I know it's been a while since I've given an update on my son in law. Our lives have been rather busy and hectic, so much so, I haven't been following the Buckeyes as closely as normal but that's OK and probably a good thing. The ugly loss last Saturday didn't bother me one bit because it was more important to me that I was with Heath, Danielle and my grand-daughter, watching the game in Pickerington next to a warm fire, outside on their deck. I did purchase tickets for the Penn State game. Heath and Danielle are planning to go but it's going to depend on the kind of day Heath has. Plus the seats are way up in C-deck and Heath has trouble breathing with even a small amount of exerting himself. So we'll see.
In July I went to Congress and attended a Congressional Briefing regarding Burn Pit victims. The VA and Dept of Defense have really dropped the ball when it comes to these sick Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans so there's a push now to urge Congress to do something. Currently we are seeking a public hearing with members of Congress/The Veterans Affairs Committee where victims and their families can tell their stories.
In the meantime, The Burn Pits documentary has been completed and Oct. 7 it will be premiered in Los Angeles. I can get details if anyone in the L.A. area would like to go see it. Also, if you're on Facebook, there's a page for the movie, Burn Pits Documentary. On that page you can see excerpts and the movie preview. I am hosting, hopefully, a screening on Oct. 18 at the Cinemark Theater in Gahanna. Just waiting on confirmation from the distributor and theater. I will post that info as soon as I get it. I'm hoping some of you who live in and around Columbus will go see it. We must presale 75 tickets or the movie will not be shown but I'm pretty confident just with family and friends there will be no problem doing that. Also, if Heath is feeling up to it, he and my daughter will be in attendance. There will be an opportunity to speak with them and ask questions after the movie ends.
Following this paragraph are the words from from Danielle this morning urging everyone to try to attend the movie and why she feels so strongly about it. She's right, it's going to be extremely difficult to watch but it's important to bring about awareness of what the military had done to over 100,000 soldiers, many who are not getting the proper treatment and benefits they deserve for serving our country. In that regard, Heath is getting the best of care but mainly that's because he is still active duty. They will try to force him on medical retirement and if that happens he will be stripped of many of his benefits, including life insurance. I spoke with an attorney who fights for veterans who was on the panel at the Congressional briefing and he insisted Heath must do everything possible to not be forced into a medical retirement. He offered to advise Heath at no charge, too. The doctors, lawyers and advocates who are leading the fight for these Burn Pit Victims are nothing short of amazing and will have a special place in heaven waiting for them down the road. The attorney also expressed to me that as bad as the VA is, the DOD makes the VA look good. That's outrageous and scary.
Thanks for reading this, listening and sending prayers. Really, I can't thank you enough.
"This may not be the ideal film you want to watch in theaters and this is going to be a night full of great sadness, anger, and despair. Please strongly consider coming to view this. Our country is not helping so many veterans who need desperate tests, surgeries, biopsies, and treatment. Please don't turn a blind eye and please come educate yourself with what the new Agent Orange is of our era. Soldiers are dying and fighting for their lives now in their 20s and 30s. The media and our government will not expose this for the civilian world to know.
This is Heath's story.
It wasn't until the moment we were sitting in a room at Zangmeister when the word "burn pit" would come to light and our young lives would change forever. Heath's oncologist looked at us and said, " What the Hell have you been exposed to. This is the type of Cancer which comes from toxic exposure." The only thing, which even remotely explains his type of Cancer and his extremely rare Autoimmune disorder is the Burn Pits he was near when he was in Iraq on guard duty near one of Saddam's palaces. Keep in mind this is about 5 months and 7 doctors later.
The problem also is that there is no tumor and when this happens, what are you going to target and how are you going to treat it. He already had mets to his bone and the pericardium. If chemo did not shrink it, the oncologist told us you will only have a couple months to live as it was compromising his bronchioles and airway. He told us to get everything in order for paperwork for the end of life. The doctor started to cry and had to excuse himself from the room to give us time. Heath pounded on the wall leaned up against it and started bawling. I had to hold him up at one point to prevent him from falling. As soon as we left we went to his parents house to tell them how the doctors appointment went. We went to his sisters and we went to a couple close friends. Reliving the words possibly only a couple months and there is no cure was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. On top of this you are still in shock.
Heath's cancer is in his membranes, in his lungs, thoracic wall, heart, all of the chest and neck lymph nodes. However, his CT scan back in July was the best it could be and everything did shrink. It sparked a lot of hope in Heath, and unfortunately many other people around him started to think he was cured and in remission. The oncologist had to bring Heath back to reality and said the immunotherapy is not a cure. If Heath continues responding to it, it will just shrink the cancer. It will not be gone though. It will buy him time and quality of life. And it surely has. There are good days and there are bad days. Heath never has a completely comfortable day and I wish he could. He puts up with more than a person should have to, but he is blessed to have more time on this earth with his family and friends and most importantly, Brielle. The ENT said to just keep praying for a cure or miracle. The way we would know if this happened would be if his mucus membrane pemphigoid symptoms go away because the autoimmune disorder was a result from the cancer. Right know he is starting to have other symptoms in a new area from this.
The anger, the depression, the worry, the fear, having faith, praying, the roller coaster ride is like nothing you have ever experienced before. Surgeries, ER visits, countless treatments, countless imaging, countless meds, everyday nose bleeds, the hair loss, the throwing up, the shortness of breath, the fatigue, the extensive sleeping, the gaining weight, the heart racing, the headaches, the blisters, the skin reactions, the insomnia, the bad news, the good news, the lack of feeling like you’re a person or even the lack of feeling you aren't in your body at all. This is the whirlwind Heath and I are living through.
So please, Heath is only just one case and so many people have been affected by it. There are other diagnoses soldiers are receiving that are also terminal. Please come watch this documentary and help us get more Senators on board to pass bills in Congress to acknowledge these illnesses are from the burn pits. There are a few doctors out there doing lung biopsies on sick soldiers and are finding titanium and copper elements in the soldiers lungs, which they have been able to tie it back to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to get our soldiers the healthcare they deserve and the US government needs to stop using the burn pits filled with toxins as a means of waste removal. These are killing our soldiers off and leaving them with other illnesses they are having to deal with for the rest of their lives. If we don't do this on our homeland, why are we exposing our American soldiers to it.
The soldier shown below lost his battle this summer.
"DELAY. DENY. HOPE YOU DIE" Coming soon to a theater in Gahanna, OH (Columbus). More information on the exact time and date to be announced soon. There will be pre-sale tickets."
****edit: Preorder link and details for Gahanna. Your credit card will be "saved" and not charged until the goal of 87 presale tickets is met by Oct. 11. At that time the tickets will be sent to your email. If the goal isn't met the movie will be cancelled and your credit card will not be charged.
COLUMBUS, OH - OCT. 18
https://www.tugg.com/events/delay-deny-hope-you-die-wz3k
In July I went to Congress and attended a Congressional Briefing regarding Burn Pit victims. The VA and Dept of Defense have really dropped the ball when it comes to these sick Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans so there's a push now to urge Congress to do something. Currently we are seeking a public hearing with members of Congress/The Veterans Affairs Committee where victims and their families can tell their stories.
In the meantime, The Burn Pits documentary has been completed and Oct. 7 it will be premiered in Los Angeles. I can get details if anyone in the L.A. area would like to go see it. Also, if you're on Facebook, there's a page for the movie, Burn Pits Documentary. On that page you can see excerpts and the movie preview. I am hosting, hopefully, a screening on Oct. 18 at the Cinemark Theater in Gahanna. Just waiting on confirmation from the distributor and theater. I will post that info as soon as I get it. I'm hoping some of you who live in and around Columbus will go see it. We must presale 75 tickets or the movie will not be shown but I'm pretty confident just with family and friends there will be no problem doing that. Also, if Heath is feeling up to it, he and my daughter will be in attendance. There will be an opportunity to speak with them and ask questions after the movie ends.
Following this paragraph are the words from from Danielle this morning urging everyone to try to attend the movie and why she feels so strongly about it. She's right, it's going to be extremely difficult to watch but it's important to bring about awareness of what the military had done to over 100,000 soldiers, many who are not getting the proper treatment and benefits they deserve for serving our country. In that regard, Heath is getting the best of care but mainly that's because he is still active duty. They will try to force him on medical retirement and if that happens he will be stripped of many of his benefits, including life insurance. I spoke with an attorney who fights for veterans who was on the panel at the Congressional briefing and he insisted Heath must do everything possible to not be forced into a medical retirement. He offered to advise Heath at no charge, too. The doctors, lawyers and advocates who are leading the fight for these Burn Pit Victims are nothing short of amazing and will have a special place in heaven waiting for them down the road. The attorney also expressed to me that as bad as the VA is, the DOD makes the VA look good. That's outrageous and scary.
Thanks for reading this, listening and sending prayers. Really, I can't thank you enough.
"This may not be the ideal film you want to watch in theaters and this is going to be a night full of great sadness, anger, and despair. Please strongly consider coming to view this. Our country is not helping so many veterans who need desperate tests, surgeries, biopsies, and treatment. Please don't turn a blind eye and please come educate yourself with what the new Agent Orange is of our era. Soldiers are dying and fighting for their lives now in their 20s and 30s. The media and our government will not expose this for the civilian world to know.
This is Heath's story.
It wasn't until the moment we were sitting in a room at Zangmeister when the word "burn pit" would come to light and our young lives would change forever. Heath's oncologist looked at us and said, " What the Hell have you been exposed to. This is the type of Cancer which comes from toxic exposure." The only thing, which even remotely explains his type of Cancer and his extremely rare Autoimmune disorder is the Burn Pits he was near when he was in Iraq on guard duty near one of Saddam's palaces. Keep in mind this is about 5 months and 7 doctors later.
The problem also is that there is no tumor and when this happens, what are you going to target and how are you going to treat it. He already had mets to his bone and the pericardium. If chemo did not shrink it, the oncologist told us you will only have a couple months to live as it was compromising his bronchioles and airway. He told us to get everything in order for paperwork for the end of life. The doctor started to cry and had to excuse himself from the room to give us time. Heath pounded on the wall leaned up against it and started bawling. I had to hold him up at one point to prevent him from falling. As soon as we left we went to his parents house to tell them how the doctors appointment went. We went to his sisters and we went to a couple close friends. Reliving the words possibly only a couple months and there is no cure was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. On top of this you are still in shock.
Heath's cancer is in his membranes, in his lungs, thoracic wall, heart, all of the chest and neck lymph nodes. However, his CT scan back in July was the best it could be and everything did shrink. It sparked a lot of hope in Heath, and unfortunately many other people around him started to think he was cured and in remission. The oncologist had to bring Heath back to reality and said the immunotherapy is not a cure. If Heath continues responding to it, it will just shrink the cancer. It will not be gone though. It will buy him time and quality of life. And it surely has. There are good days and there are bad days. Heath never has a completely comfortable day and I wish he could. He puts up with more than a person should have to, but he is blessed to have more time on this earth with his family and friends and most importantly, Brielle. The ENT said to just keep praying for a cure or miracle. The way we would know if this happened would be if his mucus membrane pemphigoid symptoms go away because the autoimmune disorder was a result from the cancer. Right know he is starting to have other symptoms in a new area from this.
The anger, the depression, the worry, the fear, having faith, praying, the roller coaster ride is like nothing you have ever experienced before. Surgeries, ER visits, countless treatments, countless imaging, countless meds, everyday nose bleeds, the hair loss, the throwing up, the shortness of breath, the fatigue, the extensive sleeping, the gaining weight, the heart racing, the headaches, the blisters, the skin reactions, the insomnia, the bad news, the good news, the lack of feeling like you’re a person or even the lack of feeling you aren't in your body at all. This is the whirlwind Heath and I are living through.
So please, Heath is only just one case and so many people have been affected by it. There are other diagnoses soldiers are receiving that are also terminal. Please come watch this documentary and help us get more Senators on board to pass bills in Congress to acknowledge these illnesses are from the burn pits. There are a few doctors out there doing lung biopsies on sick soldiers and are finding titanium and copper elements in the soldiers lungs, which they have been able to tie it back to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to get our soldiers the healthcare they deserve and the US government needs to stop using the burn pits filled with toxins as a means of waste removal. These are killing our soldiers off and leaving them with other illnesses they are having to deal with for the rest of their lives. If we don't do this on our homeland, why are we exposing our American soldiers to it.
The soldier shown below lost his battle this summer.
"DELAY. DENY. HOPE YOU DIE" Coming soon to a theater in Gahanna, OH (Columbus). More information on the exact time and date to be announced soon. There will be pre-sale tickets."
****edit: Preorder link and details for Gahanna. Your credit card will be "saved" and not charged until the goal of 87 presale tickets is met by Oct. 11. At that time the tickets will be sent to your email. If the goal isn't met the movie will be cancelled and your credit card will not be charged.
COLUMBUS, OH - OCT. 18
https://www.tugg.com/events/delay-deny-hope-you-die-wz3k
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