| Let me tell you about Conny Conny Sue Montgomery served 1981 - 1987. I attended her memorial service in Valdez, Alaska - Nov 12 - with full military honors for her service to our Nation. Very appropriate She was a Sgt in the Army in Germany. She was an honored sharp shooter. She took her duties seriously. She also represented the Army around Europe in playing football, baseball ... you name it. She was an athlete of recognized excellence. She drove the big convoy trucks and once I asked her about what they used to 'decontaminate' the equipment. "Oh, yes," she replied, "and they sprayed me, too" I'd been wondering what they used to decontaminate the trucks, etc in the Gulf War I Her mother had told me that she had this 'elephant' skin on her arms and legs (below where shorts would be). That no lotion helped. Others had remarked about it, too. That reminded me of the chemical I've looked into. I suspect it for harming people in and out of the military since WWII & before. Well, 2-butoxyethanol dries the skin. The MSDS info says it 'defats the skin' AND lots more. Never would doctors suspect one chemical for doing all the things that this chemical does. So I suspect sometimes even PTSD is given to help diagnose what it does. It damages the Central Nervous System, too and mimics true psychiatric disorder. High bad cholesterol is another thing that this autoimmune causing chemical can do. After taking medication for cholesterol is when the skin problem seemed to show up; however, I would still suspect her heath concerns started years before, and the start of the skin damage back then, too When Conny died at the age of 42 she was on a new medication. Her feet were burning inside, but cold to touch. She had lost feeling in her legs. I think sometimes she drank to help self medicate. I remember a couple of years ago she was going to a VA doctor for enlarged spleen. I hope the autopsy finds out whether or not the red blood cells were small-sized. Did she have an autoimmune system - did she have CFS? or CFIDS? Not only was Conny exposed to the decontaminating chemicals, and probably lots of other ways during her military service in Germany, too. I suspect she was affected when she returned home to Valdez, Alaska. 1989 is when the Exxon Valdez oil spill happened. Cleanup was the worst thing that happened, as the winter storms would have done better. Anyway, I believe she tended bar 'at the common man's bar' during that time. There is a VERY STRONG 2nd hand exposure with this chemical. As workers gathered there & other small rooms throughout the town, they would be breathing out this 2-butoxyethanol chemical into the room. Vapors in eyes is the strongest exposure. That's why gulf war vets shared, "Why is it that our spouses & children born before we were deployed, have come down with the 'gulf war syndrome,' too?" Conny married Tom Kelsey in 1994. They had no children. She leaves behind her husband, a mother, a brother, 2 sisters and 3 nieces and 4 nephews. For all those who have been harmed by this ethylene glycol monobutyl ether ... down through the decades, I mourn for their loss. They were taken from us too soon. And no child should ever suffer from its effects. But I'm afraid many, many have. And I will most especially miss Conny. The world is diminished by her leaving before her time. Full of life, full of love, Conny will be missed by many |
