Karyn's View: Lou Gehrig's Disease and War

Welcome to my blog. I have had ALS for 10 years now.

Since I started this blog in June 2008 I've had amazing feedback. Family, friends, people from all over North America, Australia, Scotland, England, and places I can't recall, have commented, encouraged and corresponded. I had no idea when Cynthia taught me how to set this up, how much I would love posting and how many people would read it. I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has helped propel this therapeutic exercise into a daily routine. All of you, both friends and visitors, are now part of my blog family. Welcome.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Lou Gehrig's Disease and War

For desperate vets, victory and anger

By Jason Blevins and David Olinger
The Denver Post Updated: 11/19/2008 02:02:54 AM MST
Army veteran Randy Saubert takes grandsons Kalev, right, and Ethin to a Colorado Springs park Tuesday. Saubert logged 38,000 miles hauling supplies across the Iraq desert in 1991. Today, he isn't sure what he came into contact with that caused him to develop Lou Gehrig's disease. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

They were told they were crazy. Statistical anomalies. Whiners. This week - after enduring 17 years of baffling and incurable ailments they blamed on exposure to nasty chemicals and untested anti-nerve-gas agents- veterans of the Persian Gulf War were told they were right.

Colorado's veterans of Operation Desert Storm feel justified after a congressionally mandated panel this week announced that the mysterious and often maligned "Gulf War syndrome" was in fact a legitimate medical condition. The panel concluded the syndrome was most likely associated with a combination of anti-nerve-gas pills and exposure to pesticides.