Milford soldier battling red tape, medical bills after heart attack
But Army Reservist Capt.
Last week, the Morgans learned that the
They decided to go public with their situation. "There's a lot at stake here, and it's not just about me and my family," Morgan said. "If I'm going through this, then I'm not the only one."
"And that means that the system is broken," he said.
After the
"I am cautiously optimistic at this time," Morgan told the New Hampshire Union Leader Wednesday.
"And hopefully what this means is that we'll have an opportunity to not just get my decision approved, but to fix the process for all the other soldiers that are going through the same thing that don't have a voice," he said.
Morgan deployed to
Morgan works as a cyber-security specialist for
Last
After 15 pushups, he started to feel unwell, but his test grader encouraged him to keep going, Morgan said. "And at 40 pushups, I was done. I collapsed on the floor."
"That's when I noticed my chest was on fire," he said. "I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't stop sweating."
He was getting over bronchitis, so at first he thought that's what was making him ill. About an hour later, a warrant officer with medical training came to check on him. By then, the pain was radiating down his left arm.
Morgan was taken by ambulance to a local hospital; an EKG done en route confirmed that he was having a heart attack, he said.
Morgan underwent an emergency cardiac catheterization, and a stent was inserted in his left anterior descending artery. "That is what's known as the widowmaker," he said. "I had 100 percent blockage in that artery. My heart was dying."
Tests showed that he had had a heart attack within the previous six hours, he said.
Because his heart attack happened on a drill weekend, Morgan assumed that Tricare would cover all his costs. And it did cover his emergency treatment, but the bills piled up during his rehabilitation,
After months of delay, a letter dated
Based on medical documents, the letter said, "it is clear you had a heart attack, but this type of blockage of the artery does not occur solely during or while performing of the Army Physical Fitness Test."
Citing "abnormal labs" from a medical checkup Morgan had in
But not her husband's heart attack, she said. "That's not right."
She said the
LOD investigation
Maj.
"However, the physical and financial well-being of our soldiers and their families is a top concern for
Jackson explained that an LOD investigation "is designed to determine if a soldier's injury, disease, or death is a result of the soldier's own misconduct."
"In the case of Guard and Reserve soldiers, the investigation also determines if the service member was in a valid duty status at the time of the incident and, in the case of illness/disease, if the condition was service-connected and/or service aggravated."
While reserve drill is considered a duty status, it does not automatically carry health coverage, he said; that would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
"There's a direct correlation between me doing the PT test and me having the heart attack," he said.
The Morgans still have about
Morgan had planned to appeal the
In a letter dated
"Further investigation is required to address certain evidentiary deficiencies in your Line of Duty investigation," she wrote.
Morgan said he's trying to adjust to the reality that he has congestive heart failure; he knows it means the end of the military service he loves.
"And the stress of having to go through all this through the past year hasn't made it any easier for me," he said.
He just wants the
But if their fight eventually benefits other soldiers, the Morgans said all the anxiety of the past year will have been worthwhile.
"Again, it's not just about us,"
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