Member-only story
The VA Destroyed My Body — And No One Will Help Me
How a Routine Surgery Stole My Identity, My Health, and My Future
I walked into the VA San Diego Colorectal Surgery Department expecting nothing more than a quick, minor procedure — just a few small skin tags I wanted removed. No pain, no discomfort, no complaints. It was something I wanted taken care of for my own peace of mind, and I was upfront about that. I also made it clear to Dr. Bard Cosman — now a Professor of Clinical Surgery at UC San Diego — that I was gay, anally receptive, and that my sexual health was very important to me. But then he mentioned offhandedly that I had hemorrhoids.
I didn’t know what a hemorrhoid was. I had never noticed anything wrong — no bleeding, no discomfort, no swelling. But the word “hemorrhoids” immediately sounded like something that needed to be fixed. I trusted him. I was a Marine. I followed orders. And he assured me that he could take care of both issues at once. If I was already going under, why not just fix everything? It seemed like a practical, responsible decision. I had no idea I had just signed off on the biggest mistake of my life.
Beforehand, I asked how bad the recovery would be, comparing it to the pain I’d felt when I had warts removed the year before. I was told it might be “a bit worse.”
