A Veteran Issue

On this day I'd like to post a little bit about my stepfather's service.

He grew up in a very poor family, and many times, the only meat they ate was whatever he and his younger brother could shoot in the swamp. Their alcoholic father was pretty much useless in this regard. He grew up to be an amazing shot, because his life literally depended on it. Sometimes he'd see multiple cottonmouths (a poisonous and very aggressive snake, for those who don't know) swimming through the swamp towards him; he learned to pick them off with incredible precision.

He ran away from home at 15 and joined the merchant marines, then joined the Army during the Vietnam War. He was already a peace-loving hippie, but he didn't have any other way of making a living. They desperately wanted him to be a sniper. He bargained his way into being a medic. He never saw any military action; he spent the war stationed in South Korea, sewing up soldiers with non-critical wounds.

He had it easy. The stories he tells from that time involve wild parties, not bombings and ambushes.

Medics from that time used transfusion and vaccination processes that put them at high risk for contracting blood-borne diseases.

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hcsp/articles/vietvet.html
Hepatitis C is a major problem in United States military veterans. In several studies of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical Center patients, we find that 8-9% are positive for hepatitis C antibodies. Some VA Medical Centers had 10-20% of patients with hepatitis C antibodies.1,2 The highest rate of hepatitis C is found in the Vietnam era veterans.

Unfortunately, twenty years later, my stepfather began showing some symptoms and was diagnosed with Hep C. It's a strange disease... it can be asymptomatic for decades. It can also completely destroy your liver and kill you with very little warning. There is no reliable cure yet. I won't get too much into the details of Hepatitis C -- you can read more about it here -- but it has really hurt his quality of life in many different ways.

One of the first things I'm submitting to Change.gov, based on a form letter, is this request:

Dear President-Elect Obama:

I am writing to urge you to take a leadership role in the fight against the hepatitis C epidemic.

Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne chronic viral infection in the United States. Once exposed, most individuals remain persistently infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), with 70% developing chronic liver disease and its often life-threatening conditions. At least 4 million Americans currently have chronic hepatitis C, with 25,000 new infections occurring every year. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the death rate from HCV-related liver disease will triple by the year 2019. No other disease burden is expected to increase as rapidly as that of hepatitis C in the coming decade.

Despite these staggering statistics, the federal government has not provided adequate funding or legislation to mount a comprehensive effort against the disease. Only $17 million is spent each year on viral hepatitis programs. This funding is not enough for states to provide testing, surveillance, prevention, and education services – let alone care and treatment for those in need.

My stepfather has lived with this disease for many years. He contracted it as a medic in the Vietnam War. He receives regular monitoring and treatment at a VA hospital, but his long-term future is frighteningly unknown.

I ask that you address this serious public health crisis in three ways:

-- Add language on your website about the hepatitis C epidemic and how you plan to address it.
-- Support a $50 million in Fiscal Year 2009 funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Viral Hepatitis Programs.
-- Support the "Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act," which would create a comprehensive effort by the federal government to address the epidemic.

Thank you for considering this request. I am counting on you, as our next President, to take leadership on this crucial issue.

Sincerely,
[atlasien]