It’s been about ten years since I was poisoned by pesticide from crop spraying while riding my bicycle in near Hood River, Oregon. Not too far from my house, I rode over one of the many hills and was showered by some kind of chemical from a crop sprayer nearby. Thankfully, I was wearing glasses, so none got in my eyes, but my skin and clothes were wet.
It’s not the first time this has happened so I continued my bicycle ride, but I started coughing, so I headed home. By the time I got back to my house, I couldn’t stop coughing. The coughing subsided after a few days, but at night, my lungs would fill with mucus and I couldn’t breathe.
Not being able to breathe was scary. I went to a few doctors but it seemed they were more interested in making money than addressing my problem. One doctor prescribed a drug used in asthma attacks. Since I didn’t have asthma, it did not help much. When another doctor prescribed a drug I had a nearly fatal reaction to, I had to do something else.
I qualify for medical care from the Veterans Administration. Since they are not in it to make money, I hoped they could help me out. A new VA doctor, new to the area, listened to my story, set up some tests and prescribed medication that alleviated my symptoms on the first visit. I had COPD, a general description for a wide range of lung disease.
The VA is a healthcare provider, not a research facility, so that’s all I know. I have thought about stopping the twice a day medication in hopes my lungs may have repaired themselves. Being on life dependent drugs is not an ideal situation and the VA has plenty more customers.
As mentioned earlier, being exposed to agricultural chemicals is not unusual. The people doing the spraying on the ground are migrant workers, so you won’t hear anything from them. They wear space suits because the cloud of chemicals is so thick, it blots out the sun.
There is also spraying from the air. This is one of the windiest places in the United States, a calm day is rare.
CLICK HERE and take a deep breath
Some of the chemicals are oil-based and covers vehicles, windows, etc., with an oily slick. It takes a couple rainy days to wash the stuff off and down to the river.
Just like that, my life was changed forever. I left on a bike ride to make myself healthier and without leaving a public road, I returned with a fatal injury. Nothing I could do to prevent it or prevent it from happening to someone else. Money over human life. Every single day.