A stray bullet in Afghanistan shattered a 24-year-old soldier's lumbar spine and paralyzed him from the waist down. This man was my patient when I worked as a physician at a Veterans Affairs medical center.

Instead of playing soccer or doing any of the things he loved, this veteran spent weeks recovering from pressure ulcers and infections in the hospital. He became depressed with facing his new reality, learning to toilet and to mobilize in a wheelchair.

It took teams of VA doctors and nurses, as well as mental health professionals, to rehabilitate this man physically and mentally to a healthy state. And every one of those medical professionals would not hesitate to do it again. But the officials of the Trump administration are showing where their priorities are, and it is not with the health of our veterans.

At a time when President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are involving the United States in expanding conflicts in the Middle East and South America – and putting our troops at risk – they have simultaneously reduced the number of doctors, nurses and mental health professionals in........

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