My name is Joseph
Zimmett. I have been in the army for the last 11
years. I deployed to Kosovo in 1999 with the 82nd Airborne Division and
was there for 6 months. In 2001 I was stationed in Vicenza, Italy.
While assigned to the 173rd Airborne Bridgade. while in the 173rd I
deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004, Afghanistan in 2005-2006, and then again
to Afghanistan in 2007-2008. Near the end of my first Afghanistan
deployment I started having problems with my right ankle and knee. I
had broken my ankle before so I was convinced that it was the pins
still in my ankel causing the problem. When we returned from the
deployment I went to see the orthapedic surgeon and he said that there
was nothing wrong with me. Throughout the entire year of 2007 I
continued to go to sick call about my ankle and knee. Eventually I was
no longer able to preform my duties as an infantrymen. They put me in
another position where I sat behind a desk all day. In 2007 we deployed
to Afghanistan again where I worked in our battalion's Tactical
Operations Center. In March of 2008 the symptoms started to get worse.
I went to the medics and they sent me to Bagram Air field for further
treatment. While I was in BAF I talked to a neurologist and she could
not find anything wrong with me but I was showing signs of Multiple
Sclerosis. She sent me to Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany
where I was diagnosed with MS in April 2008. Since then I have had to
alter my life style dramatically. Now only now only 7 months into this
process I am starting to accept the changes that I have had to make.
My name is Joseph
Zimmett. I have been in the army for the last 11
years. I deployed to Kosovo in 1999 with the 82nd Airborne Division and
was there for 6 months. In 2001 I was stationed in Vicenza, Italy.
While assigned to the 173rd Airborne Bridgade. while in the 173rd I
deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004, Afghanistan in 2005-2006, and then again
to Afghanistan in 2007-2008. Near the end of my first Afghanistan
deployment I started having problems with my right ankle and knee. I
had broken my ankle before so I was convinced that it was the pins
still in my ankel causing the problem. When we returned from the
deployment I went to see the orthapedic surgeon and he said that there
was nothing wrong with me. Throughout the entire year of 2007 I
continued to go to sick call about my ankle and knee. Eventually I was
no longer able to preform my duties as an infantrymen. They put me in
another position where I sat behind a desk all day. In 2007 we deployed
to Afghanistan again where I worked in our battalion's Tactical
Operations Center. In March of 2008 the symptoms started to get worse.
I went to the medics and they sent me to Bagram Air field for further
treatment. While I was in BAF I talked to a neurologist and she could
not find anything wrong with me but I was showing signs of Multiple
Sclerosis. She sent me to Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany
where I was diagnosed with MS in April 2008. Since then I have had to
alter my life style dramatically. Now only now only 7 months into this
process I am starting to accept the changes that I have had to make.
My Beautiful Wife