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.
They're working overtime to get away with this. Just saw Drudge's page.
But, where's Brinkley's article for the New Yorker?
Not sure. Maybe it's the fact that things are a little more laid back here, and that translates to their driving. It seems like people would just rather be staring out at the scenery and, every once in awhile, make a major corrective action at the helm-- as tree branches, small animals, and the occasional pedestrian are flung from their grills.
Fortunately, you can't do as much damage when you're driving 15 miles below the posted limit.
Well, I really don't understand the road signs around here! They are bad, imo. By the time you see the sign you need it is too late to do anything about it! Plus, I don't think I will ever understand why all states don't have those little embedded reflectors we had in California. They sure do serve as a good reminder if you cross the line inadvertently, to say nothing of the fact they make the road markings much clearer. Minnesota needs a better road department for starters. Maybe then the drivers will do better. If you know the roads, it's no problem, but many of us don't know the roads all that well yet!
We love the state, though. This is a beautiful part of the country and I remember now why I was so unhappy when my parents moved us to California. I hated California for years. Now I fly into that part of the country and even though Santa Barbara is pretty, the land surrounding it is dry and ugly....and LA is awful! I can go visit my kids several times a year and be perfectly happy with the jetset lifestyle. :)
They definitely wouldn't work here, though: they'd last until the first snowfall, and they'd be scraped off by the snowplows.
One of the complaints I have with MNDOT is that they seem to take on a whole myriad of projects, all at the same time, and piddle around with them throughout the entire season.
Sometimes, I think they sit down and have a discussion...
Tom: OK, we'll close down the main 35W route through Minneapolis. That should take care of a third of the commuters. Bob, where do you think people will drive in from to avoid that?
Bob: Well, some might re-route to Hwy 65, we should probably start tearing up one side of that road, just to be sure...
Joe: Hey! Look here, though: I bet some will try to skirt around and come down Hwy 100! We can't have that! Let's put a mandatory detour over to 169-- we don't have to have crews there, or anything-- we can just put up the barricades.
Bob: That works out well, 'cause when they try to get back in on 394, we've got that long-term construction going on too!
Tom: Good work, guys! Well, rush hour is upon us; let's put down these beers and get out there to man the stop signs!
LOL! Good description of MNDOT meeting! :)
I had forgotten about the snow plows, but they don't use those on the freeways, do they? There should be some way to implement something like that on the freeways without worrying about plows raking them up. I mean, especially in this climate they would be beneficial. Speaking of the climate, this is a very strange summer! I haven't even been bitten by a mosquito! And here it is August and I had the heater go on last night! Then I worried all night about the renters because I had drained the heating system for the apartments thinking we could do some maintenance, but now I am feeling guilty!
We love the rain and thunder! We love the snow! We are lucky enough not to have to go anywhere if we don't want to, so it makes it more enjoyable for us, I think. I don't know how well I would like it if I had to get up and shovel snow in order to get to work! But we have someone do that for us so even that wouldn't be too bad. I love the skyline of the Twin Cities. I love the sunsets! I am really enjoying it here! :)
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