Family Bitter Over Terms Of Anthrax-Disabled Airman's Release From Service

By Terry Frank, Chautauqua Correspondent

Buffalo (N.Y.) News

January 1, 2001

Pg. 3B

SUGAR GROVE, PA. -- Airman Thomas Colosimo, suffering the debilitating symptoms of anthrax intoxication, will be released from the Air Force this month.

But Colosimo's mother, Gloria Graham, is unhappy with the terms of the "temporary medical retirement."

"Their decision was that his retirement include 60 percent of his pay, which factors out to $812 a month before taxes," she said, adding that her son's status would be re-evaluated every 12 to 18 months.

Graham has been lobbying the Air Force to treat her son's medical problems, linked to his most recent tour of the Middle East-Persian Gulf region, or discharge him with benefits. Last spring, Colosimo, a native of this community south of Jamestown, came down with apparent symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome after a tour of duty in Kuwait.

His mother said he was diagnosed and treated in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland but was later reassigned to his base in Hayden, Utah. Since then, he has suffered from "drop attacks," unexpectedly losing consciousness and collapsing. Graham said her son has also had problems with coordination and experiences mental lapses.

Colosimo returned to Walter Reed last August for further evaluation when his mother wrote to Rep. John Peterson, R-Warren, and staged a protest with friends in front of the Air Force recruiting office in Jamestown, where her son had enlisted.

This time he was diagnosed with "anthrax intoxication," apparently triggered by a series of shots given to military personnel. Colosimo received a waiver on the fifth shot after Peterson intervened.

But the discharge has more serious consequences for Colosimo. "We were shocked to learn . . that he has to pay for his medical insurance out of his $812 before taxes. That's something that was just another surprise," Graham said. "So, I'm not sure what that leaves him a month to live on."

She said her son and his wife, Tracey, probably will have to live with family in Sugar Grove when he leaves the Air Force on Jan. 23.

Graham said the couple has had other problems. Her daughter-in-law, she said, developed a blood clot in her leg and had to be hospitalized.

Colosimo, meanwhile, is unable to move about without a walker. The Air Force has provided a protective helmet and a wheelchair -- but nothing else.

One ray has been her son's recent interview with the Reuters news agency. A doctor interested in the case has contacted the family and wants to see Colosimo, probably this month.

"This physician is very up on the new findings with Gulf War (Syndrome) and anthrax-related issues, and wants to see Tom because he feels there is more that can be done," Graham said.

The family remains bitter about the Air Force's reaction to Colosimo's dilemma. "We've never asked for something for free; we never asked for pain or suffering; what it's done to our family," Graham said.