Sex: M
Vaccine: ANTH, UNK
Symptoms: Disorientation, Dizziness, Dyspnoea, Environmental exposure, Feeling abnormal
Clinical narrative: While working abroad, I was constantly exposed to smoke from tent heaters, diesel fuel, jet fuel, other petrochemical fumes, pesticides in cream and spray form, burning trash and feces and smoke from enormous oil well fires that burned constantly and blackened the skies, and on some days reduced the visibility at our position to just a few dozen feet. I was also exposed to whatever agents drifted downwind from chemical plants and other locations. One day, I was vaccinated against anthrax and other types of biological agents. On the third day, I was exposed to something that exploded in the air above our camp. Eyewitnesses reported a yellow-green chemical cloud resulting from the two explosion spread out and settled over our camp. Within minutes many of us reported burning skin, numbing of the lips and minor to extreme difficulty breathing. I was told that what we heard was just some "Sonic Booms". Late March or early April 1991, I became very ill experiencing fever like symptoms and unusual bleeding after each bowel movement until it became necessary to be taken to the nearest hospital. During the following months, my behavior patterns began to change. I became quick-tempered. This was entirely not my personality, especially the loss of control! I recall, during May 1991, I was listening to the speaker during a staff meeting. I was affected by something the speaker had said almost causing me to go into a rage. My supervisor escorted me outside of the meeting and calmed me down. Once I had returned home, I was given a new job, but I found myself often struggling to perform very simple tasks. I just couldn't comprehend what was being said to me. I often began experiencing time as being altered, and events seemed to be happening in slow motion, like an out-of-body experience, observing rather than participating in the experience. In late 1992, I began having violent outbursts usually very early in the morning, always awakening the entire family, my wife began to complain about a burning sensation during and after our sexual intercourse. My wife stated that the semen felt like a fire burning sensation. This continued to get worse until a doctor had to be seen. I began to experience loss of balance (a feeling of falling forward, sideways or backwards). I have no doubt these symptoms are the result of the exposures to a variety of hazardous substances. Presently, I remain burdened with difficulty with short-term memory, irritability and dream like states when I become distressed. I still suffer from bouts of bloody diarrhea, numbness in my finger tips, blurry vision and dizziness, some of which are unexplainable. I feel chronically disabled. I suffer from violent and irrational behavior. At times I am disoriented to the nature and circumstances of my surroundings, unable to understand my immediate actions or the consequences thereof. I have impaired ability to remember, think and reason and now faced with the process of aging in conjunction with serious disability. I can see how my stamina, strength, acuity, agility, energy and mobility slipping away. I am having trouble with my memory, especially learning new information. My day to day interactions have deteriorated.