3

July 21, 1986

Dear Veteran and family,

My name is [redacted] and I am the wife of a Vietnam
Veteran, [redacted]. We are the parents of three children,
[redacted] (age 5), [redacted] and [redacted] (age 3).

Almost two consecutive years of our lives have been spent
in and out of the VA Medical Hospitals. [redacted] has been suicidal.
His entire nervous system was a wreck. They diagnosed "PTSD"
with a 10% disability.

All three of our children have had upper respiratory in
fections throughout their lives. We were seeing the doctors in
[redacted] at least every 2 to 3 weeks for the
sickenss. Each time they were treated with an antibiotic. The
doctor encouraged me that this was nothing to be alarmed about,
that they were perfectly normal, healthy children and that I
was an overprotective mother.

Since our five year old daughter has been old enough to
scratch herself she has had skin lesions. Sores constantly
covering her legs, arms, and a few on her precious face. Local
doctors told me that they were insect bites, sensitive skin,
or impetigo; never confirming the exact cause. She and our
oldest twin boy have suffered with mild seizures caused from
a high fever of unknown origin. The younger twin boy was
hospitalized at five months old for what they thought was
miningitis but upon receiving the doctor's report it indicated
a "virus of unknown origin."

The twin boys sores have gotten so bad they looked as if
it penetrated to the bone. They have all been very hyperactive
and restless at night.

During [redacted] stay at the VA hospital, I brought our
chidlren to the "[redacted] Children's Hospital" located in [redacted]
They gave them a complete examination. They diagnosed
the children as having a low immune system and no ability to
fight infections. The doctor informed me that it was very
rare for children of this age to be diagnosed as such. She also
warned me that if they were to take pneumonia that they would
probably die due to the fact that their immune system was so
low that they could not fight it. They were also becoming immuned
to the antibiotics.