The youngest ‘veteran’

I entered my first VA hospital at the age of 14. No, I did not lie about my age and enlist at the age of 10 – that event occurred when I volunteered for the Air Force at age 19. Rather, I was “drafted “one summer by my mother, who, tired of driving us kids back and forth to vacation Bible school and swimming lessons, had noticed that the VA hospital in Salt Lake City had positions for summer volunteers. The pay consisted of free (all you could eat) lunch in the VA cafeteria. The food was not bad; the experience was wonderful. 

My first assignment was in the hematology lab, where the blood draws from the morning rounds were analyzed. We would go from ward to ward searching for the selected victims – me pushing the cart with the dreaded equipment – and the veterans would begin to moan as we came in sight. However, their tone softened when I was introduced as a volunteer, and the arms came into position with submission. Mind you, I was not on the other end of the needle, but my presence seemed to calm their nerves, proof that adhering to the military mantra of “never volunteer” might limit life’s opportunities to lend a helping hand. 

Back in the lab itself, the analytical process began, and a key step was filling hematocrit tubes to spin in a centrifuge. One morning my teenage brain was engaged elsewhere – baseball, golf or girls – and I did not secure the lid on the mechanism. Tubes flew, blood spattered and the walls of the surrounding area inspired an Andy Warhol painting. This was surely an example of “how wars are lost,” but my shortcoming was met with mirth, since there were no injuries, and in those days getting a bit of someone else’s blood on your person was no big deal. 

However, mirth was not evident as we returned to the wards to replace the blood I had spilt. After my stint with the blood people, I reported to a research lab adjacent to the main hospital. I can’t remember any name on the door, but I do remember the research subject: Monkey brains. I never laid eyes on a monkey, but images of our distant relations were in my mind as we worked on theirs. My task, using an automated dispenser, was to insert a precise amount of toluene into vials of tissue samples. Toluene is a versatile solvent, with an odor that is hard to forget; it is also a substance that one does not wish to inhale on a regular basis. But this being 1964 and pre-OSHA, it was just a feature of the job and, unlike the monkeys, I was a volunteer. No mishaps occurred in this lab, and my already keen interest in science was given a “career” perspective by personal interactions with the highly trained and caring staff. These early experiences of the VA, which involved work and learning, cemented in my mind an image of the VA as the logical extension of one’s military service. 

My father volunteered in the Navy at the outbreak of World War II, as did many of the adults I encountered during my childhood, and in my young mind the VA was just the fifth branch of service. From its inception in the 1930’s, the VA has embraced research as a handmaiden to care, such that the old VA hospital in Salt Lake City had a wing dedicated to medical discovery.

In today’s VA environment, learning is enabled by countless collaborations with research facilities and medical schools. For example, a young family friend recently told me of his rotations at the Palo Alto VA over a three-year period while attending medical school, and he noted three aspects of his experiences. One, the patients were gracious, polite and listened to the medical advice they received – a compliment to all veterans. Secondly, veterans often presented with severe or unusual illnesses not seen in public hospitals, the diagnosis and treatment of which required learning. Finally, the staff were dedicated and viewed work at the VA as a true calling – this is a compliment to the VA itself. 

These views fit exactly with my personal observations, having received decades of care at several VA facilities across the county. The young doctor’s thoughts stand in stark contrast to views or comments about the VA which oftentimes are voiced by people with little or no VA experience, or even by veterans themselves who may not understand the workings of the institution. 

This later point highlights the need for all of us to be knowledgeable and anticipatory about our healthcare needs. Above all, understanding that the VA provides learning opportunities alongside its mission of veteran care, may help all of us make lifestyle and healthcare choices that enable VA staff to perform their roles in a “partnership” with former service members.