Vietnam Veteran helping handicap people live better lives

Vietnam vet becomes hero to hundreds at home
CBS News 6
BY GREG MCQUADE
JULY 10, 2014

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – As a new addition arrived at Emily Hicks’ home, the 84-year-old woman could not contain her excitement. An army of volunteers installed for her a bridge to the outside world — a streamlined wheelchair ramp.

“I think it is a God sent blessing,” Hicks said. “I fall so much I need it bad.”

What used to take a day or two to install, can now be up and running in just a few hours.

The modular ramp was created by Joe Doetzer. The units are built in a warehouse and delivered in sections.

“We do it in stages,” Joe said. “Each takes about half a day.”

Joe has installed hundreds of ramps for the non-profit Project Homes since 1998. Over the years, Project Homes has helped the elderly and less fortunate with home renovations.

“Well, you’ve got to put yourself in their shoes,” Joe said.

The ramps help people with disabilities live a normal life. It is an issue close to Doetzer’s heart. The 68-year-old U.S. Army veteran was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s Disease in his 30′s, not long after being exposed to Agent Orange serving in Vietnam.
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Vietnam veteran starts New Year in customized home

Canton veteran welcomed back to his renovated home just in time for the holidays thanks to Purple Heart Homes
Farmington Valley Times
Published: Monday, December 30, 2013

CANTON
Volunteers from Purple Heart Homes and the Canton community welcomed back Joe Recupero, a Vietnam veteran, back to his newly renovated, handicap accessible, safe barrier free home on Saturday after weeks of work.

Recupero, 62, suffers from severe Parkinsons Disease, one of 14 known diseases the Veterans Affairs department has identified as a result of exposure to the defoliant chemical Agent Orange used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

Recupero’s home at 7 Forest Lane was renovated to include a new roof, handicap accessible bathroom and bedroom and a ramp out the front door. Volunteers also moved his driveway so he could gain easier access to the home.

The group working on the home included volunteers from Travelers insurance, the Canton Fire Department, church groups and work crews from Manchester. The project was led by Regional Director Vicki Thomas and Project Manager Marlene Figueroa.

The group also donated sheets, towels, pillows, blankets and other necessities that were given to Recupero during Saturday’s welcome home “Shower for Joe.” Thomas said they wanted to “shower Joe not only with love, but also needed household items.”
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VA fix-it funds help modify home for Vietnam veteran

VA fix-it funds help modify home for Vietnam veteran
By Anita Creamer
Modesto Bee
Wednesday, Jul. 18, 2012

When he was 20, Otis Dorsey served a year installing communications lines in Vietnam, a world away from the tiny Alabama town where he was raised. After completing his stint in the Army, he came home unhurt, or so he thought for the next few decades.

"I remember them spraying Agent Orange," said Dorsey, now 66, who lives in south Sacramento and is retired from a 25-year career with the federal government. "We were out there working while they were spraying.

"We got damp from it, but they told us it wasn't nothing that would kill you. It would kill the vegetation."

Today, he suffers from type 2 diabetes, diagnosed in 1990 when he was only 44, and Parkinson's disease, diagnosed eight years ago. Both diseases are among the ailments the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs links with Agent Orange exposure.

Diabetic complications led to the amputation of Dorsey's right leg, and he has cellulitis in his left leg. He also developed kidney problems as well as congestive heart failure.

"Gosh, what else have you had?" said his wife, Diane Jones Dorsey, 59, a retired state analyst.

"I'm still up and moving," her husband replied. "I try to keep a positive attitude."

To help him keep moving, and to help make the rest of the world accessible to him, a $63,780 Veterans Affairs grant last year renovated the Dorseys' home, which they bought in 1984, and adapted it to his mobility and medical needs.
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New worries for Afghanistan veterans, toxic dust

Study finds toxic metals in dust in Afghanistan

By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 20, 2010 8:21:19 EDT

Here’s another thing to worry about when you deploy: toxic dust.

A new Navy study suggests that dust from Afghanistan contains metals that may cause respiratory problems and brain damage.

“Afghanistan sand produces neurotoxicity … with potential adverse health effects to our soldiers,” according to a briefing of the study presented at a medical conference in June in Portland, Ore.

The Navy conducted the study in response to anecdotal concerns that the dust and dust storms common in the Middle East may be harmful. The dust samples were taken from Forward Operating Base Salerno near Khost, which was selected because of its relative isolation with no nearby industry that could skew results.

A close analysis of the Afghan dust found traces of manganese, a toxic chemical known to cause Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Other metals found in the sand include silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum and chromium.

Those metals, if trace elements are inhaled, can travel through the bloodstream to the brain and other organs, according to the study.
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Study finds toxic metals in dust in Afghanistan

What is wrong with this picture? Veterans deserve better from us

What is wrong with this picture? Veterans deserve better from us
Carl Young/For The Times-Standard
Posted: 06/13/2009 01:30:28 AM PDT



Numerous studies have made the clear link between Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD, to an increased risk of dying relatively young due to heart disease.

Still other studies suggest that Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange (AO) suffer from Parkinson's disease. Yet the Congress fails to pass legislation requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish these aliments as presumptive conditions related to military service. How many families have watched a loved that served in Vietnam, die an untimely death due to the degenerative and incurable condition of Parkinson's disease or heart disease, and had no idea it might have been directly related to their military service?

A new aliment AL amyloidosis -- a rare incurable disease that can lead to organ failure and death -- has been recognized as a service-connected illness related to herbicide exposure. A new bill is H.R. 2254 would include “Blue Water Navy” veterans ... and others, including those who received the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM), which could include those who served in support of the war in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, as potently exposed to AO.

I'm now watching my father, Capt. Robert W. Young, USMC Retired, who served in both Korea and Vietnam, having his good days, and not so good. There's overwhelming evidence that suggests a higher incidence of Vietnam veterans with Parkinson's disease than other population groups.
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