Help Joel Get Life-Changing Medical Care That The VA Denies!

LET’S FIX THIS U.S. MARINE SINCE THE VA REFUSES TO!

Help fund proper medical care for a USMC veteran who is rated 100% disabled.

Joel Extine is a disabled veteran rated at 100% by the VA. He suffers from numerous injuries to his body as well as severe mental health issues. The pain of the physical issues, combined with the mental health issues, in conjunction with the alcoholic culture of The Marine Corps, lead him to a pretty bad battle with alcoholism and addiction. All of this along with the toxic diet our government recommends left him with diabetes that he now struggles to keep under control and a body that never got the nutrition it needed to heal. The VA however, as we all know, does not like to provide treatments that work. That would mean healthy, happy veterans who are less reliant on the government. Healthy happy veterans would not care about campaign promises to fix the VA. So the goal of this fundraiser is to raise $67,000 to get Joel the treatment he needs to get well which includes stem cell therapy and hydrotherapy.

It is no secret that veterans do not get the care they need while sports stars and big name celebrities have the luxury of funding trips outside of our country for treatments that actually work. After hearing of the stem cell treatment they are doing in other countries, Joel and his wife Bethany have looked into it and talked to doctors about it. They have determined that it would be the best course or action for him since the VA has been failing him for decades now. The VA treats the symptoms but not the cause of the problem. The type of stem cell treatment they have been looking at is at a place in Mexico that has been featured on Joe Rogan’s podcast numerous times. People like Joel’s favorite NFL QB, Tony Romo have had stem cell therapy on injuries very similar to his own with excellent results. No offense to Tony, but his injuries occurred while playing a game, not defending his country. Currently, the VA, nor any other private insurance company will pay for such therapy. The quote they were given to treat him was $45,000 plus the cost of a 5 day stay in Mexico, roughly another $2000.

There are many studies out there that show that hydrotherapy is good for Joel’s condition. Those of you who know him, know that he already spends a great deal of time in the pool at their home during the summer. Recently he joined Total Fitness Connection in Bowling Green, KY to use their cold plunge tub, hot tub, and pool for hydrotherapy. He is seeing some results from this but it is not sustainable as it is a 30 minute drive there and back each day. Unfortunately, driving is a serious aggravator of his hip, back, and neck problems so by the time he gets home most of the relief is gone. He needs hydrotherapy at home. The VA supposedly has HISA (Home Improvement and Structural Alterations) grants available but there is a lot of ambiguity about what the HISA grant will cover. From the research The Extine’s have done, it says the grant will cover hydrotherapy, but not a “hot tub.” He applied for this grant and was turned down because they said it does not cover “hot tubs”, we don’t think they understand what we are asking for. But this is the VA, the grant language is ambiguous and the communication with decision makers is non-existent making the grant program useless to the average person. What he needs is a therapy tub that does both hot and cold which can run between $15-$20K. Again now, back to the disparity in care that veterans receive. A great site that shows this disparity is coldtub.com. Their products look great but you’ll notice they brag about the sports stars and celebrities who use their products. We think disabled veterans deserve this top notch care more than celebs and sports stars and we should give them a reason to use Joel’s story!

We are looking to get the stem cell therapy done and get the hydrotherapy set up ordered as soon as possible as the cost could go up given how quickly the value of our dollar is falling due to inflation. Please donate what you can and most importantly SHARE SHARE SHARE! Even share multiple times! Every share helps!

For those of you who do not know Joel. Here is a brief bio:

Joel was born in Toledo, OH in 1974 and raised in a humble, middle class family. He graduated from Maumee High School and then served for 12 years, 11 months, and 18 days on active duty in The United States Marine Corps. Joel has three children and three grandchildren who he is extremely proud of along

with his wife, Bethany who is from Harned, KY. Bethany is not just your average working wife and mother. She is also his caregiver as his disabilities prohibit him from a lot of things and sometimes he requires extra care and help. She works tirelessly to make sure that Joel is fed properly and taken care of. She has done research on this trip to Mexico, she keeps track of his appointments, she researches the food issues in this country and tailors Joel’s diet to make it the best possible for him.

Joel enlisted in the delayed entry program in May 1993 and shipped to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, SC in January of 1994. Upon completion of the Organizational Automotive Mechanics Class he was stationed with Fox Battery, 2nd Bn, 10th Marines. After reenlistment he was assigned to 2D Supply Bn where he served in a variety of roles. Then back to 10th Marines in September of 2001. This time with B 1/10 who he would later deploy to Iraq with in 2003 in support of Task Force Tarawa where the unit’s devastatingly accurate and timely artillery fire was key in ensuring a quick and decisive victory in The Battle of An Nasiriyah. Once stateside Joel was selected for recruiting duty where he excelled despite the body counts of our troops on the nightly news, scaring young people away from his office! He was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his outstanding efforts in recruiting. One fact he is very proud of is that some of the wonderful and amazing young people he recruited are still serving today as officers and SNCO’s! Another amazing fact he is very proud of is that he recruited a young person who would go on to be awarded The Congressional Medal of Honor! (Dakota Meyer)

In December of 2006, Joel got out of the Marine Corps and entered the civilian workforce with a brief stint selling Aflac insurance. He then worked in HR for Camping World at their Corporate Office doing recruiting for their stores and shops. From there he worked his own MLM company where his leadership, selling skills, and the company’s nutritional products had a positive impact on many people. While working the business he put his GI Bill to use and went to college at WKU where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a double major in Communication Studies and Religious Studies. From there he did physician recruiting for FCS where they specialize in the recruitment of psychiatrists. While there he gained a passion for helping those with mental health issues as he sees that as the biggest cause of everything from the failed drug war in this country to homelessness, and many other issues. The last place he worked was at Holley where he took calls on the tech line helping Holley customers with their carburetors, EFI systems, and a lot of other high performance, aftermarket products. It was there that he was actually fired for being disabled. He applied for reasonable accommodations but they refused. So naturally, he tried to find a lawyer. They all said he had a great case, but once they found out how low his base salary was, (which is what the winnings would be a percentage of) no lawyer would waste their time with it. At that time he thought it best to go ahead and apply for an increase in his VA disability and retire. Throughout all of this, Joel and Bethany have been and still are very generous with their time and money. They have allowed friends of their children to stay in their home, Bethany volunteers a lot with the St. Jude Dream Home and would of course drag Joel along with her, they donate to and have worked at Toys 4 Tots events. They are generous people who enjoy giving back. For a long time, their main hobby was supporting local music. Their favorites are Jericho Woods, Kyle Daniel, Black Stone Cherry, The Daddy Sisters, El Astronauta (and Dean’s other bands). However due to Joel’s worsening conditions, they may go to one or two shows per year now.

Given all that they have given over the years, if they had put that time and money into Joel’s care, they would not be asking for money. But that is just not who they are. Joel won’t even go and take a free meal on veterans day. Joel also serves as the Chair of The Libertarian Party of Warren County. Upon taking over as chair, he moved their meetings to Overtime Sports Bar where the party would participate in Brainblast Trivia. He had them pool their money to feed the less fortunate. He is always thinking of new and creative ways to help people. We now ask for your help in return! Please help them get the care that Joel needs! Let’s put him on the Joe Rogan show to testify to the effectiveness of this stem cell therapy!

For those who may want specifics on Joel’s conditions, here are his own words:

I got out of the Marine Corps in 2006 due to numerous medical problems. I was afraid of the civilian job market so I somehow finagled my way out with a RE-1A reenlistment code as opposed to a med board. I wanted to keep my options on going into another branch open and this also helped me to refuse to admit there was anything wrong with me. Well the job thing was rough so I decided to try the army. I went to MEPS for them but the doc wouldn’t even see me. He took a look at my records and gave a resounding “NO.” At that time, I decided to go ahead and apply for VA disability.

1. Degenerative discs in my back and neck are a major problem. I had a disc removed from my neck and the vertebrae fused in 2005 while still on active duty. The surgeon told me that after the fusion, the discs above and below would eventually go bad sooner than normal. He was correct about that, they certainly have gotten worse. To the point where it is extremely painful to look left and up, as well as certain left/right tilt angles of the head. There is also a constant tension as the disc is hitting the nerves which tells the muscles to stay tight as a form of natural protection. This results in a constant feeling of needing to stretch but that only causes more pain as the joints in my neck are also very arthritic. So as I try to stretch, I get a bad pinch and sometimes shooting pain. When it gets bad, I will have shooting pain down into my upper back between my spine and scapula or the right side. Sometimes I can work this out in days, other times it lasts for weeks or even months. I’ve gone to physical therapy for this and sometimes they manage to make it switch from the right of my spine to the left. This is excruciating as I am not used to it on that side. My lower back is just as bad. I get shooting pain down the outside of my legs that shoots down to my knees and has even gone shooting into my genitals when it got really bad. I have had ablations that helped with the shooting pain, but those only last so long.

2. My right shoulder is really screwed up. In 1997, while on active duty, I injured my shoulder playing football for PT. Eventually, the doctor at the CLNC Naval Hospital said I needed surgery. He showed me on the MRI what he was going to go in and remove. I don’t remember the medical term (some kind of hook like process) but they were never able to get me in at the naval hospital. So my Battalion Aid Station sent me out in town to a civilian doctor. He recommended a mumford procedure as the recovery time was much faster and said I should get the same relief. Wrong, zero relief. And what’s worse is that every MRI I’ve had since then does not show this thing that the original doctor wanted to remove. Now years later, in 2022, I tore my rotator cuff and had it surgically repaired. It has not been right since the surgery and the most recent MRI still shows tearing. Prior to that surgery I told the doctor about the past issues and the mumford procedure and he assured me they would fix all of that too but I can still feel that little something in my shoulder as it cracks and grinds with almost every move my arm makes.

3. I messed up my right hip on active duty while I was assigned to recruiting duty. Again playing football. This time at a Poolee’s going away party. (Josh Metcalf) Josh is now a Master Sergeant I believe. My right hip however has never been the same. I dove for a pass, landed on my knee while some high school kid landed on my back side which resulted in a loud crack from my hip. A lot of the kids said they heard it. As a Marine on recruiting duty, stopping the game wasn’t an option as I had to show these kids what a badass Marine I was (What Marine wouldn’t?). The official diagnosis is an impingement. Standing after sitting too long is unbearable and sometimes very difficult to do, as well as sitting after standing for too long. Both activities require much stretching and often results in an awkward bit of a limp.

4. Horrible arthritic knee pain. I always know when it’s going to rain and these things crack and pop all day long.

5. In 1995 while on deployment to CAX in 29 Palms with F 2/10, my hand slipped while installing a rear main seal in a HMMWV motor resulting in a cut extensor tendon in my right index finger. The stitching they used is permanent and that finger always hurts and gets cold faster than the rest of them. As I type this it is really killing me!

6. Mental health, PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, it's bad. As a Marine you see shit and do shit that humans should not see or do. We believe now that the heavy drinking, without proper treatment after quitting cold turkey, has led to Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome and we are working with a local doctor to know for sure. The constant brain fog, along with the constant tension headache from my neck makes for a lot of bad days where I usually prefer to stay in bed. It could also play a part in my leg pain.

All of this has been very painful and getting worse. When I first got out of The Corps, I was rated at 60% disabled by the VA. Now as a Marine, of course my drinking skills were as good as any Marine. I could drink any civilian and most Marines under the table. That is USMC culture! But as things worsened over the years, I began to self medicate with alcohol. I eventually filled again and the VA raised my rating to 80% disabled. That was all nice, but it did nothing for the pain. I continued to self medicate with booze and it got bad. I didn’t care if I ate healthy, as long as it was tasty. We now know that it was a sugar addiction so naturally I came down with diabetes. As the drinking increased I was blacking out and doing stupid things. After one such night, the morning of May 22, 2022, I sat on the edge of my bed noticing that a dresser drawer was pulled completely out and dumped on the floor, my dirty clothes basket stunk like piss, and my lip was busted. I had no clue what happened but as I looked around at the loaded guns I keep by the bed, I had to wonder what would have happened if Bethany or our son Rex had startled me! That is the kind of shit you read about in the news! That scared me sober on the spot! The withdrawal was bad and it didn’t take long to realize that there were also a lot of mental health issues that the booze was doing a great job of suppressing. With a diagnosis of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and ADHD, I had to file for another increase as there was no mental health in my claim. Upon filing this time, with the addition of the mental health issues, I was rated at 100% disabled. (Thanks Nate!)

Prior to quitting drinking, I also started using marijuana medicinally. It helped with the pain and it was also a crucial part of quitting drinking cold turkey and getting through the withdrawal. I have always feared narcotics for fear of becoming addicted, so weed was my choice of pain meds. We found out recently however, that there is a thing called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) that can affect long term marijuana users and it is not fun. With marijuana, it builds up in your system and for things like pain, you end up having to use more for the same effect and eventually it seems to just peg out yet you keep using more and more and in higher THC doses hoping for the same pain relief. Once the CHS starts, the only way to treat it or make it stop is to of course stop using marijuana at all, which is what I had to do. It didn’t take long before every benefit for pain that it was giving me was long gone. All of the pain came right back seemingly worse than ever before. Which makes sense because I am sure my body is worse off than it was years ago when I started using it.

The pain is no joke. We’ve all seen movies where someone is injured and wants to be put out of their misery. Unfortunately, those days come around a lot for me as I know for sure that is one way to end the pain. I get to a point where I hate the meat suit I live in and want it gone. It’s just that the negative effects of that option are way too permanent. Yet the thought is always there when living with this sort of pain every day. Along with the idea of being such a burden to those around me most of the time. Luckily, through the influence of people like Chris Robertson, the amazing vocalist and guitarist for Black Stone Cherry, and his work with The You Rock Foundation, I have been able to realize that it’s OK to not be OK and to talk about such things.

They say 22 veterans per day are killing themselves. Personally, I have lost three brothers to their demons. I am hoping that this treatment I am seeking will provide me the relief I need to continue to fight for my brothers and sisters in arms, to help them fight their demons. I am hoping it will allow me a better quality of life while not being so taxing on my family and making me more bearable to be around. I hope that you will see fit to donate what you can to my cause as I can attest that once I feel better I can do even more to continue my life’s work of helping all other humans through liberty, love and compassion.