Disabled vet to continue staying at VA centre after protest

DURHAM, N.C. – A North Carolina veteran who camped out in the lobby of a Veterans Administration centre after he was discharged against his wishes will be allowed to stay after the facility reversed its decision.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports VA spokeswoman Sharonda Pearson announced Wednesday that James Donald Francis will be allowed to move back into the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center’s Community Living Center as the hospital searches for a “suitable solution.”

The 69-year-old Francis is an Army veteran who lost his legs to Agent Orange-related diabetes contracted in Vietnam. For more than three years, Pearson had been living at the hospital, where he undergoes dialysis treatment, until he found his door locked Monday. Pearson says Francis no longer met the medical criteria for acute in-patient care.

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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com