On July 25, the Department of Veterans Affairs killed Navy veteran Walter Williams.

Well, at least on paper. Ninety year-old Williams is alive and well in Florida, where he lives with his daughter Rita Mixon. Since Williams suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, Mixon cares for him full-time and uses his VA benefits to keep up with his living and medical expenses.

A letter arrived at Mixon’s home in July and informed her that Williams was declared dead by the VA. The agency promptly froze Williams’ Social Security and VA pensions and demanded that Mixon repay the $1,700 it already deposited in Williams’ account. Since that day, no money has trickled into the household.

Mixon has spent the last few months struggling to get the same VA employee on the phone for longer than five minutes. “I feel like getting off the phone at times and just banging my head against the wall,” Mixon said. “I am so frustrated over the fact that nobody seems to get the fact that we’ve got to have the money to pay the bills.”

She made some headway by contacting her congressman Dennis Ross and local media channel 8 On Your Side. Thanks to their intervention and publicity, the VA will resurrect Williams’ records and continue sending pension payments by the end of the week.

“I had to find someone to hear me, because they weren’t hearing me. That’s when I reached out to 8 On Your Side to assist me, and it  really made a big difference, so I am very grateful that we got this taken care of,” Mixon said.

The VA has never been known for its organization or record-keeping. Employees have been investigated for destroying disability claims, burying them in a colossal backlog and taking advantage of VA funds to line their own pockets. While veterans have died before receiving VA benefits, it has never happened the other way around.