The “More Likely than Not” Process
I am a veteran just like many others in the United States. I suspect there are many more like me who served their country by either enlisting or being drafted. I was a part of the former as there was no way I would avoid the draft in 68 other than college or leaving the country. They found use for me other than a “grunt.” My MOS came about even though I could out-shoot everyone at the range when qualifying. Mostly, I was stateside at Lejeune minus nine months in Cuba. We were prepping for demonstrations in Washington D.C. and on call for other ventures including Asia.
What was almost as dangerous than being overseas? Drinking, showering, etc. in the Camp Lejeune water. It may be fixed now but many of us were exposed to the concentration of chemicals within the water. This included civilians such as my cousins whose dad was a Master Sergeant. All of them had health issues the same as many of us stationed there and myself. They were there 4 years and I over two years minus overseas duty. What was in the water? Chemicals such as VOCs, TCE, PCE, etc.
It was not till 1982 when I woke up with what looked like a rash (pupura). We went to the hospital ER which our doctor was associated. One question asked? Were you exposed to chemicals? My answer was:” not to my knowledge.” Dosing me with steroids to the point of where I was bouncing off the walls and could hear flies going by. A couple of weeks later, they decreased the dose as my platelets were improving from 6,000. A month afterwards, I was fine.
It was dormant for a long time afterwards or it did not show up in any blood draws which I had yearly. It could have been going up and down which I found out later. It showed up again in 2015. For twenty days, I had a platelet count for less than 15,000. We went through the steroid doses, bags of platelets, and finally IVIGs. None of it worked. Rituxan did though. Two doses in the hospital days apart and two doses as an out patient. Again in 2020, I experienced platelets disappearing and just in time for Covid. This time the moved quickly to get me out of the hospital. Steroids, IVIG, and platelets in three days. Did not work and again Rituxan worked. I was released and did outpatient.
The military is kind of funny on things. They do not admit to many things even if it is a “more likely than not” scenario. I was never exposed to chemicals in my lifetime other than Lejeune. My disorder is not on their list of acceptable disorders for Camp Lejeune. So, the battle started after 2020. The VA would take care of me if i wanted their care. It was in the last two years I found a Hematologist who had worked at the VA. He agreed with us that “more likely than not” my exposure to Camp Lejeune water was the cause. The letter was sent and the disorder was finally accepted as “more like than not” related to my time at Camp Lejeune. This was two years later.
I already had VA care. Perhaps, there is something else gained here of which I am not aware. I was in the hospital this last December. I had passed out in Colorado. Most likely, this was the result of altitude. My daughter the charge nurse had me in a private room. They drew blood to check for issues. They did find my platelets at 85. The next day I was at 33. “More likely than Not” my disorder showed up again. No sign of it with some type of rash. This could be coming and going without my knowing.
We did receive a letter back from the VA saying they would care for my issues as determined by a committee. I had finally found a doctor who would back me up and they accepted his findings of “more likely than not.”