Posted on 08/19/2004 9:20:29 AM PDT by Shermy
(From April 2004)
WASHINGTON - John Kerry has a piece of shrapnel in his left thigh from an injury he suffered in the Vietnam War, his doctor said Friday during a review of 36 pages of the Democratic presidential candidate's military medical records.
The records shown briefly to reporters provided a few more details about the wounds that resulted in Kerry's three Purple Hearts and show that he suffered from respiratory ailments, a skin rash and a minor urinary tract infection during his four years in the Navy.
Kerry was wounded three times while commanding a swiftboat in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, an assignment that brought him close to enemy fire several times.
Some of Kerry's critics have questioned whether his injuries were serious enough to warrant three Purple Hearts and reassignment out of Vietnam. Kerry's doctor, Gerald Doyle, said he could not characterize the severity of the wounds since he didn't see them, but he noted that Kerry was in danger of serious injury several times.
Kerry got his first Purple Heart after he got shrapnel in his left arm above his elbow. Doyle said if the shrapnel had hit Kerry in the eye, it could have blinded him.
And Doyle said Kerry's third Purple Heart came from a dangerous situation on March 13, 1969, that could have been life-threatening. A mine had exploded near Kerry's swiftboat and enemy snipers were shooting around his boat.
According to notes from a military doctor who treated Kerry three hours later, Kerry was thrown against the bulkhead, resulting in contusions on his right forearm. A small piece of shrapnel was lodged in his left upper buttock. He was treated with a tetanus shot, topical dressing and an ace bandage and advised to apply warm soaks to his right forearm.
Kerry also was wounded by a piece of shrapnel on Feb. 20, 1969, this time on his left thigh. Doctors decided to leave the shrapnel in place rather than make a wider opening to remove it. Doctors removed damaged tissue and the entry wound was closed with sutures, and no infection developed around the shrapnel, according to the records.
Kerry jokingly told reporters aboard his campaign plane that the shrapnel hurts when it rains. He said tht although it was hot and burned at the time, he doesn't feel it now.
Kerry was diagnosed with pneumonia in September 1966 and had an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis during his time in the military. The records also show Kerry had pneumonia in 1965 before his enlistment. Doyle said Kerry has hay fever and allergies to pollen and mold and is probably predisposed to pneumonia. Doyle said Kerry had pneumonia at least once since his time in Vietnam, but he usually recovers quickly from respiratory ailments because his immune system is healthy.
Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan interrupted Doyle to ask that he only comment on Kerry's medical records in the military, noting that the doctor had already issued a letter outlining Kerry's health during the 18 years that he has treated the senator.
Doyle said the skin rash on Kerry's chest, arms and legs in 1967 was probably an inflammation of hair follicles from the warm weather in San Diego, where he trained before going to Vietnam. It was treated with a steroid cream.
Two days after Kerry was treated for the rash, doctors noted that Kerry reported coughing and other symptoms and requested a chest X-ray. "This is a very aggressive patient," the medical notes say. Doyle said he couldn't know what that meant, but speculated Kerry might have insisted on getting the X-ray since he had pneumonia a few months earlier.
This week the campaign has posted on its Web site more than 200 pages of information about Kerry's military record. The campaign said when the Navy sent Kerry his military file, it did not include his medical records, and those shown to reporters Friday were copies that Kerry had in his personal files.
The Kerry campaign allowed 19 reporters who travel with Kerry to talk to his doctor and view the medical file for about 30 minutes. Reporters had to sign the file in and out and were not allowed to take a copy.
Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter noted that the 30-minute review was 10 minutes longer than reporters had with President Bush's military medical files. She said the campaign will not release the record to the public because "we don't consider this information to be public in the first place."
Also on Friday, Kerry announced a "Contract with America's Middle Class" during a speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The contract was a compilation of ideas that Kerry has been touting on the campaign trail - a new plan to win the war, create 10 million jobs, cut middle class taxes and streamline government.
Kerry also had a private meeting with Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to former President Carter, at Kerry's home in Georgetown.
More likely, considering the limp-wristedness of many DIMS, Boys Town in Baguio City. Yeah, even though off-limits, Lt Kerry boldly inserted himself in there to "recon" it. One thing led to another and BINGO! drippy d1ck.
Or Terayza spit in his eye and it settled in his butt!
Yes, all my kids were born and raised and still remain in Santa Barbara. We couldn't take it anymore either! Even quiet SB is a major disruption to my senses when we visit! So what is it with drivers in Minnesota? I personally think the road signs here are pathetic!!! And that is what makes for nutty drivers! It's downright dangerous to drive in a parking lot! LOL! To say nothing of walking in one!
Did ya'll notice that those records were copies from his own personal files? Whats with that?
Did ya'll notice that those records were copies from his own personal files? Whats with that?
WE WANNA SEE ALL YOUR RECORDS, SENATOR RICE-IN-ASS!!
I'm seeing a huge red flag here. What other records are they so afraid of the doctor mentioning?
This is a total scam! If anyone thinks the MSM isn't biased, look at how they treat Cheney who is only the VEEP! They were all over his medical history during the campaign. Even when the docs cleared him for the dozenth time, the press was STILL demanding info. Kerry had CANCER surgery less than two years ago. Uh, his records are "private"? Don't the American people have a right to know if their president will croak 6 months after taking office? Doesn't the "unbiased" press think this might be a tad important?
Nedra Pickler has bruises on her knees from the Kerry kneepads
Good Points all
THAT is SCARY!
Kerry croaks, EDWARDS the shyster takes over, Hitlary is in the wings panting. NOT looking good.
The same could be said for the pencil he used to write up his phony injury report.
Careful with that grenade launcher... someone could put an eye out!
Good Lord! 3 Purple Heart injuries AND a heat rash? Kerry has sacrificed too much for America. He should stay home and rest. I'm voting Bush.
It means he reported to sick bay for every bee sting, mosquito bite, and paper cut demanding x-rays and a medal.
the minor urinary tract infection is know as the clap!
Malingering is a constant threat to discipline in the military.
When I was in basic training, there was a virulent upper-respiratory infection prevalent at the post.
When I finally became too sick to train, I reported to sick call where I was issued APC (aspirin plus codeine) and sent back to duty. My platoon was out training, so I was assigned KP for the rest of the day. KP (kitchen police) was a very long day of scrubbing pots, mopping floors and preparing foods. Whatever the cooks could get you to do was something they didn't have to do. (Let's not dwell too long on the wisdom of assigning potentially sick people to do food preparation during an epidemic.)
The lesson was pretty clear that hoping for a break by going on sick call was a waste of time. I never did it again. By the time graduation day came, I had to be held up by the two soldiers on either side of me to keep me from passing out. When I got home for a weeks leave after basic, I had a temperature of 104 and suffered plugged sinuses for the next six months.
The description of Kerry's behavior might lead a reasonable person to conclude that he may have been looking forward to avoiding service in VietNam. His later "luck" in getting three minor wounds that allowed him to serve only four months in VN is consistent with such a conclusion.
" What other records are they so afraid of the doctor mentioning?"
There's the prostate cancer he had last year maybe.
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