her lungs, not the lower lobes as initial reports indicated.
That's when she reached out to Senator David Perdue's office for help.
"It took 45 days to get them to fix it, so they were sending out community care orders with the wrong information, biopsies for the wrong part of my lung," Llewellyn said.
Perdue's office got the problem resolved and helped Llewellyn get follow-up scans and appointments with outside doctors through the VA.
She says several other mix-ups and mistakes between the VA and her health care providers followed.
13WMAZ requested answers to questions about Llewellyn's case. Llewellyn signed a release provided by the VA allowing them to speak to us about her records. After 13WMAZ waited two weeks for a response, the VA set up an interview with their new director David Whitmer. The interview was cancelled an hour before it was scheduled.
The VA sent us this response:
"If the VA erred in its treatment of the Veteran, we can work to adjust it accordingly. Privacy concerns prevent us from addressing the specifics of this case publicly, but we will reach out to Ms. Llewellyn directly to address her concerns."
Llewellyn's follow-up scans came back negative for cancer and she's glad she caught the problems in her lungs early. She feels she's now won her battle with the Dublin VA, but doesn't want other veterans to fight similar wars.
"Do they want a body count before something gets done? Because that's what it looks like," she said.
Llewellyn plans on moving to Pennsylvania where she says she can get better care at the Altoona VA.
Senator Perdue’s office is able to help Georgians with a variety of federal issues from veterans affairs, to obtaining visas and passports, filing Social Security claims, and navigating federal agencies. You can contact Senator Perdue’s office by calling 404-865-0087 or online at www.perdue.senate.gov