My Story
My illness began a few months after the war. I was still on active duty in the Gulf, I was at KKMC helping to clean up and ship equipment home. I had a boil the size of a quarter come up on my inner thigh. The Dr. at sick call lanced it and I was back on duty in a couple of hours. I didn't think twice about it. Then they started coming up all over my back, chest, under arms, and legs. I went to the V.A. and they said it was sevier acne. Well this "acne" has never gone away. The severity comes and goes but it is never completely gone.
In early 1992 I started having headaches once or twice a week. They have incresed over time to four or five a week. From August 16 1996 to September 23 1996 I had a headache continuously.
From that time on I have had fatigue, joint pain, musccle pain, trouble concentrating, and trouble sleeping. My private Dr. has ran many different tests and can not find the cause.
I am unable to work because of my condition so my employer, (Kimberly-Clark) saw fit to terminate me after six months on disability leave. That left my family and me in a pickle, but our faith is strong and God has provided my wife with a job that keeps food on the table.
Well after all this time I have some good news and some bad news. The VA has awarded me a disability raiting of 30% based on my headaches. They could trace them back to August 1990, so they are considered service connected. Thats the good news. The bad news is that the undiagnosed illness were denied. That does not make sense to me because they are all connected in some way. But I have cleard the first obstacle so the battle continues.
After two years of trying to get disability from Social Security, it came through in September 98. They were almost as bad as the V.A., I had to get a lawyer, go in front of a judge, provide all doctors reports, and then wait. It was not a bad experiance, but the wait and not knowing if anyone beleived me was the worst part.
Well thats the short story so check back because I will update this page as soon as I hear something.
As of July 19, 2001, there is still no word from the VA. I hope that other people are having a better time with the VA then I am.
Below is a picture of my two girls Shelby, Gracie, with me and Buzz Aldrin. (The second man to set foot on the moon!)
