Eric

Eric was serving in the Army National Guard when he was deployed to Dharan to engage in air warfare campaigns. The members of his unit were instructed to take “nerve agent pills” twice a day for two weeks, causing nausea, headaches, and diarrhea for many of them. His unit traveled in the dusty wakes of land vehicles while moving between multiple warehouses, engaging with Iraqi forces. During the demobilization period, he and some other soldiers had their blood drawn and subsequently were informed some had an unspecified condition. Eric believes this may have been associated with sand fleas, nerve agents, or the pills they were given. Eric was later deployed to Afghanistan. He experienced the loss of soldiers during his military career, many from suicide.

He feels as if losing some of his soldiers in Afghanistan may have built an emotional barrier within him. He would often wake up thinking he was still on guard duty and instinctively begin searching for his weapon. He and his friends would use alcohol to cope. Eric was eventually able to “reprogram” by making a routine for going to his bedroom, turning off the lights, and getting in bed and going to sleep. He empathizes with families who feel the brunt of a Veteran spiraling in their mental and physical wellbeing and recommends they reach out for help. He warns against concerned family members of servicemen calling the VA directly and recommends talking to a Veteran advocate who can help navigate the system.

Shortly after exiting the military, he started to experience twitching in his legs during sleep that his partner would comment on. He also started experiencing numbness in his palms “like they’re asleep on the side.” He had difficulty discerning hot and cold temperatures on his hands which occurred when giving his child baths. He also experiences tender feet, headaches, and general fatigue. He didn’t use the VA outside of deployments and continued to see civilian providers until he felt that the numbness in his hands was posing a risk to his law enforcement career. He then began the VA claims process and got service connected for tinnitus and PTSD, but the VA denied that the numbness in his hands and tingling in his feet were service related.

He now works in a Veteran Service Organization where he helps other Veterans access available resources. He specializes in end-of-life care and helps streamline access for other Veterans, such as bridging the gap in healthcare coverage between Medicare and VA insurance. He spends his time with local Veteran organizations where he takes efforts to connect Veterans from different eras. “We as Gulf War-era Veterans feel kind of like the Vietnam Veterans did. They went how long and how many of them died before anyone actually acknowledged Agent Orange.” This attitude spurred his involvement in the research to improve overall health for his fellow Veterans.