Here are some details about our trip to DC. But, let me first preface this with a brief introduction for those of you who don't know me personally. My name is Georgie Denman, and my husband is an active duty medical Corpsman in the United States Navy, currently stationed at Camp Pendleton as an instructor at Field Medical School. We arrived Sunday night late, and my fears about traveling with Tyler were relieved when he did wonderfully on the plane, and was such a trooper for the entire trip. On Monday, Tyler, Temple (his nurse), and I went over to meet up with Michael and Edith at NAHC. I had never before had the privilege, and I was especially anxious to meet Michael as he has been advocating and representing Tyler with our Tricare issues for over three years. Then, all five of us went over to Congressman Murtha's office where we met with Carmin and other staffers, and thanked them for their help with the language in the appropriations bill which changed the "custodial care" definition favorably for those of us under that policy exclusion. We then met with Greg at Congressman Young's office, and thanked him as well for their support! Tyler made a huge impression at both places, and when we were done there, we decided to drop by at Congressman Packard's office to do a little lobbying there as they had previously been uninvolved - plus he happens to be the Congressman from my home district in California. Eric, the staffer there, actually fit us in without an appointment, and during our discussion one of the things we addressed was the mistaken impression that the new Case Management Program would help most of us under the custodial care policy. When we left, Eric took several pieces of information from us, and assured us that they would look at the issue a little closer now that we brought it to his attention. Plus, as we were leaving, Congressman Packard himself walked into his office, so I was able to do a brief pitch and take some pictures with he and Tyler. On Tuesday, we all met with members of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council (FICC) at the DOD Task Force Meeting, which includes members of the DOD. I made a twenty minute presentation, & introduced Tyler. It went so well, the Chairman (Jean) and Director (Libby) asked me to come again on Thursday in front of the entire FICC at the open forum meeting and make the presentation again. The DOD representatives seemed to be uncomfortable with what I had to say, but they were cordial and listened. After my presentation, Libby and Jean addressed them directly and asked what was going to be done about this serious problem. When they couldn't get a sufficient answer (because obviously the representatives there don't have them) they decided to draft a letter from the FICC directly to Admiral Sears asking him to change the policy through a regulatory change rather than wait for a legislative one. The letter was approved by the entire FICC, and after my review of its language it seems to have hit the nail squarely on the head! After the FICC meeting, we then went to Congressman Watt's office, where we met with Sandra (staffer and ex-Navy!) and made our case again. She was EXTREMELY supportive, and by the time we left she was passing out hugs to Tyler and I. On the way out, we shook hands and met Congressman Watts himself as he was on his way in! Wednesday, I took the day off to regroup and recover a little. For those of you who don't already know, Tyler requires constant one-on-one observation, assessment and medical care around the clock for seizures, suctioning, g-tube feedings, respiratory treatments and oxygen administration, etc. So, needless to say, with just his one nurse and myself providing all the care, we averaged 3-4 hours of sleep per night the entire week. So, Wednesday we played and Tyler made some new friends in the secret service who were on assignment that night at Mount Vernon!! Thursday, we had a morning meeting with two staffers from Senator McCain's office - Christopher & Sonya. During the course of the meeting, Christopher (the military affairs staffer) became extremely aggravated about the EFMP and vowed to take on the issue personally. (he was also ex-Navy!). Plus, he actually went to his office and personally called over to Senator Kyle's office to set up a meeting right away with one of his staffers. We went over there too, met with a staffer, Suzanne, and made our pitch as best we could in the short amount of time we had - but it was an extra opportunity that certainly couldn't hurt. Plus, once again, we got to meet Senator Kyle on our way out!!! Then, we went over to the Holiday Inn Capital where I was presenting my speech for the full FICC. They had me slotted up first, and at the conclusion of my presentation, Jean Johnson asked me to become a permanent parent representative on the DOD Task Force committee for the FICC, which means I would be invited back to DC quarterly to address all our DOD issues. Then, on our way out of the room at the conclusion of my presentation, we were stopped by two secret servicemen who were securing the area for President Clinton's arrival for the FEMA briefing that was being televised. To make a long story short, one of them was so impressed by meeting Tyler he personally came and got Tyler, Temple, Edith and I out of the hotel restaurant to meet the President as he was leaving the hotel. I was given an INCREDIBLE opportunity to make an impression and BRIEFLY tell the President who were were, and why we were there. It went extremely well, and there's no doubt in my mind that he will not quickly forget the very special little boy he met that day, nor will he forget the passionate mother of that boy who took great strides to make her pitch. He listened intently, patiently, and in the end, it was he who said he was honored to meet my son and I!!! (I also made sure to mention to him that I was born in Arkansas and that is where my family have been for 150 years - I couldn't miss that opportunity to get his attention!) He was as charming and charismatic as many of us have heard, and I was weak-kneed and flustered for the rest of the afternoon!!! :) On a side note - Tyler wasn't as impressed. He slept through the whole thing! That night, Dawn Damato and I attended the National Military Family Association Reception where they were honoring Congressman Floyd Spence and Senator John Warner for their efforts and successes with the Defense Authorization Act which recently passed - and I might add is very long-awaited and richly deserved piece of legislature which finally addresses the enormous inequities between the military pay & benefit system compared with that of the civilian sector. Understandably, that room had more brass in it then an antique shop! It was a long night, but between the Undersecretery of Defense DeLeon, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Johnson, MasterChief of the Navy Herdt, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Commanding General of the Air Force, most of the Joint Chief's of Staff, etc., suffice it to say that Dawn and I worked that room!!!! Interestingly, I had more success with the Navy brass, while Dawn had better success with the AF brass, but it was still a great opportunity for both of us to draw attention to the cause and meet some very important people! Finally, Friday came and it was time to leave. But, that morning I got a call from Jeff Nesmith (a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with Cox News Service's Washington Bureau) and he asked if he could ride to the airport with us and do an interview and meet Tyler. So, he did - and he couldn't quite believe the incredible week we had. He was especially impressed with the fact that we met the President, and said he thought this was a great story and that he would personally obtain the photographs that the white house photographer took to use in his story. I think the article has the potential to get a great deal of attention, and depending on what slant he takes, our cause as well. I made sure to mention that I was a member of a group of families struggling within the military health care system, who collectively call ourselves "Casualties of Tricare" and that I was there lobbying on behalf of us ALL for military health care reform. On that note - I want to personally thank Carrie Sapp from Casualties of Tricare for all her work setting up the meetings. That was a huge undertaking, and I appreciate it very much!!! In closing, let me just say that we still have much to do, but with every letter, phone call, visit and newspaper article, we remain IN THEIR FACE, and we simply keep reminding them that we ARE NOT GOING AWAY, and that our group is more determined than ever to prevail on this issue. For all of us, we must keep the faith, keep up the fight, and not allow those individuals who simply cannot "see" BECAUSE THEY CHOOSE NOT TO - discourage us from obtaining our goal. One final note - none of this would have happened without the invaluable assistance of two individuals - Edith Smith and Michael Kinslow. Unlike most of us, they have no real personal vested interest in the outcome of our cause, but they spend enormous amounts of time on this issue, continuing to advocate for us out of personal integrity, vision, and compassion. We all owe them a great deal of gratitude for taking the time to do this, and my heartfelt appreciation once again to them both!!!! Georgie Denman |
DC Visit Details |
