Question:
Hello Jim. I need a little help please. My husband was sent to Vietnam January of 1970 after basic and AIT and was sent home via medivac in December of same year. Our first son was born in 1970. Our second son was born in 1973. Our second son was diagnosed with mental retardation before the age of 2. At the age of 31 he developed endocarditis which required open heart surgery. During the surgery, he had a brain stem stroke. The head of the cardiac surgery and the surgeon that took care of my son told me that my son had 4 bicuspid valves. No tricuspid. Since my husband was 90% service connected; Agent Orange included, is it possible that the heart defects in my son's heart, which caused my son's death, could have been related to or caused by Agent Orange exposure by my husband?
Jim's Reply:
The question I can answer is, "Do I believe that agent orange may have contributed to the birth defects of your child?" The answer is, "Yes, yes I do."
However, my opinion carries no weight since the government long ago decided that the only birth defect that agent orange is associated with is spina bifida.
In other words, although you and I suspect that agent orange caused or contributed to your child's illness, we can't prove it so we have no recourse. There are any number of articles published and you can Google search to find more.