Gulf War illness remains a hot topic

SAN BENITO - When Reynaldo Guajardo left for the Middle East, he planned a short trip to help him train his troops to defend military outposts in the Arabian desert.

Two months later the Air Force staff sergeant was fighting Iraqi troops as part of Operation Desert Storm, he said.

In May 1991, he came home with aches and pains that would leave him bedridden for days, Guajardo said.

Nearly 18 years later, the cause of his symptoms remains hotly debated.

Now he's asking the federal government for help to treat what's become known as Gulf War illness.

"I was always hoping I could get over it, but it's getting worse for me. I'm walking with pain," said Guajardo, 44, who's co-owned a small pest control company based in San Benito for about eight years. "I'm not the type of person who likes to take help easily."

Across the country, Guajardo is one of the few veterans of Desert Storm to file claims for Gulf War illness, officials said.

In the United States, about 1,000 of the 696,842 veterans of Desert Storm and Desert Shield receive compensation for undiagnosed illnesses, said Jim Benson, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C.

In the San Benito area, Guajardo is one of about 10 veterans who have filed claims with the Cameron County Health Department's Veterans Services Office, said Dan Booker, who runs the local branch.

Since veterans began filing claims for Gulf War illness around the mid 1990s, he knows of only one who's received compensation, Booker said.

"The numbers are very small for those who filed and even smaller for those who actually received compensation," Booker said.

But a new veterans committee report estimates one in four Desert Storm veterans suffers from Gulf War illness.

The report by the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses largely blames symptoms on exposure to pyridostigmine bromide, a drug given to troops to protect them against nerve gas and pesticides used in the Gulf War.

The congressional committee of scientists and veterans found a link between Gulf War illness and exposure to nerve agents, oil well fires and vaccines, the report said.

Benson declined comment on the report's findings.

Ongoing research has failed to link the anthrax vaccine, oil well fires and pesticides to causes of Gulf veterans' symptoms, Benson said.

In November 1990, Guajardo left for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to learn to train his men to defend military bases in the Middle East, he said.

Then on Jan. 16, 1991, the United States launched Desert Storm in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Air attacks filled the desert skies for 30 days, with raids pelting the landscape two to three times a day, Guajardo said.

"You could smell the burn all around you," he said.

Scraps of Iraqi and U.S. missiles littered the desert sand, Guajardo said.

"You could pick up pieces of everything," he said.

Ever since, he's suffered symptoms that range from respiratory problems and headaches to joint swelling and muscle pain, Guajardo said.

"My muscles hurt, they're swollen," he said. "My knee gets about the size of a grapefruit."

Now, muscle pain and swollen joints leave him bedridden at least twice a year for as long as four days at a time, Guajardo said.

"When I get it, I'm down for a while," he said. "I've got to use crutches or a cane. I either have to stay sitting down or laying down. Sometimes I can't even get out of bed."

Some veterans who said they suffered similar symptoms didn't want their names used in this story because they feared their complaints would jeopardize their claims with Veterans Affairs.

A retired Air Force sergeant said he blames symptoms that include respiratory problems, skin rashes and digestive disorders on exposure to depleted uranium. The 39-year-old veteran said his unit handled missiles made of depleted uranium to load A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.

Veterans want the federal government to find a treatment to help heal their suffering, said Thom Wilborn, a spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans in Washington, D.C.

"They want to see ... recognition that it is a disease. These guys have suffered enough," Wilborn said.

"Gulf War illness has never been seen before in the history of our military and it's never been seen since," Wilborn said. "We would like to see some action on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (to classify Gulf War illness) as a presumptive or recognized illness."

For many veterans like Guajardo, the suffering gets worse.

Soon his pain may leave him unable to work, Guajardo said.

"I feel I can no longer deal with the problems I have," Guajardo said. "I don't like to use the military. But sometimes you've got to put your pride to one side and ask, ‘Can you help me?'"