It broke my heart when I read this story. Our daughter was 17 when she lost her battle with Leukemia.
And now it looks like the Bush Administration and all those who are under him will succeed in denying benifits to a recruit who in his basic trainning comes down with the disease.
The guy went through blood tests prior to being put on the plane and shipped to Lackland AFB. He had a complete physical that detected nothing wrong..... And now this.
Help me get this on the news, Please e mail it out to all you know.
AF wants to boot recruit with leukemia
The Air Force has moved to deny health benefits to a recruit who learned he had acute leukemia only weeks into basic training at Lackland AFB.
An evaluation board ruled that Airman Basic Joseph Weston had fallen ill before coming to boot camp. It ordered him dismissed from duty with an administrative discharge — making him ineligible for medical and retirement benefits.
The ruling came despite the opinion of an Air Force cancer specialist who said there was "absolutely no way" to prove that Weston came to Lackland sick. The case is being appealed, with Weston fighting to win a discharge that grants him continued medical care and possibly even a pension.
"I feel I’m entitled to that," he said. "I definitely feel that the Air Force owes me a medical discharge, if not retirement."
As he fights to survive, Weston, 21, of Cadillac, Mich., is waging what he sees as a battle for honor. He joined the Air Force during a time of war, wanting to serve and defend his country and better himself.
But after telling him he had a rare form of cancer that could either kill him or leave him an invalid, an Air Force Physical Evaluation Board denied Weston a medical/honorable discharge, which would allow him to receive government-covered chemotherapy treatment for the next three years. It also could help him receive a 100 percent disability rating, which would allow him to qualify for medical retirement benefits.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/...
This soldier, entered into the service of his country with good faith.
He had no idea that he had the disease.
When our daughter was diagnosed with AML, she just a week prior had a well check up with blood work. Nothing showed in her blood work!
She went to the mall to shop with girl friends and came home with flu like symptoms. That was the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
By the Monday after Thanksgiving, I had her back to the doctor.
We received a call 2 days later that the doctor wanted us to take her directly to Childrens Hospital in Phoenix.
She passed 8 months later at UMC Tucson.
It's a hell I wish for no one.
Facing long odds
Weston had a better chance of being struck by lightning than coming down with ALL.
The government estimates your odds of being struck by lightning at 1 in 400,000. Just 90 people age 20 were diagnosed with all types of leukemia in the United States in 2000, the most recent statistics available to Howell. Of those 20-year-olds, she said, perhaps a third to a little more than half suffered from ALL.
ALL’s young victims, a subset of that group, have a better chance of survival than Weston.
"Anyone over the age of 10 is considered high risk, and that puts his survival rate at 60 or 65 percent," Howell said.
Leukemia cells divide quickly and crowd the bone marrow. As they fill up the marrow, it becomes more difficult for the body to produce normal red blood cells that create platelets. When that happens, you bruise and bleed more easily and have increased difficulty in fighting off infections.
Adults with chronic leukemia can live for years. That is far more problematic with ALL.
"I’ve seen some children come in with an infection at the time of diagnosis and die that day. I’ve seen others have leukemia smolder in their bodies for months, and for some reason their bodies are just able to handle it better," said Howell, 35, of Helotes. "In this case, had Airman Basic Weston not come in for treatment, if he had never had received any chemotherapy, I’d say that it could have easily taken his life in a matter of weeks."
The question before the Physical Evaluation Board headed by Air Force Lt. Col. James Waggle was whether Weston was sick even before arriving at Lackland. He ruled the recruit was unfit to serve due to a physical disability but that it wasn’t incurred while on duty.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/...
Let's give this Recruit an early Christmas Present and give the United States Airforce The Bird!
Write your Congressman, call your Senator, send an e mail to a friend. Let evryone know. This is a disgrace!
We can not allow the U.S. Air Force to cover this up.
Thank You.