Agent Orange and Neurological Disorders

My husband was exposed to Agent Orange and has since had prostrate cancer/kidney cancer/and now Parkinson's and dementia. I spent months filling out paper work and working with the VA. Luckily in my town, I have two guys in the VA who are very knowledgeable, helpful, and will work like crazy to help the veteran. After several months, my hubby was pronounced 100% disabled which surely helps to pay for the care I have to have for him. The thing I leaned was to never accept the "No, we can't do that". When I was told no I asked why and I insisted they give me reasons they said no. The farther up the line he applications went, the worst it became but I didn't give up. He spent 23 years in the military and deserves to be taken care of - as all veterans do.

My husband was exposed to Agent Orange and has since had prostrate cancer/kidney cancer/and now Parkinson's and dementia. I spent months filling out paper work and working with the VA. Luckily in my town, I have two guys in the VA who are very knowledgeable, helpful, and will work like crazy to help the veteran. After several months, my hubby was pronounced 100% disabled which surely helps to pay for the care I have to have for him. The thing I leaned was to never accept the "No, we can't do that". When I was told no I asked why and I insisted they give me reasons they said no. The farther up the line he applications went, the worst it became but I didn't give up. He spent 23 years in the military and deserves to be taken care of - as all veterans do.

@retairforceman
Yes, the government needs to man up and take responsibility. Also, Dow Chemical needs to take responsibility. They knew about the toxicity of dioxin from the beginning, and due to Dow's knowledge, the government had to have known, too. Money does not replace good health or jobs, but there should be penalties against the fed. government, and Dow, and in favor of all ground troops and handlers who were exposed, as well as for the people of Veitnam. For some of us, Vietnam will never end. It is a haunting that will follow us to the end.

@retairforceman I wish there were words I could say that could take away some of the pain you are feeling. You are not alone in your feelings. I'm not sure if it will help you but I did see an agent orange registry health exam that you can get based on your service recollections (does not depend on what they show as your military duty station records). http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/benefits/registry-exam.asp - the exam may give you more support for claims which have to be submitted separately from the exam - https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/homepage. Do you have a local VA advocate in the County where you live? The counties in Minnesota have VA reps that help vets wade through all the VA forms and submissions. That would be a good source if available in your area.

There is also a veterans group for agent orange if you haven't already seen it -
https://vva.org/what-we-do/outreach-programs/agent-orange/.
John

My husband was exposed to Agent Orange and has since had prostrate cancer/kidney cancer/and now Parkinson's and dementia. I spent months filling out paper work and working with the VA. Luckily in my town, I have two guys in the VA who are very knowledgeable, helpful, and will work like crazy to help the veteran. After several months, my hubby was pronounced 100% disabled which surely helps to pay for the care I have to have for him. The thing I leaned was to never accept the "No, we can't do that". When I was told no I asked why and I insisted they give me reasons they said no. The farther up the line he applications went, the worst it became but I didn't give up. He spent 23 years in the military and deserves to be taken care of - as all veterans do.

My husband was exposed to Agent Orange and has since had prostrate cancer/kidney cancer/and now Parkinson's and dementia. I spent months filling out paper work and working with the VA. Luckily in my town, I have two guys in the VA who are very knowledgeable, helpful, and will work like crazy to help the veteran. After several months, my hubby was pronounced 100% disabled which surely helps to pay for the care I have to have for him. The thing I leaned was to never accept the "No, we can't do that". When I was told no I asked why and I insisted they give me reasons they said no. The farther up the line he applications went, the worst it became but I didn't give up. He spent 23 years in the military and deserves to be taken care of - as all veterans do.

Good questions Teresa with respect to Agent Orange and neurological disorders. I'd like to bring @mivy @johnjames @ggopher @macbeth @retairforceman and @Robert43DAP into this conversation as they have experiences to share.

@colleenyoung
@hopeful33250
All I know is that it has been recognized as related to a host of diseases in Vietnam vets, including Parkinson's, diabetes, some cancers, and ischemic heart disease, among other conditions. The vet who helped us file a claim, at a nearby VA regional office, (and a comp doctor there) also believe it may also be connected to dementia/early onset dementia, which makes sense, due to the relationship to Parkinson's and ischemic heart disease (the higher rate of ischemic build-up around the heart is bound to be happening elsewhere in the body - such as in the brain), but, that not enough veterans or their families are making the connection and filing claims. More claims filed = more attention from the government. Also, I am being told that it will take many more years of research before the connection is officially recognized between AO and dementias, in general. I realize that not everyone who gets a disease has a family history of that disease, but my husband's family has no history of dementia, and I began to notice symptoms or wonder about him, as early as in his early - to - mid sixties, and maybe before that, looking back. But I was in denial. He also has the AO related ischemic heart disease. One of my brothers (Vietnam vet) had an AO related carcinoma, and had to have his leg amputated. It can wreak havoc decades after exposure. I know that many children of Vietnam vets have had problems that are being traced back to the AO exposure of a parent.

All you have to do, is begin to research this stuff on the net. There are a lot of very sad, very frustrating experiences related there.

I know that there is strength in numbers, and that being civil is very important, but that being tooooo polite does not get a job like this done. Vietnam veterans and their families need to be heard about these facts and overwhelming coincidences. They need to file claims. They need to write letters. They need to get louder. They need to push. They need to extend the support to Vietnam veterans that they rarely or never received for their service.

O. K. Now I'll dust off my hands and get off my high horse. Can you tell I'm a little passionate about this?