A man who was in the Army and Reserves for 17 years is finding himself struggling to obtain disability benefits after he was severely and permanently made disabled.
According to Rochester First, Curly Gifford was in Iraq for two tours as well as other places around the world.
During training in Georgia there was a live-fire exercise with explosives. A detonation too close to him exploded, where he was knocked unconscious. He had metal in his face and head. He was still able to deploy.
He thought he was treated, but upon leaving the service he noticed he was getting severe migraines constantly. The weather changes would make them even worse.
He tried looking into disability, but struggled to find the right help. After two years going between the VA and the government, he finally got what was in his military records verified, despite them being readily available.
The Monroe County VA as well as the Veterans Outreach Center were able to get Gifford the correct help.
This leads Gifford to warn those who may eventually end up in his position. He strongly suggests having multiple copies of all records on hand to be able to give agencies.
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