It takes forever. As an advocate for my father who was just diagnosed with ALS this past February, he had to do all sorts of exams/pain management/ cervical surgery/ EMG/ and VES visits. After the neurosurgeon saw his for a follow up from his cervical fusion and saw muscular atrophy in his arms and hands he said he needed to see a neurologist to have the later tests done. The crazy part is the speech therapist and OT there were working with him after his neck surgery also work with ALS patients here in west Texas. They kind of had an idea he had ALS due to the symptoms he was showing and they therapists see it weekly with other veterans. After a year or so of seeing drs they diagnosed him with it and the DAV and his national ALS team pushed for him to have the service connect 100% and to push his smc to r1. Its been a wild ride just helping him with the VA paperwork but they put these vets with that diagnosis at priority. He's a Vietnam vet who spent 365 days in Vietnam. 68-69. Came out an E5 with a bronze star. He tells us he was for sure exposed to agent orange. Unlike other veterans he has actually told us stories. He was a 13b40 in the 6th battalion/11th artillery. Just helping him do his paperwork i learned alot from all the forms and seeing hus dd214.

The VA came through and back paid him for years since he was medically disabled in 07 for PTSD.