Praise for VA

On the rare occasion the VA is mentioned in the media, it is usually due to bureaucratic poor performance or a veteran not receiving the care they have earned and deserve. I wanted to take a moment and do the exact opposite. I am a Somerville resident, former Green Beret, and after graduating from West Point, served 10 years in the Army including three deployments to Afghanistan. Due to completing a considerable amount of intense training in the Army, I’ve had back issues on and off for years. Recently, I aggravated this injury and herniated a disc in my low spine.

While certainly not life-threatening, this injury set me on a course of dealing with debilitating pain which severely impacted my quality of life for months. Throughout this period, I could not have felt more supported by the Boston VA Healthcare System. My recovery from injury, which concluded with a minimally invasive surgical intervention, included interactions with Primary Care, Pain Management, Emergency Medicine, Chiropractic Care, Physical Therapy, Neurology, Acupuncture, Radiology, Physiatry, and Neurosurgery. All of this treatment was free of charge. Ultimately, I was at a VA Healthcare Facility at least weekly in either Lowell, Jamaica Plain, or West Roxbury for seven months. In every interaction, I was met with empathy, support, and proactivity to get me the care and attention I needed. I want to specifically thank Mary Witkos, NP, Dr. Jacob Rachlin, Dr. David Blaustein, Dr. Puja Shankar, Dr. Rachel Joudrey, DPT, and Dr. Sara Grunert, DC.

I am so incredibly grateful to live in a country, and even more so a community and city, that takes care of those who have served. Every time I expressed my gratitude to any of these amazing healthcare professionals, I was met with, “no, thank you.” What a country.

Mike Sorrentino

Somerville

Democratic Party

The Democratic house of cards is tumbling down around them. This is what happens when you try to snow the people to hold/expand power in this country.  It was a great week for American democracy, an awful week for American Democrats.

Nick McNulty
Windham, NH

Remember John O’Keefe

The recent dog and pony show also known as the Karen Read murder trial showcased the media at its worst. The majority of the coverage both locally and nationally put just about all the focus on the accused and forgot there was a victim. His name was John O’Keefe and he has been all but forgotten. He has family and friends that loved him. I hope every school of journalism will use this poor media coverage as a lesson on how to not report the news.

Paul J. Baranofsky

Waltham

Trump legacy

Why are most of the politicians in Massachusetts against lower gas price, lower taxes, lower interest rates, low energy prices and a closed border?  Doesn’t make a lot of sense, but they want us to vote against a man who as president gave us those things.

Paul Quaglia

Billerica