Ex-soldier counts himself a casualty
Section: Main, Page: A1
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wilk, 45, was among the New York National Guard members who provided support and security around the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center for more than eight weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But seven years after the towers collapsed, the ex-soldier is fighting for his health and possibly his life. Severely ill and unable to work, Wilk recently moved to Altamont – not far from his boyhood home in Voorheesville. He has difficulty breathing, ex ternal cysts, severe muscle pain, migraines and more.
In the past four years, Wilk has been diagnosed with lung disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and other maladies, including fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by chronic pain.. Wilk, who was a soldier for 23 years, blames the burning soot and dust-filled air that he inhaled at ground zero for his worsening health problems.
“I used to run two miles in 10 minutes,” Wilk said Monday in a trailer he’s renting on an Altamont farm. “Now, I can’t run up three flights of stairs.”
Wilk was one of at least 91,000 workers and volunteers who responded to the terrorist attack on New York. Thousands of relief workers and volunteers at the 9/11 cleanup have since fallen ill, according to various health studies.
Many soldiers, firefighters Please see SEPT. 11 A8 and others labored in areas contaminated by debris, dust, smoke and fumes, according to the state Health Department, which is collecting data on those who served.
The department has so far identified 662 responders, including 19 military members, who have died through various illnesses and diseases, accidents and suicides. Those numbers are expected to increase as more figures are reported, said Kitty Gelberg, chief of epidemiology and surveillance for the state Health Department’s Bureau of Occupational Health.
The statistics will be compared against other death patterns to assess if environmental factors at ground zero may have contributed to illnesses.
In interviews, Wilk described how he went from a healthy citizen soldier to a broken veteran who felt it was his duty to tell his story. The divorced father of two wants others who may have gotten sick at ground zero, including some he knows, to seek help.
On that Tuesday morning, Wilk was testing and repairing traffic lights in Babylon, Suffolk County, for the state Transportation Department. As the first responders raced to lower Manhattan, the 5-foot-7, 180-pound guardsman went in the opposite direction to meet his unit, the National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division in Troy.
Wilk was deployed to Battery Park near ground zero on Sept. 15 under a state activation, not federal one, a distinction that would become important after Wilk fell ill and sought treatment.
The guardsman undertook chores such as running generators, escorting people and cordoning off areas around the trade center site.
Wilk said he was not ordered to wear a protective mask. A National Guard spokesman said it provided masks as soon as it could and instructed soldiers at ground zero to wear them.
The state confirmed Wilk remained on active duty at Operation Trade Center until Nov. 10, 2001.
Wilk’s memories of the time are a blur of visions: demolished buildings, acrid smells, hot smoke, elderly people, stairways full of soot. When workers found a body, everything stopped, Wilk recalled.
Wilk’s symptoms surfaced in 2002. His lungs were damaged, and he suffered chronic lower back pain, skin disorders, depression and more.
Wilk never had health issues prior to 9/11, according to a fellow guardsman. Wilk does say he struggled with drinking in the years before the attacks and now attends Alcoholics Anonymous.
Wilk says his health problems accelerated by 2005, when he was medically discharged from the Guard. He was unable to perform his state job and lost his health insurance in 2006.
By 2007, doctors diagnosed him with several ailments. The Long Island WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program said in March that Wilk had obstructive lung disease. They told him to follow up with a primary doctor.
One Long Island rheumatologist, Roy Prashad, noted in 2007 that he had “noticed that several patients who have had exposure at ground zero later developed an autoimmune disease or unexplained chronic pain syndromes, much like Mr. Wilk’s.”
Wilk says his service has cost him tens of thousands of dollars in medical and prescription drug bills since 2006. He receives a federal disability check each month, a third of which goes toward child support for his boys, Thomas 14, and Peter 11, on Long Island.
Wilk submitted a “Line of Duty” request to the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs for compensation and treatment for the fibromyalgia. The request was denied, according to a letter from the state agency provided by Wilk.
“The DMNA carefully reviewed the documents submitted and determined that these symptoms did not support a conclusion that Sergeant Wilk’s fibromyalgia syndrome resulted from his service time at the WTC site,” director Michael Ostrander wrote.
Wilk is still seeking money for his costs and care. “This is an Army of One, but they forgot one,” Wilk said in a recent interview.
The state DMNA is investigating Wilk’s claims by reviewing his medical history and his state active duty time, a spokesman said. Wilk awaits a second round of special medical evaluations, the agency said. The exams are conducted by an independent medical examiner.
Wilk said that the state should have approved payment for his disabilities a long time ago. He said state military officials now avoid him and ignore his phone calls, but he plans to continue fighting for treatment and compensation.
The vet still recalls his time near ground zero as the most poignant and memorable of his life. He made photo albums of his mission there.
But the adrenaline and camaraderie from the “pile” has faded, and Wilk is now in Altamont, alone with his memories. And disabilities.
Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.
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