Maine VA Medical Center shutting down dialysis center?

Vietnam veteran feels displaced by shutdown of Togus VA outpatient dialysis center

Central Maine Kennebec Journal
Abigail Austin
February 2, 2019

According to an official statement from the VA Maine Healthcare System, the shutdown of the outpatient dialysis center is temporary and caused by the unexpected departure of three dialysis nurses. 

Vietnam veteran Ron Wills poses for a photo Friday outside the Togus VA facility in Augusta. Kennebec Journal photo by Abigail Austin

AUGUSTA — “There’s nothing wrong with the new dialysis center,” Vietnam veteran Ron Wills said, “but it’s just not Togus.”

The North Anson resident feels displaced, having received a letter during his dialysis treatment at the Togus VA Medical Center last week stating the outpatient dialysis center was closing. Christine Wills, Ron Wills’ daughter, said her father has been stressed by the transition.

“He went through hell once,” she said. “(He doesn’t) need to go through it again.”

Ron Wills receives dialysis treatment three times a week, each one lasting four to four-and-a-half hours. He first started receiving care at Togus in 2006 after the first of two strokes.

“Ron is on borrowed time,” said Barbara Wills, his wife of 47 years. “I don’t want them to shorten it up for me.”
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Blue Water Veteran Wins in Court

Court decides 'Blue Water' Navy veterans should be eligible for Agent Orange benefit

Stars and Stripes
Nikki Wentling
January 29, 2019

WASHINGTON — A federal court ruled Tuesday that Vietnam veterans who served on ships offshore during the war are eligible for benefits to treat illnesses linked to exposure to the chemical herbicide Agent Orange – a decision that has the potential to extend help to thousands of veterans.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 9-2 in favor of Alfred Procopio, Jr., 73, who served on the USS Intrepid during the Vietnam War. Procopio is one of tens of thousands of “Blue Water” Navy veterans who served aboard aircraft carriers, destroyers and other ships and were deemed ineligible for the same disability benefits as those veterans who served on the ground and inland waterways.

The decision comes one decade after the Department of Veterans Affairs denied Procopio’s disability claims for diabetes and prostate cancer. The court’s ruling reverses a previous decision from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which upheld the denial because Procopio couldn’t show direct exposure to Agent Orange.

“Mr. Procopio is entitled to a presumption of service connection for his prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus,” the decision issued Tuesday states. “Accordingly, we reverse.”

Judge Kimberly A. Moore, who wrote on behalf of the majority, added: “We find no merit in the government’s arguments to the contrary.”
read more here

Vietnam veterans sprayed and betrayed protest in Washington

Navy Vietnam veterans feeling betrayed march on VA

WFLA 8 News
Steven Andrews
December 8, 2018

"We took water and distilled it, and actually bathed in it, ate food cooked in it and drank it," Mike explained. Mike served on the U.S.S. Buchanan, a destroyer that according to deck logs, anchored in Da Nang Harbor when the military sprayed Agent Orange.

WASHINGTON (WFLA) - Navy Vietnam Veterans marched from a Washington, D.C. federal courthouse to the steps of VA headquarters with a message: They were poisoned at sea.

New Port Richey veteran Mike Kvintus was among them.

"All of us veterans have taken an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and with that oath, we expect the country to take care of us," the Navy veteran said.

Instead, with a stroke of a pen, the VA abandoned 90,000 Navy Vietnam veterans who did not step foot on Vietnam soil.

The VA contends unlike troops that served on the ground, these Blue Water Navy veterans were not exposed to Agent Orange.

"It's a national disgrace as far as I'm concerned," Mike added.

The military sprayed 20 million gallons of the toxic herbicide Agent Orange on Vietnam.

It ran into rivers and streams. It contaminated harbors and bays.

Ships like the American Victory, which served in Vietnam, turned contaminated sea water into fresh water. The distillation process only enhanced the chemicals, unknowingly poisoning crew members.
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Why is it so easy to forget Vietnam veterans?

Too easy to just forget them

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 16, 2018

When Vietnam veterans came home, one out of three, had PTSD. 

By the time the Forgotten Warrior Project was released in 1978, there were 500,000 of them. Yes, and all of them with the same wounds we see today. What we do not see, are people stepping up to make sure they are not forgotten again!

I see so many charities starting up but few even mention Vietnam veterans. Other than some welcome home parades, and getting pins, saying "thank you" to them needs to be a lot more than just two words.

I keep hearing the commercial from the famous "warrior" group saying that it is a tragedy to be forgotten. That is, right after they list the different names PTSD used to have. The commercial says that "today it is called PTSD" but that group does not mention that it was called PTSD because of all the work the Vietnam veterans did to have the research started.

They say that for OEF and OIF veterans the rate is one out of five, but as you have seen, the rate for them was much higher.

We hear about burn pits in the wars of today, yet back then either they buried everything, or set it on fire, just like today. They had Napalm, Agent Orange, among other things to add to the danger to them. Yet, they did not settle for "just what it is" and go away quietly.

They fought for everything they went through, for the generations that came before them, and those who would come after them. No wound of war is new, and they remember what is so easy for the rest of us to forget.

When you think about veterans, remember, ever since the Revolutionary War, veterans have had to fight the same government who decided the battles had to be fought. The government never told them, they would be fighting for the rest of their lives for promises to be kept. 

The list of effects of Agent Orange, continues to grow, because they did not give up, as you will read below. The question is, why has it been so easy to give up on them and move on?


Vietnam veterans and agent orange exposure—new report

November 15, 2018, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The latest in a series of congressionally mandated biennial reviews of the evidence of health problems that may be linked to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War found sufficient evidence of an association for hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). The committee that carried out the study and wrote the report, Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018), focused on the scientific literature published between Sept. 30, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2017.

From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed herbicides over Vietnam to strip the thick jungle canopy that could conceal opposition forces, destroy crops that those forces might depend on, and clear tall grass and bushes from the perimeters of U.S. bases and outlying encampments. The most commonly used chemical mixture sprayed was Agent Orange, which was contaminated with the most toxic form of dioxin. These and the other herbicides sprayed during the war constituted the chemicals of interest for the committee. The exact number of U.S. military personnel who served in Vietnam is unknown because deployment to the theater was not specifically recorded in military records, but estimates range from 2.6 million to 4.3 million.

Hypertension was moved to the category of "sufficient" evidence of an association from its previous classification in the "limited or suggestive" category. The sufficient category indicates that there is enough epidemiologic evidence to conclude that there is a positive association. A finding of limited or suggestive evidence means that epidemiologic research results suggest an association between exposure to herbicides and a particular outcome, but a firm conclusion is limited because chance, bias, and confounding factors could not be ruled out with confidence. The committee came to this conclusion in part based on a recent study of U.S. Vietnam veterans by researchers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which found that self-reported hypertension rates were highest among former military personnel who had the greatest opportunity for exposure to these chemicals.

Vietnam POW U.S. Army Captain Isaac “Ike” Camacho

El Paso Army veteran recalls life as POW in Vietnam

El Paso Inc.
By Lisa Amaya
November 11, 2018

Camacho escaped the camp on July 9, 1965, during a monsoon, slipping through the bars of his cage and hiding in the jungle for four days until he reached U.S. forces.

Memories of being caged, shackled and exposed to the powerful herbicide Agent Orange linger in the mind of retired U.S. Army Captain Isaac “Ike” Camacho, the first American to escape a prisoner of war camp in Vietnam.

Still, Camacho, who spent nearly two years as a prisoner of war, said he would serve again if he could.

“At one point in your life you have to serve your country. This would be one way of serving your country,” the now 81-year-old Camacho said from his home in East El Paso.

Camacho is among the thousands of borderland veterans whose service to the country will be commemorated during Veterans Day on Sunday, Nov. 11.

His life story has been recounted in “Isaac Camacho, An American Hero.” The book by Billy Waugh, a retired Army sergeant major, was released in March by Permuted Press.
read more here

Veterans in other news October 9, 2018

By now you should have heard that Google+ will be shutting down. Now they are saying it will happen next year, but I am not waiting.

From today onward, news reports that used to be shared with followers there, will be on this site, in condensed format.

Since the national news 24-7 stations are no longer interested in anything but political talk, at least here, veterans are the story we cover! (OK, so we cover First Responders too, but they matter to us too :~)

If you subscribe to this site, then you will get a daily email that looks like this

Under the headlines that were posted the day before, you will see what is on the post. Then you can click the link or forward it to other people you know so that they can find out what is going on in other parts of the country, and often, in other parts of the world.

Because there are a lot of people who follow this site, in consideration of them, this is the best way to cover the news without driving them nuts with too many updates.

Followers get an email that looks like this every time a post goes up.

Considering there could be up to 30 updates, that would be way too many emails for most people to get through.

When there is a story that needs to be a single post, that will still be done as well.

I thought long and hard about this but when I thought about how Google+ posts end up going directly to the news source, it ended up cutting this site out. I had no way of knowing what stories mattered, or how many times it was read. Now I will know.

So dear readers, this is how the rest of the days will go. Let me know what you think. 

Leave a comment PLEASE because most of the time I do not hear from readers and IT GETS PRETTY LONELY by myself.

*******

Yokota airman, a recent ‘Airlifter of the Week,’ found dead in off-base home

STARS AND STRIPES
By SETH ROBSON
Published: October 8, 2018

Staff Sgt. Eliction Chan, 27, of the 374th Mission Support Group at Yokota Air Base, Japan, was found dead in her off-base residence, Monday, Oct. 1, 2018.

COURTESY OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

Staff Sgt. Eliction Chan, 27, assigned to the 374th Mission Support Group at Yokota Air Base, Japan, died Oct. 1, according to an Air Force statement issued last week.

Chan had recently been named “Airlifter of the Week” by the 374th Airlift Wing, which encompasses the support group.
read more here

Florida's largest medical cannabis producer seeing 'huge transition' from opioids to marijuana treatment 
CNBC

CEO Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers describes how Florida's largest fully licensed medical marijuana company is faring amid the cannabis craze.

Rivers tells CNBC's Jim Cramer that Trulieve is "seeing a huge transition" from opioids to medical cannabis. Elizabeth Gurdus October 8, 2018

Florida patients with serious conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder are increasingly opting for medical cannabis over opioids, the CEO of the state's first and largest fully licensed medical marijuana company told CNBC on Monday.

"We're seeing a huge transition," Kim Rivers, the CEO of Trulieve, told "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer in an exclusive interview. "That's actually one of our initiatives in front of the [Florida state] legislature this upcoming session, to introduce policies to say instead of only having opioids as an alternative, why not medical cannabis?"

With over 80,000 patients and 17 retail locations in the state of Florida, Trulieve offers 90 cannabis-based products that help treat a series of conditions including seizure conditions, cancer and AIDS. A bulk of Trulieve's patients also suffer from PTSD given Florida's large veteran population, Rivers said.
read more here

Navy veteran and family still dealing with the mess Hurricane Irma left behind

NBC 8 News
By: Chip Osowski
Posted: Oct 08, 2018

WINTER HAVEN, Fla (WFLA)
When Faye Mays watches Hurricane Michael barrel toward the Florida panhandle, she thinks to herself, I hope those people have insurance. When Hurricane Irma blew through Polk County last year she thought she had insurance. She did not. She learned that the hard way when a huge Oak tree came crashing through the home she shared with her sister and two children.

The home on Sears Avenue Northeast in Winter Haven was willed to her and her sister by her parents. Her mother died unexpectedly and was quickly followed by her father. At some point during the funeral planning, burials and everything else that was going on, the insurance on the home lapsed.

It was September 10th, 2017 when Faye's life changed drastically. She was taking IT classes and had just laid down when the tree came crashing through the living room of the home. Had she been sitting on the couch where she normally sat, she believes she would've been killed. Her first priority: getting everyone out of the house safely. "We were able to get out," said Mays, pointing to one of the many wires that are haning from the exposed rafters. "These were sparking."
read more here

Navy petty officer wins transgender bodybuilding contest

By: David Goldman, The Associated Press 

 Wes Phills, of Brooklyn, N.Y., center, walks offstage after winning the overall award and middleweight class in the International Association of Trans Bodybuilders competition in Atlanta on Saturday. At left are fellow competitors Peter Moore, and Sandy Baird, both of Oakland, Calif., and Kennedy Conners, right, of Conyers, Ga., who took home the heavyweight trophy. (David Goldman/AP)

ATLANTA — It’s been 20 years since Charles Bennett took the stage to compete in bodybuilding. But at the age of 63, he’s now done something he’s never done before — compete as a man for the first time in what’s billed as the world’s only transgender bodybuilding competition.

Bennett and seven fellow competitors went before a crowd Saturday evening in the annual International Association of Trans Bodybuilders competition at a theater in Atlanta. read more here

Killed WWII Marine returning home after being buried for 75 years as an unknown serviceman
Associated Press
October 8, 2018 

Relatives of a Chicago-area Marine killed during World War II are welcoming his body back after 75 years being buried in Hawaii as an unknown serviceman.

Military officials say DNA tests helped confirm the identity of Marine Corps Tech. Sgt. Harry Carlsen of Brookfield, who was 31 when he was killed while storming a Japanese stronghold in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands.

Death by 'friendly fire': Local veteran's name added to Vietnam War Memorial
Bakersfield.com
Steven Mayer
October 9, 2018

It's extraordinary when you think about it, said Larry Bramblett, president of the Sonora chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America, where Williams was a remote member.

Williams didn't die of conventional wounds on the battlefield, Bramblett noted. He died slowly, over a period of decades, from a constellation of health problems that didn't leave bullet wounds, but were just as deadly.

"There should be a new Purple Heart just for the Agent Orange guys," Bramblett said. #AgentOrange

Navy mom's tweet makes #HimToo mockery go viral

Stars and Stripes
October 9, 2018

"This is MY son. He graduated #1 in boot camp. He was awarded the USO award. He was #1 in A school. He is a gentleman who respects women. He won't go on solo dates due to the current climate of false sexual accusations by radical feminists with an axe to grind. I VOTE. #HimToo," the tweet read.

She posted the now-deleted tweet on the day Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, after a confirmation process that featured accusations of sexual misconduct. Twitter's response was rife with mockery, spawning a variety of "This is MY son" memes. And her sons had plenty to say, too.

Pieter Hanson, the son featured posing in his Navy uniform in the tweet, created an account in the early hours of Tuesday morning called @thatwasmymom. The first post?

"That was my Mom. Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it. Let’s turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen. I never have and never will support #HimToo. I’m a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point," he tweeted.
read more here

POTUS thinks Apocalypse Now is not napalm?

Trump and Omarosa Had a ‘F*cking Weird’ Fight With Vietnam Vets
The Daily Beast
Asawin Suebsaeng
08.17.18

As if having Omarosa heading up veterans’ issues wasn’t strange enough, President Trump started arguing with Vietnam vets about napalm and Agent Orange.

Source present at the time tell The Daily Beast that multiple people—including Vietnam War veterans—chimed in to inform the president that the Apocalypse Now set piece he was talking about showcased the U.S. military using napalm, not Agent Orange.

Trump refused to accept that he was mistaken and proceeded to say things like, “no, I think it’s that stuff from that movie.”

Early on in the Donald Trump administration, the president vested many of his nearest and dearest with tasks they were woefully unprepared for—and Apprentice superstar Omarosa Manigault-Newman was no exception.

Long before she was his chief antagonist, Manigault-Newman was tapped by President Trump to handle veterans’ issues for the White House—causing immediate backlash from vets organizations who read this as a slap in the face and a betrayal of his campaign rhetoric about “taking care of our veterans.”
read more here

Vietnam Veteran told meds may be cut off at 75?

Local veteran looking for some answers
Courier News
Sean Ingram, Section Editor
6/17/2018

“With all of the other problems that are occurring in the world, why would the government want to cause a huge commotion amongst the veterans?”

Ira Johnson served his country in the Vietnam War. His medical list of conditions includes photosensitivity and exposure to Agent Orange. He is on 44 medications altogether.

He wants his fellow veterans to know he was told recently by his primary care physician at the VA Hospital in Fayetteville that his meds would be decreased, and when he reached age 75, they may be cut off completely.

"What purpose is this serving and what will happen to the veterans who are in need of their medications and are unable to obtain them?” Johnson said in a letter. “ ... This is a problem that needs to seriously be investigated, thoroughly reviewed and re-evaluated before any type of action occurs. Why would there be a reason for the medications to be discontinued if they are not being monitored?"
read more here

Cancer survivors celebrate life, hope and community support

These local veterans fought one of their hardest battles after their service, and today they celebrated
Dayton Daily News
By Bennett Leckrone, Staff Writer
June 1, 2018

“There’s much more to healing (than medical treatment) It takes family, it takes friends, it takes community.” Jennifer DeFrancesco

The Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center held its first Cancer Survivors’ Day on Friday. SCOTT KESSLER/STAFF.

When Ray Smeltzer, a Miamisburg resident and Vietnam veteran, was diagnosed with prostate cancer around a year ago, he wasn’t aware it could have been caused by his military service.

Smeltzer’s aggressive prostate cancer, he was told, was associated with a foliage-killing chemical he had encountered as an Air Force sergeant in Vietnam.

“I went through a number of years without any evidence of contamination, but in my later years I found that I had a very aggressive and rapidly growing form of prostate cancer that they’ve associated with that exposure,” Smeltzer said.

Seeking treatment, he went somewhere new: The Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

On Friday, he attended an event at the VA Medical Center to celebrate cancer survivors. Through all of his treatment and surgeries, Smeltzer said, the VA has supported and served him.
read more here

Reporter focused on Vietnam veterans with PTSD and Agent Orange

On Memorial Day, this is a pleasure to post. A reporter actually did a fantastic job regarding our Vietnam veterans.  
Sherry Barkas, The Desert Sun, wrote 'I need help.' Vietnam veteran in Palm Springs had been living for decades with PTSD and Agent Orange exposure

A comprehensive study of veteran suicide rates was released in 2016 by the Department of Veterans Affairs and showed that, on average, 20 veterans a day died from suicide in 2014. While it doesn’t break down results by wars, approximately 65 percent were 50 and older – which would include those who served in Vietnam and Korea.

David Carden served as a medic in Vietnam after volunteering for the draft in 1968. (Photo: Courtesy Photo)

The dates are right too,

By choosing the Army, Carden knew he would wind up on the battlefield where he said the lifespan of an infantryman was 30 to 60 days, but enlisting in the Navy or Air Force meant four years of service vs. two.

The Vietnam War started in November 1955. The U.S. had ships off the gulf in 1964 with the first ground troops sent in on March 8, 1965, landing in Da Nang. Direct U.S. military involvement ended on Aug. 15, 1973, though the war continued until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

Those who served came home to a cold reception from a nation angered by U.S. involvement in the war – a far cry from the “Welcome Home” banners and parades that greeted veterans of wars before and since Vietnam.

And this is yet another important part to remember,

Carden recalled 1990 and the first Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush, when people were hanging yellow ribbons in trees.

“I remember driving through a neighborhood in Long Beach and they had all these yellow ribbons hung on both sides of the street with big yellow bows, and I thought they’re having a big neighborhood party. Then I went to another neighborhood and there were more of them.

“I was listening to the radio and they were saying the American public tied these ribbons around the trees for the Gulf War guys to come home safely” and as an expression of gratitude, Carden said.

“I pulled the car over and I started crying. I said, ‘What about me? What about us?’ We didn’t get this kind of reception, and I always resented that,” he recalled.

At the time, the VA and government weren’t helpful to the Vietnam vets either, he said.

“I never talked about the war. All of my pain and anxiety – PTSD issues – were just kept inside,” he said.

Please read more from the above link.

Congress does not act while Agent Orange killing veterans, kids and grandkids

Sickened veterans, families, Congress wait on VA to release findings on Agent Orange exposure
WFLA Mews
By: Steve Andrews
Updated: May 18, 2018

HOLIDAY, FLA(WFLA) - For years, the family of Lonnie Kilpatrick suspected Agent Orange sickened not only Lonnie, but his children and grandchildren too.

While stationed in Guam, the Navy veteran, who died earlier this month, was exposed to the toxic herbicide, which the military used throughout the Vietnam war to wipe out jungle vegetation the enemy was hiding in.

"I know my kids they have, this thing that's caused by Agent Orange," Lonnie said in an interview in April. "I got a granddaughter that's already had brain surgery."

"They say it can be passed down for three generations," he added.

Betty Medkeci, the executive director of Birth Defect Research for Children, Inc. thinks its too early to say whether the grandchildren of veterans exposed to Agent Orange are experiencing health issues. It is her contention that neither the Department of Veterans Affairs nor private industry really wants to go there.

"We don't know, but we're not going to find out unless we do the research," Ms. Medkeci said.

Congress is still waiting to hear from the Department of Veterans Affairs whether birth defects and other health concerns showing up in the children and grandchildren of veterans are tied to the toxic defoliant.

In 2016, Congress passed legislation directing the V.A. to partner with the National Academy of Medicine "to assess the scientific research regarding descendants of individuals and veterans with toxic exposure," but Medkeci said the department failed to follow through on the directive.
read more here

As his wife Sheila held Lonnie Kilpatrick's hand, he died

Sad update to WFLA News Got Vietnam Veteran Justice

Finally awarded Agent Orange benefits, veteran succumbs to cancer the VA missed
By: WFLA Staff
Updated: May 07, 2018

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (WFLA) - As his wife Sheila held Lonnie Kilpatrick's hand, his daughter Kassie recorded some of his last words.

The Navy veteran said there is a reason for everything - his struggle with the VA, his impending death.

"Make something out of it, make it count," Lonnie said in a weak voice.

We met Lonnie in February, shortly after he learned Stage 4 kidney cancer had spread through his body.

"That hit me like a ton of bricks," he told us from his bed in Holiday in February.

For good reason. For four years, doctors at the VA at Bay Pines said his back pain was arthritis and disc related.

"Just couldn't get nobody to take it serious that, hey I've lost 50 pounds," explained Lonnie at the time.

The VA treated Lonnie for kidney cancer in 2013, pronounced him cancer-free, then missed its recurrence.

"You know you're going to lose him and that could have been prevented if the VA had followed up," said daughter Keri Ackerson.
read more here

WFLA News Got Vietnam Veteran Justice

Target 8 helps misdiagnosed veteran get his benefits
WFLA 8 News
Steven Andrews
April 26, 2018

Stationed on Guam in 1971 during the Vietnam War, Lonnie claims his work near airfields exposed him to the herbicide Agent Orange.

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (WFLA) - An enormous weight has been lifted off the shoulders of a Pasco County veteran and his family.

Following a series of Target 8 reports, the Department of Veterans Affairs reversed its previous denial and approved Agent Orange benefits for Navy veteran Lonnie Kilpatrick.

"Words can't even say how much we appreciate what you have done," said Lonnie's daughter Keri Ackerson.

After eight years of delays and denial, the VA reversed course.

It approved Lonnie's claim that exposure to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange left him 100 percent disabled.
read more here

Dying Vietnam Navy Veteran Wants Justice...and deserves it

Misdiagnosed veteran contends military medical records are missing
WFLA 8 News
Steve Andrews
April 13, 2018

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (WFLA) - From his bed at Florida Hospital North Pinellas in Tarpon Springs, Navy veteran Lonnie Kilpatrick has a message for the new secretary of the VA about spending money the right way.

"It's more important to take care of your veterans than it is to get approval for a bridge to nowhere," Lonnie said.

Arthritis the VA treated in Lonnie's back during the last four years turned out to be kidney cancer.

"Stage four, nothing they can do for me," explained Lonnie. "Make me comfortable, you know, maybe give me some drugs that will make me live a little longer."

This week, another blow.

The VA turned down his claim for Agent Orange disability benefits.
read more here

76 Year Old Vietnam Veteran Finished 5k Race--As Amputee

Donna Deegan’s uncle, a Vietnam veteran and amputee, finished Saturday’s 5K race
First Coast News
Author: Stephanie Kim
February 10, 2018

The annual Donna Marathon Weekend brings in hundreds of athletes from all over the country. Among them is one inspiring amputee from Greenville, South Carolina.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The annual Donna Marathon Weekend brings in hundreds of athletes from all over the country.

Among them is one inspiring amputee from Greenville, South Carolina.

Joe Cole took a big step Saturday taking part in his first 5K race. The Vietnam War veteran had his leg amputated four years ago after he was exposed to Agent Orange. The 76-year-old trained for months in preparation.

“Just because I lost my leg doesn’t mean I lost my will,” Cole said.

The Donna Marathon weekend has been a family affair since its start 11 years ago, especially because his niece is Donna Deegan, the founder of the DONNA Foundation.
read more here

Vietnam veteran Charles Payne is a true child of the Sixties

Tracking the life of a free spirit
Sauk Valley
Andrea Mills
January 19, 2018

STERLING – Charles Payne is a true child of the Sixties: He’s a Vietnam veteran still struggling with the after-effects of the war, a multimedia artist, and a witch (of the white, or good, variety).

“A Vietnam veteran straightened me out. Survival guilt: If my buddies could come out of the grave, they’d kick my butt up between my shoulder blades for letting their deaths screw my head up. They didn’t die for that.”

It’s the latter two aspects of his life – the artistry and the spirituality – that have helped Payne cope the past 50 years with the former.

“I wasn’t wounded by bullets, but by Agent Orange,” the impish 73-year-old said. “And then here I am. Still plugging away. My eyes are deteriorating, but my spirit isn’t.”
The former California resident, who also battles PTSD, has been a free spirit all of his life, even before volunteering for the Army in October 1967.
read more here

Navy Veteran Wins Claim for Parkinson's Tied to Agent Orange...In New Zealand

Navy veteran who won compensation battle after linking his Parkinson's to chemical exposure speaks out for first time

NZ Herald

Kurt Bayer

December 5, 2017 (New Zealand)

A New Zealand navy veteran who won a compensation battle after successfully linking his Parkinson's disease to chemical exposure in the 1960s has spoken out for the first time about the fumes he likened to solvent abuse.

A Navy veteran has spoken out for the first time about the chemical exposure he experienced during his service. Photo / File

He says despite suffering neurological pain in the 1970s after working with toxic chemicals on assignment both here and overseas, he was told to "get on with it" and that it was all in his head.

It comes after a Herald investigation found hundreds, if not thousands, of New Zealanders may have been affected by the toxic chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) in a wide range of workplaces over several decades.

In a potentially-landmark case, Veterans Affairs' has provided the ex-serviceman, who wants to remain anonymous, with an entitlement to disability compensation for Parkinson's, a condition attributed to his operational service on a Royal New Zealand Navy ship during the 1948-1960 Malayan Emergency.

read more here

Agent Orange List May Grow by 14 More Diseases

The VA ties 14 diseases to Agent Orange. It will decide whether to add more by Nov. 1

The News Tribune
BY TOM PHILPOTT
Military Update
AUGUST 03, 2017

VA Secretary David J. Shulkin will decide “on or before” Nov. 1 whether to add to the list of medical conditions the Department of Veteran Affairs presumes are associated to Agent Orange or other herbicides sprayed during the Vietnam War, a department spokesman said Tuesday in response to our inquiry.

Any ailments Shulkin might add to VA’s list of 14 “presumptive diseases” linked to herbicide exposure would make many more thousands of Vietnam War veterans eligible for VA disability compensation and health care.

Ailments under review as possible adds to the presumptive diseases list include bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson-like symptoms without diagnosis of that particular disease. But hypertension (high blood pressure) and stroke also might be embraced, or ignored, as part of the current review.

The process was sparked by the Institute of Medicine’s 10th and final review of medical literature on health effects of herbicide exposure in Vietnam. The 1,100-page report concluded in March 2016 that recent scientific research strengthened the association between herbicide exposure and bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson-like symptoms. Specifically, the institute, or IOM, found “limited or suggestive” evidence of an association to herbicide versus its previous finding of “inadequate or insufficient” evidence of an association.

The IOM report also reaffirmed from earlier reviews “limited or suggestive evidence” of an association between herbicide sprayed in Vietnam and hypertension and strokes. That same level of evidence was used in 2010 by then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to add ischemic heart disease and Parkinson’s disease to the Agent Orange presumptive list. Shinseki had stronger evidence, an IOM finding of “positive association” to herbicide for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which he also added to the list that year.
read more here