{"id":7902,"date":"2025-03-24T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902"},"modified":"2025-03-24T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T14:30:00","slug":"veterans-letter-to-surgical-team-best-medical-care-ive-ever-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902","title":{"rendered":"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-03-24T14:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Raoul Schander, 78, clutched a letter in his hands as he laid on the hospital bed preparing for transport to prep for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. As the surgeon greeted him, Schander handed him the letter and asked that he share it with the whole team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my bypass surgery team. I probably will not be in any condition to thank each of you individually at the conclusion of this procedure, but I want you all to know that I have total and complete confidence in your expertise, competence and professionalism already demonstrated by all that has been done for me up to now and what is about to be completed. I feel very blessed to be receiving my medical care from the VA.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Army Veteran, Schander said, \u201cI liked being a soldier.\u201d He was stationed in Germany with the 32nd Signal Battalion from 1967-70. \u201cWhen I think back on it, it was some of the best years of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing like the care he has received from VA<\/h2>\n

Schander worked for over four decades in the private sector teaching management consulting and was covered by what he called several \u201cCadillac insurance plans.\u201d But he said nothing gave him the thorough care and security that he has received from VA. Time at the medical center over the years also allowed him to witness top-notch leadership.<\/p>\n

The letter to his bypass team at Minneapolis VA<\/a> ended with, \u201cI close my eyes this morning with respect, admiration and awe of your knowledge, dedication, skills, compassion and teamwork that in the end saves lives, many lives. Thank you for saving mine. With sincere respect and gratitude, Raoul E. Schander.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schander\u2019s surgery went well. After recovering for a few days in the hospital, he was dressed and ready to go home when he was surprised with a farewell visit by his bypass surgery team (pictured above).<\/p>\n

Schander\u2019s surgery is one more example of why he tells everyone, \u201cIt\u2019s the best medical care I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veteran Raoul Schander wrote a letter to his surgical team while preparing for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care"],"yoast_head":"\nVeteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Veteran Raoul Schander wrote a letter to his surgical team while preparing for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had - Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Veteran Raoul Schander wrote a letter to his surgical team while preparing for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-24T14:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\"},\"headline\":\"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-24T14:30:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902\"},\"wordCount\":398,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-74.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health & Care\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902\",\"name\":\"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had - Its Veterans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-74.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-24T14:30:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Veteran Raoul Schander wrote a letter to his surgical team while preparing for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-74.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-74.png\",\"width\":793,\"height\":793},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7902#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"description\":\"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"width\":2172,\"height\":724,\"caption\":\"Its Veterans\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had - Its Veterans","description":"Veteran Raoul Schander wrote a letter to his surgical team while preparing for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had - Its Veterans","og_description":"Veteran Raoul Schander wrote a letter to his surgical team while preparing for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.","og_url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902","og_site_name":"Its Veterans","article_published_time":"2025-03-24T14:30:00+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668"},"headline":"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had","datePublished":"2025-03-24T14:30:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902"},"wordCount":398,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-74.png","articleSection":["Health & Care"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902","name":"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had - Its Veterans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-74.png","datePublished":"2025-03-24T14:30:00+00:00","description":"Veteran Raoul Schander wrote a letter to his surgical team while preparing for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-74.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-74.png","width":793,"height":793},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7902#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veteran\u2019s letter to surgical team: Best medical care I\u2019ve ever had"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","name":"Its Veterans","description":"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization","name":"Its Veterans","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","width":2172,"height":724,"caption":"Its Veterans"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com"],"url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/91"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}