A military family is facing a giant medical bill after the Army Reserve decided not to cover it.
U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Shane Morgan, a father of two from Milford, New Hampshire, suffered a heart attack during a required physical fitness test at Fort Devens.
“I ended up doing 40 push-ups and after 40 I collapsed on the floor,” Morgan said.
It was his first physical exam in the Army Reserve; before that he'd been on active duty in the Army for 10 years.
“This past year has been as challenging and as difficult as my deployment to Afghanistan was,” he said.
Morgan and his wife, Jaime, feel like the Army Reserve has left them out in cold.
Morgan's heart attack was initially ruled by his own unit as happening "in the line of duty." But that ruling has been overturned by higher-ups, who determined Morgan's heart attack was inevitable.
According to a report the investigator filed in June, “heart disease is likely considered as existing prior to service."
Morgan says the only medical evidence to suggest heart trouble prior to his heart attack was a blood test that shows borderline high cholesterol months before it happened.
“They also had the information from my cardiologist saying the day I had my heart attack my blood was taken and my cholesterol was 185, which is normal,” he told FOX25.
“I think they’re inept. I think they are not people who should be in those roles who are causing havoc in people’s lives for no reason,” Jaime Morgan said.
The Army Reserve's ruling means the Morgans are on the hook for the $10,000 insurance won't cover.
The couple said this isn't about the money.
“How many soldiers got denied LODs when they shouldn't. And you're told you don't voice have a voice. No, we do have a voice and were going to use it,” Jaime Morgan said.
In a statement to FOX25, the Army Reserve said, "The physical and financial well-being of our Soldiers and their Families is a top concern for Army Reserve leaders at all levels. We take all line of duty investigations seriously and will take all possible steps to ensure they are completed accurately and in a timely manner."
Morgan said he's looking forward to the results of the second investigation.
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