By Daniel L. McGrew

I started working making minimum wage ($3.25/hr) after leaving high school in 1984. I believed that college would further my wage earning capacity, bring me a little more prestige at work, and increase the standard of living for myself and my family. I might even get a better job. I enrolled and completed a 3 mos. Course at ACC in Texas. This increased my wages to $5.50/hr.  Next, I enrolled in Trident Technical College and completed a one year course. This increased my wage earning capacity to $10.50/hr. A few years later after being hit and killed by a Toyota truck, I enrolled in the Community College of the Air Force. This increased my wages to $20.10/hr. Finally, I attended American Intercontinental University (AIU) to complete a bachelor’s and master’s degree. This pushed my wages into the $38.00/hr range. As good as this sounds things were about to change.

            Thinking back, it all came into much shaper focus in March 1996, about 10 days before my 30^th birthday. I was riding my bicycle down the road. I always rode in the front, our children rode in the middle, and my wife rode in the back to keep us all in line. We were passing a church, when a Toyota truck swerved into the grass doing 45 miles per hour and hit me. It knocked me from one driveway of the church all the way to the next. The ambulance arrived to help me. I had stopped breathing and my heart had stopped beating. They shot me full of drugs and performed CPR on me. This restarted my heart & breathing. I spent three expensive days in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).

            My wife and mother are medical professionals. They gave the hospital staff so much trouble that the doctor sent me home after three days. I couldn’t remember anything for over six months after that. I had forgotten who I was and what decade I was in.

            I do remember that while sitting on the steps of the house one darkening evening, our youngest baby Laura (3½ years old) came to talk to me. She asked me what I was doing. I was thinking about ways to explain to her that bills were coming in, our electricity was going to be cut off, and similarly frightening things. However, I could find no way to convert my knowledge and feelings into words that a three and a half year baby could understand. The first stars were becoming visible as I turned to look into her eyes and simply said that I was a little worried. She looked at me and said, “Daddy. You told me that if someone is worried that means that they don’t believe in JESUS.” I felt the core of my being shudder a little when I digested that. I responded that she was absolutely correct and that I was not going to worry anymore.

The Air Force Reserves had been there for us. The Wing Commander, my shop chief, and first sergeant came to my house. They spoke with my wife and kids. They helped my wife with donations from people at work. They also helped her get food stamps so that we would not starve. 

While continuing to heal, looking for a new job, helping my wife raise our five babies (tons of fun & exciting laundry, cooking, yard/housework, etc…), I went to the education center on Charleston Air Force Base and started taking CLEP exams. I studied and passed them all. Months later I received my first Associates degree in the mail. A month after that, I had received another associate’s degree.

             A few months after that, before anything was turned off, I got a job with the Department of Defense (DOD), Air Force Civil Service.  When hired, I had two associate degrees. After working for them for a few years, I tore the ligaments in my left knee while moving a C-141 generator through a hanger door. I could say that because of my injury they continued to promote people without degrees over me. However, that would not be fair. They were promoting people without degrees over me long before I ever hurt my knee. I was physically unable to perform that job so they gave me another one. I worked at that unrewarding job for years. I got 1% pay increases while everyone else got 3 and 4 percent wage increases.  

After the second surgery to my knee I attended American Intercontinental University (AIU). I received a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Shortly thereafter, Civil Service began increasing the physical demands of my job. They started giving me unsatisfactory performance ratings because I was physically unable to perform the work. Finally, they fired me because of my work related injury. That’s okay; I receive a whopping $97.00 per month from the Department of Labor to compensate me for my lost wages from that job. As a matter of fact that is my total income now, $97.00 per month.

Last year, I lived in government housing for $18.00 per month and am concerned about my lights, gas, and water being turned off.

Currently, I live in my Mom's trailer while she is at my brother's house. The DOL finally vacated thier decision, after over 20 months. However, they are attempting to take that away from me. They've been paying $97.00 per month for almost two years and now that they are paying me over $1,000.00 per month they want me to see a doctor and get an examination. They said that it's because I haven't been seen by a doctor in more than 6 months. That is true, however the last time that I saw the doctor he gave me a shot in my knee and it did strange things to me. So, I didn't want to repeat that. At any rate, now I'm back to waiting again to see what thet are going to do. I don't have to wait long, next week is payday.

Trying to get back on my feet, I’ve applied for over 1393 jobs in the last six months of 2006 and have not been able to get a permanent position with any company. In addition to this, I’ve applied for thousands of Air Force Civil Service positions. None of them want to hire a disabled employee. /b>

Last updated: Thursday March 20, 2008 10:22 AM -0500