Maybe now we can get a rating

Well, finally today was the last appointment for Justin so that he can finally be rated by the VA. We have discovered in the last couple of days that not only does he have the neurological problems, but we now know that he has lost his peripheral vision in both eyes and is legally deaf in his right ear.
We have been so frustrated as the VA wanted this completed by the end of December but due to errors by the contractor today was the last appointment. This could have all been done in January. I really went off the deep end at the contractor at the end of January as they called to say that he had to see more doctors.
They called this afternoon to say that all reports should be in the hands of the VA by next Friday at the very latest. We sure hope so. This has gone on long enough.
This morning we started very early and went to pick up the brace that was made to keep Justin's right foot in a stable position. It is rather hard right now for him to wear but he he will take it slow and wear it around the house to get used to it. It hurts but considering that his foot has been in a constant drawn up position for over 6 months it is going to hurt being in the proper position.
He does have a good time with Smokey at his side. Smokey helps to relieve his P.T.S.D. symptoms and is good as he has stopped Justin from falling a couple of times. Smokey is about 16 months old and is a very pretty black Labrador. We had to laugh yesterday when we went into Wal-Mart to get something. There was a cardboard cutout of Kyle Petty on an advertisement for Verizon Wireless. Smokey did not like it for some reason. He barked and barked as well as he growled at that cutout. He was really upset about it. We did not scold him but when we got to the car we laughed and laughed. He really is a good guard dog too. We were sitting at home and he did not like something he heard and barked at the door. Justin went out to check and all was fine but he is very protective of all 3 of us. He his slowly making friends with Sylvester and Shadow. They keep him in line and take no guff from him. It is rather funny.
The last 24 hours my lungs have hurt and are causing me to cough. I think due to the rapid change in temperature. I notice it a lot when I go from cold to hot and then back to cold. Wal-Mart keeps it very warm in the store and I really have a problem when it is cold out and then I go inside and then back out again. I hope that this stops in a day or so.
We are keeping our fingers crossed now that Justin has had to see more doctors that this is it and that we will have the VA's decision on his rating within the next two weeks. It will be nice once this is done. We can finally relax we hope. Keep the fingers crossed.