Statement of

Thomas J. Colosimo, SRA, USAF

Before the

Committee on Government Reform

3 October 2000

Hearing

“The Anthrax Vaccination Immunization Program

What Have We learned?

 

            Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I thank you for your continued interest in the Anthrax Vaccination Immunization Program (AVIP).  I also thank you for asking me to share my personal experiences of adverse reactions to the Anthrax vaccination, and the problems I have encountered while seeking medical care for these vaccine adverse reactions I have incurred in the military. My name is Thomas J. Colosimo, and I am a Senior Airman in the United States Air Force, currently stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Please note that any opinions I express are my own and in no way reflect the opinions of the United States Air Force.

            I have served proudly in the Air Force for over nine years.  I have had no regrets for my service to my country.  During this time I have been deployed to the Middle East eight times to include: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Classified locations. I also have been to twenty other countries. Italy, Germany, Ireland, Tunisia, Chile, Panama, Hungary, Sardinia, Spain, Iceland, Turkey, France, Greece, Canada, Azores, and Egypt just to name a few.

            My job was a Nondestructive Inspectionalist. I would inspect aircraft by the use of X-ray, ultrasound, eddy current, bond testing, penetrant, magnetic particle, and oil analysis. By these means I could tell what part of an aircraft or engine was bad or was going to go bad and have it fixed or replaced by specialists before it turned into something catastrophic, such as loss of a pilot or damaging the aircraft. This job was very exciting because whereever the jets went, I went. I enjoyed traveling anywhere the Air Force sent me.

               Because of my current health conditions, I am currently in a patient squadron working no more than four hours a day answering phones and taking messages. Because of my current condition, I have trouble performing even these simple tasks. Most of my time is spent going to doctor’s appointments or physical therapy.

            Before I go into detail about my adverse reactions to the Anthrax vaccination, I’d like to point out that when I was vaccinated, I was not informed of any potential adverse side effects or of the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) . There were no hand outs, product inserts, literature, or health questionnaires to read or fill out. I just had to report to immunization, turn in my shot records, and receive the shot. When I voiced my concerns about receiving this vaccine, I was told failure to comply was punishable under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  I was uncomfortable with accepting the vaccination, but I complied and put my faith in the system. I received all four shots at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

               I received my first Anthrax shot (lot # 36) on 20 February 1998. I felt a pain in my upper left arm, starting immediately following the injection, confined to the injection site. The day following this immunization, I felt sick, as if a cold were starting. I felt fatigued, lightheaded, and had a headache. A few days later, I developed a cyst on my scalp, which seemed almost insignificant at first, but gradually increased in size. It became noticeable every 2 weeks when getting a hair cut because of the soreness. At the same time a similar lesion developed in the corner of my right eye. At the time, I didn’t think much of it and thought they would just go away.

            I received my second Anthrax shot (lot # 38) on 15 March 1999, over one year later, even though shot protocol is two weeks between shots 1, 2, and 3. Again I felt immediate pain at the injection site. On the day after the injection, I felt like a cold was coming on with coughing, sneezing, running nose, headache, fatigue, and lightheadedness. Also the cysts that I had originally developed from the first anthrax shot multiplied and increased in size.

            I received my third Anthrax shot (lot # 38) on 29 March 1999. Again I felt immediate pain at the injection site, but this time instead of feeling like a cold was starting, I just felt very tired. I was so tired that I slept about 16 hours a day for two weeks. I had no energy. The only thing I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep. By this time I had 9 cysts on my scalp, the largest one being the size of a half dollar, and 1 at the corner of my right eye. The pain I was experiencing from these cysts was unreal. If I were to rate it on a scale of 1 through 10, it would definitely have been a 10. Every time I bumped my head or got a hair cut, it would bring me to tears.

            The pain got so bad that I finally went to the base hospital in July 1999 and made an appointment to have  the cysts surgically removed. I feared going to the hospital in the first place because I was afraid to find out that something was seriously wrong with me, that these could possibly be tumors. After I had the cysts removed, they were sent for biopsy and were found to be non-cancerous. I didn’t think to ask if they were tested for Anthrax, because I didn’t relate these symptoms to the Anthrax shot until I received my fourth shot.

            I received my fourth Anthrax shot (lot # 24) on 22 September 1999. This time the pain at the injection site was unbearable. While leaving the hospital, I kept my arm at my side because it hurt to move it. I had to sit down a few times because it was hard to catch my breath from the pain. The following day, I was sick. I was fatigued, lightheaded, sneezing, disoriented, and had a headache. I also started developing a terrible cough that would cause me to gag when I was done and continued until December, when I deployed to Al Jaber, Kuwait and my condition worsened.

            Once there, I started to lose weight rapidly. Some days I was losing anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds a day. I lost a total of 50 pounds within the next three months. My energy was declining rapidly, the lightheadedness increased to the point of feeling like I was going to pass out. I had night sweats, chills, ear ringing, tremors, and severe fatigue. My sleep alternated from excessive sleeping one week to insomnia the next week. I went to the hospital and spoke with a doctor who was also from Hill Air Force Base. He ordered several tests for me at Camp Doha, an Army base nearby, and told me the results were “normal” and my concerns were dismissed.

            I finished the deployment and returned to Hill Air Force Base 8 March 2000. I went to the Base Hospital to disclose my health concerns, which included increased episodes of vertigo, short term memory loss, shortness of breath, mood swings, confusion, tunnel vision, and fatigue. I expressed that my symptoms might be an adverse reaction to receiving the Anthrax vaccine. The first doctor I saw said I could have had the cysts before I came in the military, that I was probably allergic to milk, and that I was starving myself accounting for the severe weight loss. I was told I could not be evaluated or treated until my medical records were returned from Kuwait. Two weeks later, my medical records arrived – having been hand carried by the physician who treated me in Kuwait. Once they arrived, I was told they were “confidential” and was not allowed to see them. I saw the same doctor that I had seen in Kuwait; he again minimized my concerns.

            I was told I was due for my fifth Anthrax shot on 27 March 2000. Because my complaints of malaise were not taken seriously and because I had concerns that all the symptoms I was experiencing were Anthrax related, I decided I couldn’t risk taking the next shot.

            I was told by the doctors at Hill Air Force Base that my illness was not Anthrax related and that I “had to take the shot.” They tried to convince me that my cysts predated my Anthrax series, that the weight loss was a result of a  poor diet, and that everything else was psychosomatic. I contacted my Pennsylvania Representative, John Peterson and shot number five was put on hold pending a medical evaluation. Several appointments with area specialists were made, again due to Representative Peterson’s intervention.

            My condition continued to worsen. I started to experience staring spells. My wife said it took several minutes before I would snap out of it. She said I would have a blank look on my face and talking to me would not help. I was also getting severe abdominal pains when going to the bathroom, shin pains that lasted for days for no apparent reason. My ability to concentrate was declining and forgetfulness was increasing. Memory loss with dizziness was now constant.

            The evaluation by several specialists was to no avail, that is - no diagnosis was discerned. The dizziness was soon followed by daily drop attacks and later led to full loss of consciousness. At first the loss of consciousness only lasted for a few minutes, but as time went on, increased in duration from 30 to 45 minutes, resulting in the inability to speak for about 20 minutes. Several of these episodes included respiratory arrests. An overwhelming feeling of tiredness occurred prior to these incidents.

            On 30 March 2000 around 1600 hours (4:00 pm), I was at work, pouring water from a pitcher. I blacked-out and fell to the floor. My supervisor immediately called 911 and the paramedics took me to the base hospital. They ran some test and found nothing “out of the norm.” My doctor then placed me on a profile stating no driving or working alone and sent me back to work.

            The next black out happened on 4 April 2000. I was sitting in the break room at work. The next thing I remember I was laying on the floor in a different room with paramedics all around me. They took me to the Davis County Hospital where I was seen by a neurologist and sent home. He did some lab work and scheduled me for some tests the next day.

            The following day I went to the base hospital for more lab work and to get a halter monitor placed on me. I called a co-worker for a ride and went outside to sit on a bench and wait. Witnesses said I got up from the bench, lost consciousness, and fell to the pavement. I woke to find the paramedics with me again and was admitted to Davis County Hospital overnight for more “tests and observation.” My halter monitor recorded the incident and showed my heart rate went up to 198 bpm and down to 40 bpm when I blacked out. The neurologist said what I had was Sinus Tachycardia and prescribed heart, sleep, and anxiety medication. I was then put on indefinite convalescent leave.

            On 8 April 2000, I was home vacuuming the living room and blacked out. When I came to, my downstairs neighbor, who heard me fall, rushed upstairs to help; he and my wife were yelling and shaking me. They said my eyes were rolled back, eyelids were twitching, my complexion was pale, and I stopped breathing. My wife performed rescue breathing until I came to. It is almost incomprehensible for me to admit to you that these “drop attacks” were becoming “almost normal.”

            The next day my wife and I went on base to visit with a friend who is in the Air Force Reserves. While visiting with him, I started to feel tired and told them I wanted to go home. While we were walking out to the car, I blacked out. I woke up to an oxygen mask on my face and in the back of an ambulance. I was told I fell face first in the gravel, stopped breathing several times, and had rescue breathing performed on me by a Master Sergeant who was nearby, until the paramedics arrived. I was out for a total of 45 minutes. I was admitted again to Davis County Hospital overnight, with more tests to follow.

            The next morning I was taken to Colombia Ogden Regional Medical Center for a tilt table test by Dr. Jones (a Cardiologist). He induced a blackout and said my heart rate went from 60 bpm to 150 bpm to 40 bpm while my blood pressure dropped to 78/38. He diagnosed me with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He gave me an events monitor to wear; this would record what my heart was doing. He stated I would need someone constantly with me because with my loss of consciousness, I would not be able to activate the system. My wife took a family leave of absence from her job to stay with me. I was told I was not allowed to go back to work, drive, or to be alone.

            On 6 May 2000, I was out on our balcony. Upon reentering the house, my wife said I looked very pale and disoriented. I had to hold the door to keep myself up and steady. My wife helped me into the recliner and noticed that my eyes were half way open and were rolled back. She said my breathing was slow and deep at first, but got faster and harder. She noticed that the events monitor that I was wearing showed my heart rate had increased from 62 bpm to 220 bpm in a few seconds. She then ran downstairs to get our neighbor to help, but when she returned my chest was “jumping,” as though I was having muscle spasms. She then decided to call 911. At this time I stopped breathing. The operator told my wife to start rescue breathing. On the 10th breath, I started breathing again, and my heart rate had slowed down.

            The medics then arrived and put an oxygen mask over my face. They asked if I could hear them and I shook my head “yes.” At this time, one of the responders (policeman) walked into the room. He asked my wife if this “was the same guy” they responded to “a few days earlier on Hill Air Force Base.” She replied, “yes.” He then reached down, grabbed and twisted my nipple and tried to pull me off the floor by it. He told me to sit up, that he “was sick of playing (my) games,” that he was “not going to play this game tonight, that (I) was a faker, and that nothing was wrong with (me).” By this time, I was screaming in pain and he dropped me back to the floor. I couldn’t speak and I was having trouble catching my breath. He also told my wife that my “doctor at Hill Air Force Base said, (I) was faking it and nothing was wrong with (me).” He repeated this assault again and threatened to repeat it a third time if I didn’t respond to him. I was then dragged down three flights of stairs, loaded in an ambulance, taken to the emergency room and kept overnight for observation.

            I had 14 more blackouts, most resulting in minor injuries such as scrapes, cuts, scratches, and bruises. Only with the strong influence and intervention from Representative Peterson and my wife’s and mother’s involvement with the media, did Hill Air Force Base decide to send me to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 9 May 2000. After 35 days of numerous and extensive test done by Neurology, Cardiology, Infectious Disease, Endocrinology, Gulf War Clinic, Psychiatry, Psychology, ENT, Allergy, and the Sleep Disorder Center, Walter Reed diagnosed me with Neurocardiogenic Syncope, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Obstructed Sleep Apnea, Anxiety Disorder, and situational stress. None of these symptoms predated my first Anthrax vaccine.

               Informationaly, Neurocardiogenic Syncope is a potentially serious condition that occurs when one’s blood pressure drops significantly after standing up, because the muscles around the blood vessels in the legs do not constrict normally. One may feel dizzy with a change of position from laying or sitting to standing. A large decline in blood pressure may cause syncope, the medical term for a sudden, brief loss of consciousness or fainting spell and vision may blur. Low blood pressure upon standing up seems to spring from a failure in the autonomic nervous system. Normally, when a person stands up, there is a reflex constriction of the small arteries and veins to offset the effects of gravity. With Neurocardiogenic compromise - “normal” doesn’t happen.

            On 13 June 2000, Walter Reed Army Medical Center released me back to Hill Air Force Base with a strong recommendation that I be immediately transferred to Andrews Air Force Base, so I could have intense medical follow up. They also tried to contact my doctors at Hill Air Force Base to establish medical treatment contingency and were repeatedly told “no one was available.”

            When I returned to Hill Air Force Base, I found out that I had no doctor assigned for my care and no one knew what to do with me. Two weeks went by until I finally met with a doctor who was assigned to me. He told me he was leaving in a few weeks and my “case was too complicated to deal with,” so I would “have to wait for another doctor to return from leave.” I ended up having no one to accept the responsibility for monitoring my illness and medication regime because it didn’t fall within “the norm.” Because of this, my condition worsened and I started to develop new symptoms. I was then left with the responsibility of adjusting my own medications.

            On 29 June 2000 around 0100, I got out of bed to get a drink of water and on returning collapsed to the floor. With the help from my wife, I got back into bed. She said I appeared delirious and then at approximately 0230 (2:30 a.m.).  I got out of bed. I have no recall of where I was going or why. At approximately 0630 (6:30 am), I returned home. All I remembered was waking up in a parking lot covered in blood, vomit, and urine, not knowing how I got there. The doctor said that my blood pressure dropped so low that I passed out and started to loose control of my extremities.

            Hill Air Force Base then requested a Medical Review Board. The Medical Review Board decided that I was “fit for duty” and to return to work along with a profile that stated: “History of syncope- no  prolong standing, climbing, operation of heavy machinery, or work with hazardous material, no excessively long shifts( greater than 8 hours) or overnight work, no strenuous training or physical fitness requirements (cycle ergometry), no work on flight line or uncontrolled climate, no deployments, no government or personal driving.”

               However, my squadron (388th MXS) told me I was still not allowed to return to work and I was to stay at home and wait for orders to Andrews Air Force Base. It was at this time that my vision started to fade in and out as with tunnel vision, causing me to fall down stairs and run into walls. I also started to become overly sensitive to household chemicals that never bothered me before, causing me to have episodes of delirium. My wife said I would get out of bed, usually at night after being around the cat’s litter box, oven cleaner or other cleaning products and walk outside and away from our apartment for 6 to 8 hours. She would then call my First Sergeant and the police to help look for me. When I returned or was found, I would go back to bed, wake up the next morning, never remembering a thing.

            My wife, my family, and I pleaded with the Air Force that I return to Walter Reed but was denied this again and again. I asked if Hill Air Force Base could at least contact the Walter Reed doctors for advice and possible treatment or testing but was ignored. They promised I would get a doctor at Hill Air Force Base, “soon.” I was told weekly that I would be receiving orders “soon” and “it wouldn’t be cost effective” to send me sooner if I were getting orders anyway. I used my chain of command including the Base Commander, the Inspector General of the base, the Air Force Inspector General, and the Secretary of the Air Force to no avail. Please be assured, I don’t take Congressional advocacy lightly, but I was left with no choice.

            Once again with the strong and persistent intervention of Representative Peterson, Senator Santorum, Senator Hatch, and national media exposure caused by my wife and mother, Hill Air Force Base reluctantly returned me to Walter Reed on 8 August 2000, until I got orders to Andrews Air Force Base. I was given less than one days notice and told that I was not allowed to return. It took Hill Air Force Base a total of 10 weeks and my falling over 50 times to be allowed to return for treatment. Since mid March, I have had over 200 falls.

               When I arrived at Walter Reed, I was told that they were never notified that I was coming. They admitted me as an inpatient for observation and ran more tests. They adjusted my medications to include: Florinef, Atenolol, Paxil, Lorazepam, Sodium Chloride Tablets, Magnesium Gluconate, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C and continued to observe me. Even with these medications I still get lightheaded, but that is the “best they can do.” I received my orders to transfer to Andrews Air Force Base three weeks later on 1 September 2000. I am currently being seen by Walter Reed medical personal on a regular basis.

            Because of my increased sensitivity to chemicals and sleep deprivation, I had another episode on Friday, 16 September 2000. My wife said I was delirious, stumbling, had slurred speech, my thought process was unclear, forgetful, and I was in a drunken-like state. She said it was like I had Down’s syndrome. By Saturday night my condition worsened. That night, I went to the Base Hospital ER at my family’s insistence. They took some urine and blood samples and asked us to wait. Five hours later, the tests results came back “normal” and I was released in the same condition as I arrived, with the recommendation to see my primary physician at Walter Reed Monday morning. This state of delirium lasted until Sunday evening and I don’t remember a thing. My doctors at Walter Reed are uncertain what caused this.

            While we were at the Emergency Room, our home was entered by the security police and searched. The neighbors told the police we were at the hospital and they called it in to verify it. Once they knew where we were, the police told the paramedics to wait outside. The cops then entered our home through the back door and proceeded to search every drawer, cupboard, closet, and room. They then asked our neighbors if (I) “had a mental problem?” They said “no, he has a medical problem.” They asked if (I) “was ever violent with (my) wife?” They also said “no.” The police told our neighbors that I “kidnapped (my) wife and was out to hurt her.” They also asked if (I) “was on any drugs?” They said that (I) “was on medications.” This is clearly harassment and an attempt to discredit my credibility. Ever since I got sick from the anthrax vaccine and acknowledged it as the cause, I have received nothing but hostile retaliation.

            Certain Air Force officials who are in charge of reviewing my request for extension and disability have told the doctors at Walter Reed that I am “milking the system” and using my “illness to stay in the military,” that I am “a trouble maker” and I “showed it with my mother’s and wife’s involvement with Congress and the press,” that they “were going to make sure any attempts for a medical extension would get denied.” My Walter Reed doctors said they needed at least 6 months to do a complete re-evaluation due to the regression that occurred in my health because I received no medical treatment at all from 15 May 2000 through 8 August 2000. They were told by the Air Force two weeks was all they had. My enlistment is up 23 November 2000 and I am being told by my doctors at Walter Reed that I will have to continue taking my current medications for at least a year before they can even consider taking me off of it, even though they are uncertain how I will react without it. I am 28 years old. I was healthy. I had dreams and visions. I did what I was told. I got sick.

            I do not understand why the Air Force has abandoned me. Is it because my sickness is associated with the Anthrax shot? My symptoms are not like the flu, where your sick as a dog for a couple of days, then over it. It is hell! You feel good enough to go out and wash the car, then turn around in 10 minutes and are flat on your face or OK to take a walk, then Boom, laying in the parking lot and forget where you live or how to get help. 

            I believe the Air Force has taken a retaliatory posture with me for the Congressional advocacy my family sought for my medical care. But it was that or die. I have an illness even I do not understand. I took the Anthrax shots healthy and am now ill. No one is sorrier for this than me. All I wanted through all of this was to receive medical treatment, get better, and press on. But the Air Force has only given me the medical care when forced to. Until Representative Peterson intervened, no one listened.

            When I mentioned what happened after taking the Anthrax vaccination to my Air Force doctors, they got defensive. They repeatedly denied that it could be Anthrax. I was even sent to a psychiatrist, but my doctor warned the psychiatrist “be cautious, this patient has questioned the possibility of Anthrax induced problems.”

            One of the hardest things I’ve encountered through all of this, is that no one “knows” what is causing my symptoms. I have been to numerous hospitals and seen many doctors, but no one can tell me for certain if I will get better, if this could possibly get worse, or if I’m going to have to live with this for the rest of my life. All they can offer me is medicine to help treat my symptoms. These are only limitedly effective. I continue to get dizzy, fall, sustain confusion and have difficulty speaking at times.

            I am scared about the future. What effect is this going to have on my wife and will we be able to have healthy kids someday? What will happen in a year from now, when the doctors take me off the medications? Will I be able to work, drive, and support a family? Will I be able to afford medical insurance with this illness? Who will ever hire me with the current symptoms I have described.

            I cannot say what I feel any clearer. I cannot predict what my body will do. I won’t likely die as a direct result of the Anthrax shots. It will be more likely due to a fatal injury from a fall. I do not want my wife, mother, and father to stand over my casket and lose all faith in a country I gave 9 years of my life to and pledged to die for. I am now faced with a discharge in November with no disability because the Air Force said I was “fit for duty” and that my condition was neither compensable or ratable. This is incomprehensible.

            I am very afraid to testify before you today for fear of reprisal. But with the strength and encouragement of my wife and family, I am convinced that I needed to come forward and tell you my story. I know of numerous individuals who are ill from the Anthrax vaccine that I have seen while I was at Walter Reed, have talked to over the phone, and have received written letters from. They are afraid to come forward for fear of a repetition of the same treatment, or lack of, that I have sustained. They are afraid of losing their job, as well as destroying their career, and not being able to support their families. It sickens me that the military “leaders” have instilled this much fear. I must stand up for what I believe is morally and ethically right. It is for them and others who will soon be sick from this vaccine, that I testify before you today.

             Before I conclude, I would like to ask you to think about what a day in my shoes would be like, having an illness that civilian and military doctors do not understand or ignore. Not knowing how your body will react from one second to the next. Going out for a walk and waking up in an ambulance, having your loved ones perform rescue breathing on you and imagining what would happen if you were alone, what it’s like not being able to drive, not being able to stand for a period of time, forgetting events and days, blurred vision and dizzy spells when walking, constantly taking numerous medications, and finally not knowing if you’ll ever get better or if you’ll die from this.

            If you suspected that giving any medication or shot to your son or daughter would risk hurting them, would you hand them that pill or inject them? I am someone’s son, too.

            How can the military be “protected” by a 3rd rate “vaccine?” We do NOT have to sacrifice a few to save the many. I am “the few.” Who among you will say I am expendable? I deserve my life, too. Those of us in the military have earned the same rights for consideration and respect you would ask for yourself or that you would demand for someone you love. My family still loves me.

            I want to be among the last “sick” to testify before you. I was called upon to be here today to be a “token sick person.” This is a false perception. In this regard I am not a singular individual, I am the many who have lost not only their health, but their hope in America.

            You leave here tonight whole and intact. I do not ---nor do the 100,000 to 200,000 sick Gulf War and Anthrax Victims I represent. Many have symptoms that are far worse than mine but can not speak. Many are paralyzed because of fear. Even sadder, many have physical conditions which have been misdiagnosed or under treated because the “optimal” method of treatment has been to keep us all separated or label us “psychos”. What is profoundly disturbing is that wherever two or three sick military gather---Anthrax is in the midst of them. The “Joes” and “Kristins” I have had the honor to meet are NOT malingerers.  NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!!

            We love this Nation and have been proud to serve you all. Neither I nor they bear any shame. Shame rests upon a system allowed to become so evil that it abandons its own.  All it takes is for good people to do nothing. Today is the day a line needs to be drawn, not upon the sand--but upon your soul. YOU need to say, “no more”.  PLEASE STOP THIS INSANITY! 

            It has been an honor and privilege to testify before you today ONLY because I represent thousands and thousands of good people...YOUR spouses, neighbors, friends...sons and daughters.  

   Respectfully submitted,

 

   Thomas J. Colosimo, SRA, USAF