Ten years, 120 months, 522 weeks and 3,652 days. That is how long it has taken me to stop grieving the life I thought I would have. I thought of the five stages of grief - Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining, Acceptance - and then I realized that I was at an impasse.

"Sometimes, I want to die, Nana. If I could just lie down and go peacefully, I would. My mind, body and soul is tired.”

As a medic who served in wartime, my experience with a veteran’s hospital was jaded. I’d heard horror stories about the lack of knowledge from civilian administrators.