Walter
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Walter served in the Military for nineteen years: in the Army reserves during the Gulf War, and then as active duty in his last five years of service, being first deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 where he served in Bahram Saudi Arabia, Hafar Al Batin (King Khalid Military City), and Doha, Kuwait. During his deployment as active duty in the Persian Gulf, Walter was tasked with the removal of unexploded ordinance and equipment retrieval. During his deployment, Walter was exposed to smoke from burning oil wells, recalling that soldiers were “breathing the oil fire fumes 24 hours a day.” He remembers, “We didn't have respirators or anything like that. We were out there moving who knows what was dilapidated [sic] uranium and everything else.” On one occasion, Walter remembers being involved in an explosion incident, “[The] motor pool next to ours blew up and I got thrown in the air and landed on the concrete tarmac.”
After serving overseas in the Persian Gulf, Walter observed a drastic weight loss from 180 pounds to 107 pounds – as a result he was seen by VA doctors, whom he recalls being told, “there’s nothing wrong with all those guys from the Gulf War, it’s all in [your] head.” Over the following years, Walter developed migraines, chest pains, tinnitus, nerve damage on his left side, memory loss, as well as suffering with a traumatic brain injury because of his explosion incident. Furthermore, he was treated for GI cancer and suffered a heart attack. While not being fully knowledgeable on Gulf War Illness, life with the symptoms found in Gulf War Illness have been daunting, since it has impacted his ability to work, something he highly values: “I wanted to keep working, but my health wasn’t where I could work. You know? I don’t like being idle. That's why I do little things here and there.”
Walter believes the VA has not kept their promise to Veterans when they first sign up to serve, stressing that the VA has not been a great help in treating his problems since his deployment: “when I first joined the service, they said we’d be taken care of for life. And then they threw all these monkey wrenches in between. Once you’ve done your time and whatever happens to you happens to you. Then they just throw you to the wolves, you know?” He also claims to have limited knowledge of Gulf War Illness, and that the VA has not been great when it comes to finding information about Gulf War Illness: “I don't know about Gulf War [illness]. I know they do a Gulf War physical. I had to put my glasses on to see how to get that thing out of the screen. I’m trying to find out how to register on the Gulf War Burn Pit Registry. I've got to find that out so I can register.” As a result, he has not been able to get a Gulf War Illness diagnosis and proper help for his symptoms. Even scheduling routine care has been an issue he has experienced in the VA during the pandemic, since “they keep canceling appointments.” He also recognizes that there are regional differences in the care of different VA facilities.
Walter is very active in the Veterans community, being a member of the American Legion, VFW, DAV, and the AMVETS. Additionally, he is also active within his own community, working as a firefighter assistant chief. He explains that his principal role, given his physical debilitations, are to work the radio, give instructions during a fire, and is “in charge of training the fire/police and running scenes.” Walter is also supported by his wife who takes care of him and his 36-year-old son and 4-year-old son. His main message to Veterans is to be persistent, “Next time they say nothing is wrong with you and you can go home, don't! Tell them there's something wrong with you.”
Walter pleads with the VA to find answers before it's too late.
Walter pleads with the VA to find answers before it's too late.
Treat us like human beings. They all know we were exposed. Why find another excuse? Why try to pawn it off on something when they know that what we were exposed to is causing our health issues. It took them 30 years for the Vietnam Vets for Agent Orange, and it's about the same time frame for the Gulf War Vets. They know. They know. They just, like we have our own running joke, most Vets. They hope we die off, so they don't have to pay us off because they're always finding excuses. Oh, you smoked a cigarette. You smoked cigarettes at one time. That's what caused your problem, not breathing chemicals all day long.
Walter is the captain of the volunteer fire station in his community.
Walter is the captain of the volunteer fire station in his community.
Walter: But I’m very active in the Veterans community and the community itself as being a firefighter. I don't go in anymore. I can't. When I took the physical, the doctor is like, you know you're not going in anymore. I’m like, yeah. But I’m an assistant chief, so all I do is, okay, you go over here. This is what I need. Get on the radio. Send me this. Send me that. You know. Training. We just did a big drill Wednesday night with five of our mutual aid companies. We had five cars out there, and we split everybody up from different companies and mixed them to learn how to use everybody else's equipment, because as my job as second assistant chief, I’m in charge of training the fire/police and running scenes. So, I sign people up for classes and stuff.
Interviewer: You keep very busy.
Walter: I've learned over the years. I've seen people give up, and that's when they just, how can I, they give up, and next thing you know, they're not here anymore, if you know what I mean.
Without protective gear, Walter was involved in cleanup he believed might have involved depleted uranium.
Without protective gear, Walter was involved in cleanup he believed might have involved depleted uranium.
And I was involved in another incident when the 11th ARC, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiments motor pool blew up right next to ours. I was up on top of a D9 bulldozer. And waiting for Stand To, when the motor pool next to ours blew up and I got thrown in the air and landed on the concrete tarmac. They said I was out for a few minutes. But once I got my bearing and I was more worried about my guys and everything else going on. So, I had refused medical attention. I just went about doing my job. But shortly afterward, then when we had to do the cleanup of the motor pool that blew up, we didn't have respirators or anything like that. We were out there moving who knows what, was dilapidated uranium and everything else. We were out there cleaning and scraping down the concrete to bulldozer and have to get all the equipment, all the destroyed equipment out of there. And we put a lot of long hours in. But I started experiencing chest pains and bad headaches and I was tired and all that. But I just attributed it to the long hours and the workload.
Walter minimized his symptoms on his post-deployment health screen so he could get home to his family.
Walter minimized his symptoms on his post-deployment health screen so he could get home to his family.
Then when I redeployed to the States, I should have paid more attention because, they said if you say anything, you're going to be here. So, just say nothing’s wrong, sign the papers. 'Cuz they didn't even give us a full medical when we came back. They just said, two eyes, two arms, two legs, okay, you're good. If you put down anything you're going to be here. After being there over a year, I wanted to go home, you know? My father was in the hospital with a triple bypass and all that. So, I just wanted to get home to my family.
Walter is frustrated by the poor communication between VA systems, and between the system and himself.
Walter is frustrated by the poor communication between VA systems, and between the system and himself.
It's trying because the systems are just, you go to one VA place, it's like pulling teeth to get them to give the information to the other system. But I've been slowly but surely transferring everything up to Albany. I’m treated better there, and they don't give excuses or cancel my appointments. Even during the COVID, almost anything I need done, they'll take care of. The clinic in Castle Point kept canceling all my appointments. I haven't seen my heart doctor in over a year and a half because the only way they would do it right now is through a video chat like we're doing right now. How can you see a patient with a video chat? How can you test them for anything by looking on this? To me, that ain't seeing a doctor.
Walter experienced poor inter-VA care coordination that was made worse during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walter experienced poor inter-VA care coordination that was made worse during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it’s been hit and miss with the VA. And it all depends on where you go. And I think it’s silly the way they treat us, because the VA is supposed to be for the Veterans. But, it’s like interhospital fighting. If you want to go here, they're trying to send you to another place. And if you go to one- like if you go to Albany and you have other stuff done at Castle Point. It’s like they got to pull teeth to get your results and stuff from one hospital system to the other, which I think is ridiculous. The VA’s supposed to be all one system. And the doctors up in Albany said the doctors in Castle Point almost killed me, because with the cancer. They said if I needed chemo radiation, I should have been getting it. But thank God, I didn't. 'Cuz they were right on top of it, up in Albany. Castle Point doesn’t do a lot of stuff. They try to farm you out to the Bronx and stuff like that. But where I live, I live in a rural way, I’m not going to the city to get treatments. It’s so hard to even get there though, get around and that. And they make it so hard on you. And then if you miss your appointments, they penalize you. I mean now Albany VA, I give them the greatest credit. I’m still here on this planet, they’ve done a good job with me. But I’ve been to other VA facilities and they're a joke. It’s like especially with the pandemic, they're making it so hard for us guys. They keep canceling our appointments. And we don’t get seen. And I’ve known a couple of people already that they kept canceling their appointments. And their illness and that got a lot worse because they weren’t being seen and properly taken care of. It’s like they’re not in the healthcare business anymore. They're doing your annual physicals by Zoom now. How can a doctor tell if there’s anything wrong with you by looking at you through a- like what we’re doing right now. That’s no way to treat somebody. And I don't know. Other then- I really have not that much more to say because it’s hit and miss with the VA. Sometimes they do the right thing and then other times they just leave you hanging.