Jump to content

Ask Your VA Claims Questions | Read Current Posts 
Read VA Disability Claims Articles
Search | View All Forums | Donate | Blogs | New Users | Rules 

  • tbirds-va-claims-struggle (1).png

  • 01-2024-stay-online-donate-banner.png

     

  • 0

Desert Storm "baby" Syndrome?

Rate this question


dottiek

Question

I just found this site, after several years of frustration. I'm hoping someone out there has some common ground here. My husband served with 2ACR in 1991. Our son was born 10 months after his arrival home. He's now 17. As a baby, he seemed to have strange "seizures" that were never diagnosed, and lung problems. About age 3, he "outgrew" it all, but I recall seeing then in the Stars and Stripes an article about possible problems with DS kids, esp. their lungs and 'strange neurological problems'. Of course, I cannot find it now.

About age 13, he started to have problems with pain in his legs. Doctors first passed it off as "growing pains"; soon after it developed into sudden weakness--he would just be walking down the hall at school, home, anywhere, and suddenly fall down, his legs too weak to hold him up. He endured years of poking, prodding, million dollar workups--no diagnosis. EEGs "normal"; muscle studies "normal". Blood tests normal. Once again, the problem seemed to let up, gave him some peace. He kept his canes around just in case though.

Twice this fall he has been hauled off the field at his school (he's in the marching band) because his legs stopped working again. In my gut, I think it's DWS but no one will even take me seriously when I mention it.

My husband died when he was almost 4 in a car accident, leaving me with him and his 5 siblings to raise. I have no idea what condition he'd be in now if he were alive, but a close friend in the same unit who was with him there developed schizophrenia at age 48 (normally onset for such a thing is in late teens/early 20s). He's 100% disabled. Does anyone have anything similar to report? Are there any studies of family members born after the war being done?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Answers 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters For This Question

Recommended Posts

hi,let me start by saying im so sorry to hear about your husband and also your son.

i am also a desert storm veteran. who suffers from gws(gulf war syndrome)

my 11 yr old son has had pain in his legs since hes been little. hes been on naproxen for yrs.

they said the same thing it was growing pains.

hes been to every specialist also with no diagnosis??

he hasnt thank god lost his legs like your son.

he also suffers from extreme and frequent unexplained headaches ???

i wish the us govt would finally own up to what they did to us . so we can get treated for our ilness.

ill keep you and your family in our prayers.

tankerjoe0

SEMPER FIDELIS !!!!! (ALWAYS FAITHFUL)

***THE FEW THE PROUD THE MARINES***

NOT AS LEAN BUT STILL AS MEAN.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm also a GW1 veteran with GWI symptoms.

There are allot of poeple that feel GW veterans children are having allot of health problems. However, it has just been a bit over a year since Gulf War Illness has been declared an official illness among veterans and it is still not recognised by the VA. At this stage, the powers to be are still denying that GW veterans family members are having any more health problems than the rest of the population.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HadIt.com Elder

I wonder what sorts of problems the OIF/IEF vets will have due to some environmental issue? It takes the VA years to actually make these diseases presumptive. Look at Agent Orange. They are still adding diseases 40 years later to the list. The only thing the VA admits regarding children of AO vets is spinabiffida(spelling?) The disease has to hit all the lights on the IOM pinball machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dottiek, I am sure you will be able to find help here for some of your difficulities experienced by you and your son. I am glad you joined this site. People here look out for one another, and if they don't know an answer, they will try and seek it all over.

Hope is offerred here too. Your husband serving during Desert Storm is something you and your family can be proud of, and we salute his service and you loss.

May you find assistance on your journey, answers to some questions, and people who appreciate vets and their families. :( halos2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HadIt.com Elder
I just found this site, after several years of frustration. I'm hoping someone out there has some common ground here. My husband served with 2ACR in 1991. Our son was born 10 months after his arrival home. He's now 17. As a baby, he seemed to have strange "seizures" that were never diagnosed, and lung problems. About age 3, he "outgrew" it all, but I recall seeing then in the Stars and Stripes an article about possible problems with DS kids, esp. their lungs and 'strange neurological problems'. Of course, I cannot find it now.

About age 13, he started to have problems with pain in his legs. Doctors first passed it off as "growing pains"; soon after it developed into sudden weakness--he would just be walking down the hall at school, home, anywhere, and suddenly fall down, his legs too weak to hold him up. He endured years of poking, prodding, million dollar workups--no diagnosis. EEGs "normal"; muscle studies "normal". Blood tests normal. Once again, the problem seemed to let up, gave him some peace. He kept his canes around just in case though.

Twice this fall he has been hauled off the field at his school (he's in the marching band) because his legs stopped working again. In my gut, I think it's DWS but no one will even take me seriously when I mention it.

My husband died when he was almost 4 in a car accident, leaving me with him and his 5 siblings to raise. I have no idea what condition he'd be in now if he were alive, but a close friend in the same unit who was with him there developed schizophrenia at age 48 (normally onset for such a thing is in late teens/early 20s). He's 100% disabled. Does anyone have anything similar to report? Are there any studies of family members born after the war being done?

Where, in the U.S., are you located? And, there is a reason why I ask.

"It is cold and we have no blankets.

The little children are freezing to death.

My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are-perhaps freezing to death.

I want to have time to look for my children and see how many of them I can find.

Maybe I shall find them among the dead.

Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad.

From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Chief Joseph

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Tell a friend

    Love HadIt.com’s VA Disability Community Vets helping Vets since 1997? Tell a friend!
  • Recent Achievements

    • Lebro earned a badge
      First Post
    • stuart55 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • stuart55 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Lebro earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Sparklinger earned a badge
      First Post
  • Our picks

    • Caluza Triangle defines what is necessary for service connection
      Caluza Triangle – Caluza vs Brown defined what is necessary for service connection. See COVA– CALUZA V. BROWN–TOTAL RECALL

      This has to be MEDICALLY Documented in your records:

      Current Diagnosis.   (No diagnosis, no Service Connection.)

      In-Service Event or Aggravation.
      Nexus (link- cause and effect- connection) or Doctor’s Statement close to: “The Veteran’s (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service”
      • 0 replies
    • Do the sct codes help or hurt my disability rating 
    • VA has gotten away with (mis) interpreting their  ambigious, , vague regulations, then enforcing them willy nilly never in Veterans favor.  

      They justify all this to congress by calling themselves a "pro claimant Veteran friendly organization" who grants the benefit of the doubt to Veterans.  

      This is not true, 

      Proof:  

          About 80-90 percent of Veterans are initially denied by VA, pushing us into a massive backlog of appeals, or worse, sending impoverished Veterans "to the homeless streets" because  when they cant work, they can not keep their home.  I was one of those Veterans who they denied for a bogus reason:  "Its been too long since military service".  This is bogus because its not one of the criteria for service connection, but simply made up by VA.  And, I was a homeless Vet, albeit a short time,  mostly due to the kindness of strangers and friends. 

          Hadit would not be necessary if, indeed, VA gave Veterans the benefit of the doubt, and processed our claims efficiently and paid us promptly.  The VA is broken. 

          A huge percentage (nearly 100 percent) of Veterans who do get 100 percent, do so only after lengthy appeals.  I have answered questions for thousands of Veterans, and can only name ONE person who got their benefits correct on the first Regional Office decision.  All of the rest of us pretty much had lengthy frustrating appeals, mostly having to appeal multiple multiple times like I did. 

          I wish I know how VA gets away with lying to congress about how "VA is a claimant friendly system, where the Veteran is given the benefit of the doubt".   Then how come so many Veterans are homeless, and how come 22 Veterans take their life each day?  Va likes to blame the Veterans, not their system.   
    • Welcome to hadit!  

          There are certain rules about community care reimbursement, and I have no idea if you met them or not.  Try reading this:

      https://www.va.gov/resources/getting-emergency-care-at-non-va-facilities/

         However, (and I have no idea of knowing whether or not you would likely succeed) Im unsure of why you seem to be so adamant against getting an increase in disability compensation.  

         When I buy stuff, say at Kroger, or pay bills, I have never had anyone say, "Wait!  Is this money from disability compensation, or did you earn it working at a regular job?"  Not once.  Thus, if you did get an increase, likely you would have no trouble paying this with the increase compensation.  

          However, there are many false rumors out there that suggest if you apply for an increase, the VA will reduce your benefits instead.  

      That rumor is false but I do hear people tell Veterans that a lot.  There are strict rules VA has to reduce you and, NOT ONE of those rules have anything to do with applying for an increase.  

      Yes, the VA can reduce your benefits, but generally only when your condition has "actually improved" under ordinary conditions of life.  

          Unless you contacted the VA within 72 hours of your medical treatment, you may not be eligible for reimbursement, or at least that is how I read the link, I posted above. Here are SOME of the rules the VA must comply with in order to reduce your compensation benefits:

      https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.344

       
    • Good question.   

          Maybe I can clear it up.  

          The spouse is eligible for DIC if you die of a SC condition OR any condition if you are P and T for 10 years or more.  (my paraphrase).  

      More here:

      Source:

      https://www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation/

      NOTE:   TO PROVE CAUSE OF DEATH WILL LIKELY REQUIRE AN AUTOPSY.  This means if you die of a SC condtion, your spouse would need to do an autopsy to prove cause of death to be from a SC condtiond.    If you were P and T for 10 full years, then the cause of death may not matter so much. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Guidelines and Terms of Use