Photos taken inside a North Carolina veterans hospital that show a veteran lying on the floor and another slouched in a wheelchair while writhing in pain are drawing outcry online and an internal investigation.
“It was the worst thing to ever happen in my life,” Vietnam War veteran Jesse Lee, 63, who identified himself as the man photographed in the wheelchair, said as he described his agony to The Huffington Post on Wednesday.
Lee, who lost his leg to diabetes, said he was among several people waiting at the Durham VA Center on Feb. 24 after experiencing severe phantom leg pain.
Another veteran’s wife snapped the waiting room photos and posted them on Facebook on Saturday. They’ve since gone viral, catching the attention of Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) and Sen. John McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, who called the scene “shameful.”
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