I have been ill for sometime. I went from being able to run 5 miles at a time to where now, I got to pick up my mail and can almost not get back to my apartment. I feel more and more that maybe I was loosing my mind. I used to be a good worker, good soldier, proud of what I did. Now, I am Jabba the Hut. I am tired ALL the time. My hands and feet hurt me all the time. My back is getting worse. I seem to have a cough all the time. Anyway, I have had some ideas of what is going on. One doctor has related my illness to an exposure to Human Parvovirus exposure in 07. I believed it for the longest time. But also, in the back of my mind, I suspected that there was more going on. I worked with a small group of people at a Army location in Ogden, UT. Mark, Ling, Jim, Steve, Chris, Andy, Jeff, and myself. Chris is dead-cancer. Ling is Dead-scleroderma. Jim has cancer and going thru his third and probably final bout of chemo. Andy got a medical discharge for "gulf war syndrome." Jeff got a medical discharge for MS. I have been on my butt for almost 3 years with R.A. and CFS. (I think there is more, but do not know the label.) Steve is the last man standing. I have raised this concern many many times and treated like a crazy man. My Colonel actually thought I had stress and was a gold bricker. He wanted to just kick me out without any medical boards, benefits, retirement, etc... I have really grown to hate myself and what has become of me. Maybe I should be able to just will myself thru this, but I can not do it.
THE NEWS: Last week, I was contacted by a former Air Force member. She was ill and was having problems like me and my sick and dead group. She found out that there might be others that are ill. We have "talked" by e-mail and phone. She is truly a hero in my book. She makes me feel sane. She has also found documentation on the EPA web site that shows the place we work might be contaminated with Vinyl Chloride (VC) and TCE (Causes Cancer). She has poured over the documentation and might even have a timeframe that we were exposed. I might have a cause for my illness. I also might have come to the realization that my former friends and co-workers might still be in danger.
I contacted my chain of command and let them know. I hope they take action, but do not know what will happen. I realize now that my life might be shorten and wiped out, but I have a chance to redeem myself in the future. The problem still remains...how to care for my children until they can leave the nest.
I am scared but hopeful. My main fear is the powers that be will ignore what we find and sweep me under the rug. This might be my only way to tell my story.
http://bit.ly/9tus5e
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/how-the-government-is-failing-our-veterans/article173182.html
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how to input edits later, so if that link doesn't work for you, try this. Go to RD.com under search but in veteran and you might see it in the first few docutment.