Completely off topic, but important to me....

[Guest guest]

My Dad who has been chronically ill for the past 6 or 7 years has battled

Parkinsons for almost 11 years, over the past two or three years, a groupf of

vets and vets families (myself included) have worked tirelessly to have the VA

recognize that vets exposed to Agent Orange while in Vietnam were much more

likely to contract Parkinsons and were entitled to disability. Research, debate

and the introduction of a HB and a SB recently apparently worked.

 

Today, the VA announced in a press release that Parkinsons will be considered a

presumptive deisease when applying for VA benefits and disability.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 13, 2009

 

VA Extends " Agent Orange " Benefits to More Veterans

Parkinson's Disease, Two Other Illnesses Recognized

WASHINGTON –Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine

(IOM), Secretary of Veterans Affairs K. Shinseki decided to establish a

service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with three specific illnesses based on

the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to Agent

Orange.

The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as

hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson's disease; and ischemic heart disease.

Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent

Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present.

Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel

who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.

In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a

" presumed " illness don't have to prove an association between their illnesses

and their military service. This " presumption " simplifies and speeds up the

application process for benefits.

The Secretary's decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses

recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

" We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we

will, " Shinseki added. " Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely

decisions based on solid evidence. "

Hatfield

" The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but

learning how to make facts live. " - Oliver Wendell Holmes

www.michaelwhatfield.net