I am in a bit of a quandry as to where to post this thread.
I first thought it might be fitting to post it within one of the several Swine Flu/H1N1 threads, for reasons which should become clear quite
quickly.
On the other hand, I did not want to appear to fuel the fear and suspicion surrounding the H1N1 vaccination issue any more than necessary.
Even though, if
my suspicions have any merit, such "paranoia”
might be well placed.
First, a bit of background.
A little over three years ago, my step-father died, the result of complications arising from Amnyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as
“Lou Gerhig’s disease".
ALS is a relatively rare, hideous, and insidious disease that causes the body to virtually “wither away” while leaving its victim’s mind clear
and conscious of a slow, painful death.
The loss of my step-father to this ailment was tragic enough in itself; however, what made his death ever more unreal to his family is that a number
of years prior to his passing, my brother’s father-in-law
also contracted and succumbed to ALS.
These two men were in no way related to each other, save for their relation by marriage ties, and did not even know each other while they were alive.
The factor they had in common was that, at some point in their lives, they both served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Which brings us to the following notice issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2008
VA Secretary Establishes ALS as a Presumptive Compensable Illness
Cites Association between Military Service and Later Development of ALS
WASHINGTON – Veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may receive badly-needed support for themselves and their families after the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that ALS will become a presumptively compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more of
continuously active service in the military.
“Veterans are developing ALS in rates higher than the general population, and it was appropriate to take action,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Dr. James B. Peake said.
Secretary Peake based his decision primarily on a November 2006 report by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the
association between active-duty service and ALS.
“We are extremely grateful to Secretary Peake, Congressman Henry Brown and Senator Lindsey Graham for standing on the side of veterans with ALS
across the country,” said Gary Leo, president and CEO of The ALS Association. “Thanks to their leadership, veterans with ALS will receive the
benefits and care they need, when they need them. Thanks to their efforts, no veteran with ALS will ever be left behind.”
The report, titled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Veterans: Review of the Scientific Literature, analyzed numerous previous studies on the issue and
concluded that “there is limited and suggestive evidence of an association between military service and later development of ALS.”
“ALS is a disease that progresses rapidly, once it is diagnosed,” the Secretary explained. “There simply isn’t time to develop the evidence
needed to support compensation claims before many veterans become seriously ill. My decision will make those claims much easier to process, and for
them and their families to receive the compensation they have earned through their service to our nation.”
- More -
New Regulation on ALS Presumptive 2/2/2/2
ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neuromuscular disease that affects about 20,000 to 30,000 people of all races and ethnicities in the
United States, is often relentlessly progressive, and is almost always fatal.
ALS causes degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that leads to muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, and spontaneous muscle activity.
Currently, the cause of ALS is unknown, and there is no effective treatment.
The new interim final regulation applies to all applications for benefits received by VA on or after September 23, 2008, or that are pending before
VA, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on that date.
VA will work to identify and contact veterans with ALS, including those whose claims for ALS were previously denied, through direct mailings and other
outreach programs.
To view the entire regulation published in the Federal Register today, go to: www.federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2008-21998_PI.pdf. For more
information on VA’s disability compensation program, go to www.va.gov or contact 1-800-827-1000.
# # #
For the latest news releases and other information, visit VA on the Internet at
www.va.gov...
To receive e-mail copies of news releases, subscribe to VA’s list server at:
www.va.gov...
I want to emphasis the following point:
The
Secretary of the VA is citing an
“Association between Military Service and later Development of ALS”, a rare, incurable,
and inevitably lethal, disease.
The Secretary even states that
”Veterans are developing ALS at Higher Rates than the general population”. And please note
that nowhere in the notice does it draw any correlation between dates of service, duty station, duty activities, or even branch of service. No, we can
infer, based on the all-inclusive language of the Secretary’s address, that merely having served in any of the service branches is sufficient to
have increased your chances of dying in slow agony some time later in your life.
The question in my mind is: Why?
What could be causing this “higher rate of development” among this specific population (veterans) that could span so many decades, so many
specialties, and duty stations across the entire world?
What do
ALL veterans have in common no matter when they served, where they served, how they served, or in what branch of the military
they served?
Could it be the
vaccinations they all received when they enlisted?
