M. D.

My name is M. D. I was an AF wife at George AFB for 7 years, late 1968 through late 1975. We lived in Adelanto through most of my first pregnancy. I nearly miscarried in the 6th month and spent at least 1 week confined to bed at the base hospital. After my first son was born we continued to live in Adelanto until he was about 2 years old. In the middle of my second pregnancy, we finally got base housing and lived there for most of 1972. My second son was born in June and we moved away from the base near the end of 1972. We lived in Victorville the rest of the time. My daughter was born in 1975, and my husband separated from service not long afterward. We moved to Riverside in spring of 1976.

My oldest son has bipolar disorder, OCD, social anxiety disorder, and has had shaky hands most of his life. He was extremely hyperactive as a child. He is dyslexic.

My second son suffers from serious depression. He was very slow to learn to walk and talk.

My daughter was also hyperactive and has been diagnosed ADHD. She is gluten-intolerant.

I have serious depression issues, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and early osteoporosis, and some other kind of connective tissue disease that was diagnosed long ago as undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy but is now unconfirmed (there is no test for it, though). I have other health issues, but I am not sure they are related.

The water, on base and in Adelanto, was awful-tasting, and sometimes a little cloudy. The bath water was always a funny color green on base. Water in Victorville was a little better-tasting, and not tinted green, just a little rusty from old pipes.

My oldest would have had the most exposure, as in addition to prenatal and water exposure, he loved playing outside and making mud as a toddler, including our time on base. And part of the time we were in Adelanto there was no cooler or AC, so he and I spent hours and hours on summer days in a kiddie pool in the shade, trying to stay cool. I am very concerned for him now.