“I have no strength to grab anything.” The fall was one of dozens that Walker has sustained in recent months, events tied to conditions several doctors have told him are being caused by multiple sclerosis.
About 900,000 people lived at Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987, the years during which the base’s water was contaminated.
After a decades-long struggle, in March 2017, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began presuming that veterans with one of eight conditions were ill because of their exposure on the base, no further proof necessary.
Key to the rules was creating a presumptive link between eight conditions and the Camp Lejeune contamination.
Since March 2017, the VA has granted 4,568 veterans a service connection for a presumptive condition, while another 876 veterans were ruled eligible for a condition not among the eight conditions.
Walker recalled saying, “You’ve got to understand: There’s a lot going on with Congress, and I’m not sure you’ll get to that stuff by the time I’m gone.” Among Burr’s recent efforts is the Janey Ensminger Act of 2017, a bill introduced last year that would require the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to review the diseases linked to Lejeune contamination every three years.
“Camp Lejeune is the only toxic exposure incident or issue that the VA deals with that has a subject matter expert program for all the claims that are not covered by the presumptive,” Ensminger said.
After falling shortly before Easter, Walker was admitted to the hospital.
He could not, they told him, go to the bathroom without assistance from two of them.
Once the group reached the bathroom, a nurse offered to help Walker undo his pants.