Our general wins a big one
Thursday, September 25, 2008



The Department of Veterans Affairs implemented new regulations Tuesday granting "full access to health and disability benefits" to military veterans diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. That wasn't just a victory for the vets stricken by that cruel affliction. It was a victory for fair play — and for retired Air Force Gen. Tom Mikolajcik, a distinguished resident of our community.

Gen. Mikolajcik, former commander of Charleston Air Base, is one of those veterans with ALS. After being diagnosed with the disease in 2002, rather than resigning himself to the grim fate of a terminal disease, he committed himself to the mission of changing the VA's unfair policy on it.

U.S. military veterans get ALS at a rate 1.6 times above that of the general population, and the VA is now ready to give our deserving vets top-priority treatment for it. Gen. Mikolajcik's advocacy helped convince the VA to what is right for vets with ALS.

But the general — and many other Americans — aren't stopping there in their continuing fight against an insidious disease that relentlessly disables bodies (but notminds) by attacking nerve cells and kills more than two-thirds of its victims within five years of diagnosis. They're pushing for additional funding for badly needed research.

The research mission also advanced Tuesday, when the U.S. Senate passed the ALS Registry Act. The House is expected to soon follow suit, and President Bush is expected to sign the bill, which would create a national registry of people with ALS. That would be an indispensable tool in generating vital data for the experts aiming to defeat it.

In July, when the VA announced the policy change that went into effect Tuesday, Gen. Mikolajcik correctly hailed it as "a reason to have hope — hope meaning 'helping other people endure.' "

The general, through his powerful, inspiring and effective resolve against this cruel scourge, has helped elevate that hope for veterans and their families.



http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/..._big_one55730/