"Kirsty"

"Kirsty" was serving in the Army National Guard when she was deployed to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War. She wore a MOPP suit and “gas mask 24/7 during the scud alerts…33 scuds we did for two weeks.” During one attack, she and 11 other women were in the dark in a hotel room “just waiting for these bombs to drop…we were sitting ducks.” After five days, one dropped “underneath the hotel room, and it was smoking.” She and other women in her unit experienced constant urinary tract infections. She described how after being stuck inside in a MOPP suit for long periods of time: “You’re able to go and run to the restroom or an outhouse and be able to pee, and you can’t. It’s blood, it’s sand.”

"Kirsty"’s “nonstop” urinary tract infections continued when she returned from the Gulf: “They couldn’t figure out what it was. The health issues were horrible.” She also began having chemical sensitivity, resulting in skin rashes and blisters on her hands, and burning sensations on her feet. Ten years after her return, "Kirsty" had health complications with her daughter’s birth, including a kidney infection. She says her providers could never quite figure out what was going on with her health but now say she has kidney disease. She attributes her urinary infections to her exposures in the Gulf, particularly sand. She has tried various treatments but finds yoga the most helpful for her urinary discomfort and relaxation.

She saw various civilian providers over the years through her work insurance until she started receiving VA care in 2008. Despite all she experienced in the Gulf War, "Kirsty" didn’t consider herself a combat Veteran, until a counselor convinced her otherwise and facilitated paperwork that resulted in getting her 100% service connected for PTSD. She said that despite her college degree, her PTSD has made her unemployable, “so you get bored, you get isolated.”

"Kirsty" copes with her health issues the same way the Army always told her: “Walk it off, suck it up buttercup. And just make yourself move. Walk. I have a dog, I have a cat, so that always helps.” She has many Veteran friends and is active on Gulf War Facebook groups, where she supports Veterans and their spouses through buddy checks. She wants people to know that not all women Veterans experience military sexual trauma and that she had a wonderful relationship with her unit, “we served honorably…these guys had my back.”