Re: 23 year old Afghan.Veteran daughter/Downwinders

You said "If my kids are reasonably healthy"...well, Dr. Sutter, I hate how torn our country is with all the war stuff, and know this is going to stir stuff up, but what MH told you about Veterans coming back and getting the 10-20% disability monthly for the rest of their lives from just having been in the Afghanistan pollution- that's first hand, that's my daughter he was talking about that just got back in June after spending a year in Kabul.

Thankfully, she was one that worked on the base, in the office, and wasn't out on patrol like most of the other soldiers were (she was with the National Guard), and she will tell you that there were things that were positive for her over there- she graduated with a degree in Intercultural Studies from a Bible College, and one of her "jobs" once a week was escorting the local Afghans around the base, where they were employed. I had an opportunity to take a week's "adventure" trip with her not long ago, which I will always remember- and I got to taste the na'an, (bread) in one of the restraunts we found. She was telling me about how she ate with the Afghans- (and how hard it is to sit back on your heels like they do to eat)- and how they press the na'an with their feet!

Whether there are any symptoms, or not, just for having breathed the air in Kabul, the veterans qualify for the 10-20% veterans disability- but that wasn't all we found out. When we were on our "adventure", we stayed at the home of one of her fellow, woman soldier's that had been a roommate over there, and right next door to her, was one of the Captain's, who came over to visit. We also found out that they were exposed to uranium from explosives. He told us that symptoms may not show up for years to come, but the liver and kidneys are what are affected.

This same daughter had spent 3 months in Fiji, doing a semester of school, prior to deploying to AF- and had come home with parasites. She did the one week treatment from a Dr. but like my chiro/chinese med Dr. told me- it's not long enough to kill all the phases. Traveling daughter that she is...she's now off in Greece, visiting families of Grecian soldiers she became friends with in AF- they are teaching her how to scuba dive.

I am starting her, and her twin sister (who is now living in E Europe)on the dewormer when they come home in Dec...but is there a way to flush out all the stuff the veteran daughter was exposed to??

Another thing I wondered, along the same line, is that where we live in central Nevada--people here in the 1960's watched the mushroom clouds come right over the top of them, from the atomic tests that were being done in S. Nevada. My husband's mother tells of the kids writing their names in the "dust". My husband's father died of esophogeal cancer 10 years ago, and they got the $50,000 for it having been caused by the fall-out. They are still testing people in this area for cancers/health problems that have a connection to the fall out from the 1960's, and naming specific months if you lived here during that time. They are still paying each person, or their survivors, $50,000 if they determine the cancer/health problems were caused from having lived here during that time and being exposed. They are called "Downwinders". But, alot of people that would qualify, or their survivors, have given up trying to get it just because you have to have so much "proof".

Makes me wonder about the younger generations growing up here- not just from being born from parents that were here when the clouds came over, but I wonder about the soil right now. My mother-in-law said when geiger counter tests were done after the clouds came over, that the geiger counters went crazy.

So, here we are 40 years later- not dead yet, but there sure are alot of young people that have problems- aLOT of chronic fatigue, fibromyalaga, thyroid etc. My husband's younger brother, who is now 38, had to take one whole year off of college about 15 years ago, because he was so fatigued he couldn't function...and I'll have to ask, but I'm sure he has Graves Disease, which my mother also had- they eyes that "pop" out.

I'm sorry this is so long- my question to you is, should we all be doing something 40 years later? And, what would you suggest to try to counter what all my soldier daughter was exposed to in AF?

Thank you!

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