CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Emery "Lee" Martin desperately wanted to see a Veterans Affairs doctor for injuries suffered in Iraq last year.

His time at the helm of bulldozers and other big machines left the 49-year-old Charlotte man with debilitating pain in his shoulders and arms. Close calls with roadside bombs and bullets - AK-47 rounds zipped between his legs on one occasion - left him with mental scars.

In October, he applied to see a Veterans Affairs doctor. He said the agency lost his paperwork - twice.

More than three months later, and still no word from the VA, the N.C. Army National Guard soldier showed up unannounced at the VA hospital in Salisbury. Nearly five hours later, he left with a bottle of pills to ease his physical pain. He said no one talked to him about possible side effects.

The medicine soon caused him to urinate blood, he said. At a follow-up visit in February, the VA changed his medication and scheduled his next appointment - Aug. 16. "We're getting shoved to the back," he said, "and no one wants to deal with us."

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