JagBytes

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: College News

Bryan Dyer was shot in the knee with a squad automatic weapon like this one while serving in the military. Dyer struggles to pay for the surgery to repair the knee because he can't get insurance to cover the injury. Photo: Brian Jones

Bryan Dyer puts 14 miles on his bicycle every time he makes the round trip to campus from his Broad Ripple home.

The Marine Corps veteran and senior anthropology major doesn't mind the ride, but he does it for a more important reason than enjoyment. It's the only way he knows to rehabilitate his knees that were badly injured in the line of duty. He feels the veterans healthcare system has turned its back on him.

Last February, the Washington Post broke the story of inadequate conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In the following days, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said he spoke with President George W. Bush about Walter Reed and the president said, "Find out what the problem is and fix it."

Since then, medical care for injured veterans has gained more attention and soon included looking at deficiencies in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System.

Many young veterans such as Dyer are having trouble finding the help they need to treat injuries from military service. They also have trouble finding civilian insurance companies willing to provide coverage for injuries sustained while in the military.

Last week, President Bush nominated retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James B. Peake to head the VA. If confirmed by the Senate, the twice-wounded veteran of the Vietnam War will be the first physician and first general to hold the position.

After being introduced by the president, Peake acknowledged the U.S. disability system for veterans is "largely a 1945 product." That offers hope for Dyer, who entered the Marine Corps on June 1, 1998.

After boot camp he attended the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Two days before graduation and a transfer to Presidential Support training in Virginia, tragedy struck.

Dyer was shot by a Marine's misfire. The bullet entered just below his right knee, causing a bone fracture. Bone fragments acted like a shotgun blast when they ripped through his left knee, shattering the top of his shin and leaving his lower left leg hanging from his body.

"Falling on top of my own SAW [squad automatic weapon], I looked up and someone shouted, 'I shot him,'" said Dyer. "I saw someone else still pointing his SAW at me, standing about 20 feet away."

Dyer's platoon was deep in the 125,000-acre training ground of Camp Pendleton, far away from the camp's Naval Hospital.

"The bleeding was far from in control at any point so the process of stabilizing me took a long time," Dyer said. "I had to lie on my back while about four Marines attempted to stop the bleeding in my shattered left knee."

In the confusion of the situation and the large amount of blood flowing from Dyer's left leg, the Marines didn't notice the smaller amount of blood coming from his right leg.

When the ambulance arrived, Dyer was placed inside for a bumpy ride over dirt trails that led to paved roads on the way to the Naval Hospital.

"The two Corpsmen in the back of the ambulance look pretty horrified and really couldn't do much more than the Marines who had been treating me," Dyer said. "The blood was beginning to form new puddles on my gurney and they couldn't give me any morphine because I had lost too much blood."

Dyer estimates the ambulance ride took about 30 minutes, but seemed much longer. At the hospital his memory started to become hazy.

He does remember talking to a doctor after he heard someone call for a tourniquet, stricken with the fear of his leg being amputated.

"It's funny, but I was really worried about dying until the threat of losing my leg gave me a new and somehow stronger fear," he said.

It took more than seven months and five major operations to save his legs and repair enough of the damage so he could walk with the aid of crutches.

It took another five months before he was fit for duty and able to take his first physical fitness test. It took him almost 28 minutes to run three miles, barely fast enough to pass the test. Before the shooting, Dyer ran three miles in less than 18 minutes.

He eventually was medically and honorably discharged in May because of the injury. The Marine Corps rated Dyer as 60 percent disabled.

Dyer still walks with a slight limp. Most days, it is so slight most people don't even notice it. But other days he is forced to use crutches.

In 2001, Dyer had his most recent operation to help repair his knees. The cost of the procedure was covered by his mother's health insurance policy through Aetna.

In 2005 Dyer began having more difficulties with his knees. As an IUPUI student, he enrolled in the IU Student Health Insurance Plan from The Chickering Group, an Aetna subsidiary. Dyer says a representative of the group assured him during a telephone conversation the injuries he sustained in the Marine Corps would be covered by their plan.

More than one month later and after several appointments, Methodist Hospital told Dyer that his insurance policy was denying any obligation to pay for treatment of injuries sustained while in military service.

Dyer contacted Aetna to receive the coverage he claims was promised to him. He could provide no proof of Aetna telling him they would cover his military injuries.

Instead, he sought treatment at the Indianapolis Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. He received an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist in the fall of 2005.

The day before the appointment, Dyer received a voicemail message from the VA notifying him the appointment had been canceled. They didn't give a reason.

He rescheduled and received an appointment eight months later in summer 2006. This appointment was also canceled the day prior, without reason.

After this, Dyer quit seeking help from the VA.

"When my knee(s) get really bad I go somewhere else," Dyer said.

Doctors at Methodist Hospital have told Dyer they believe they could straighten out his left knee, giving him a greater range of motion. He hasn't pursued getting the surgery.

"I didn't see how I could pay for an operation out of pocket," he says.

With all his resources exhausted, Dyer looks forward to graduation and a job with benefits, which will help him care for his knees.

Dyer has heard many different opinions about the prognosis on his knees, but one is definite. His left knee will eventually need to be replaced in an orthopedic surgery.

On his road to recovery, Dyer has overcome one obstacle after another. But he still has one obstacle he has not yet been able to overcome.

He has yet to find a way to get the treatment he needs for an injury sustained in the line of duty.

Contact Brian Jones at btjones@indiana.edu.

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