21 years ago Richard was a Private brand new to the Army and he got sent off to fight in Desert Storm, about 18 years later we started seeing some weird things happening to him, when we were still in Colorado he started breaking out in these huge hives, there was no reason for them, over the last 4 years we have seen numerous doctors, had all the allergy tests and found out he is not allergic to anything, what it comes down to is for some reason his body is reacting to and fighting itself. I started to do some research a few years ago when we were not getting any answers and determined that I am convinced he has Gulf War syndrome, he has all the symptoms I read about(not just hives), but like Agent Orange years ago Gulf War syndrome was very controversial, no one was really ready to admit it existed, even now that they know it does it is really just a name to give numerous different things that have happened to out veterans from the Persian Gulf that no one can explain.
Now on top of the hives the Dr's have found some abnormalities in Richards chest x ray, they think it is caused from the sand he breathed in there, he thinks it may have more to do with the fact that they did PT out in the open while all the oil fields were burning so they were breathing in all the chemicals.
So now that his retirement is getting closer he is in the midst of many physicals etc so that his medical profile will be complete when it is time to retire, they have decided now to send him for an evaluation at Walter Reed, we will be there for a week while he is checked out by the doctors there, then if they will decide if he should come back and be part of a study they are doing, if he is put in that he will be there for 3 weeks. Nothing he has right now is life threatening just annoying and hard to live with, so we are hopeful we will get some answers, some new ideas about how to treat things and medical documentation so that any treatment he needs will continue once he does retire.
We are off next week, with my flight benefits I am lucky enough to be able to afford to go with him, I am grateful for that as I want to hear what the doctors have to say.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Army Life as I see it
I am married to a soldier, I did not set out to marry one, though I always thought uniforms were pretty impressive I was not a girl who set out to marry a man in uniform. I am a pretty home and family oriented girl who loves stability and security, wanted to settle down in one place and stay there (that did not happen even before I married a soldier) so the fact that I married into the military is pretty surprising even to me, but as they say the heart wants what it wants and mine fell in love with a career soldier so my journey into military life began.
Along with being an Army wife I am also one of the leaders for my husbands companies FRG, I also did not set out to take on that assignment, I just happened to be at the meeting when they were saying they desperately needed volunteers and so another lady and myself found ourselves saying we would do it, a year later that has been quite an experience, I have learned a lot, made some great friends and gotten some valuable experience.
I adopted my first POW/MIA many years ago from a group that helps bring awareness of that situation, we each attempt to do whatever we can to make sure that all of our POW/MIA's are brought home, that their families are given the support and answers they so desperately deserve. Mine is a KIA from the Vietnam era, born and raised in a small town in Colorado where his family still lives, I do not know them, he was a name that was assigned to me, but I feel a responsibility to him and a love for the person I think he was and for the job he did and a huge respect for him for paying the ultimate price for our freedom, his story will appear in later blogs.
My husband is reaching retirement time, he has served for 21 years so we are close to the end, he has developed some health issues that we have tied to his time in the Persian Gulf while serving in Desert Storm.
The whole purpose of this blog is to bring more awareness to Gulf war syndrome, to perhaps bring some support and comfort to my fellow Army wives, maybe to help other FRG's with ideas, and to track our journey as we get closer to military retirement, basically it is tracking the life of a Army wife, I hope you enjoy our journey.
Along with being an Army wife I am also one of the leaders for my husbands companies FRG, I also did not set out to take on that assignment, I just happened to be at the meeting when they were saying they desperately needed volunteers and so another lady and myself found ourselves saying we would do it, a year later that has been quite an experience, I have learned a lot, made some great friends and gotten some valuable experience.
I adopted my first POW/MIA many years ago from a group that helps bring awareness of that situation, we each attempt to do whatever we can to make sure that all of our POW/MIA's are brought home, that their families are given the support and answers they so desperately deserve. Mine is a KIA from the Vietnam era, born and raised in a small town in Colorado where his family still lives, I do not know them, he was a name that was assigned to me, but I feel a responsibility to him and a love for the person I think he was and for the job he did and a huge respect for him for paying the ultimate price for our freedom, his story will appear in later blogs.
My husband is reaching retirement time, he has served for 21 years so we are close to the end, he has developed some health issues that we have tied to his time in the Persian Gulf while serving in Desert Storm.
The whole purpose of this blog is to bring more awareness to Gulf war syndrome, to perhaps bring some support and comfort to my fellow Army wives, maybe to help other FRG's with ideas, and to track our journey as we get closer to military retirement, basically it is tracking the life of a Army wife, I hope you enjoy our journey.
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