My letter to the FRG

Hello-

My name is Christen Schultz, wife of Sgt. Mark Schultz. Currently I am in Las Vegas NV (our Home of record). This is our 3rd 12 or 15 month deployment within 6 years of military service. I have 2 small children, Rylee is 3 and Carly is 12 months. I want to tell you my story. During my husbands first deployment I was living in Baumholder, Germany, alone, and 9 months into his deployment I was hospitalized for what I thought was heart problems. I was taken by ambulance to the krakenhaus. I was later diagnosed with Anxiety disorder. At that time I had no one. I was 20, scared and alone in a foreign country. I sent a red cross message to my husband and didn't hear from him. This was a time before personal Iraqi cell phones. When they had to use a satellite phone or an AT&T calling center if there was even one. When he finally did call, just by chance, I found out that he had NEVER received my message that I was in the hospital. I was hospitalized for 6 days. I never heard from Rear Detachment, no one from the FRG was there for me. Not once did anyone help me, with anything. I would have had to take a cab home if it wasn't for my down stairs neighbor, who happened to be in the hospital for something unrelated on my day of discharge. I was told to follow up with a base doctor who just put me on antidepressants and sent me home. For the last 4 years I have been told by doctors, military and civilian, that I am over stressed, depressed, and anxious due to my current life style. That is is no wonder I never feel good because of my husbands constant deployments. They just kept giving me meds and pushed me aside. No answers. On December 22nd of 2008 during my husbands 18 days of R&R I had heart palpitations several days in a row and eventually went to the ER where they had to give me IV adovan, a chest X-ray and an EKG. The ER doctor told me that the stress of our current situation was taking a physical toll on me, that I had an irregular heart beat and that he didn't want to just dismiss me as just another woman with anxiety. He suggested that I take zanax to get through these emotional times. He also said that he suspected that I have an underlying heart condition that is being exacerbated by my constant stress. He told me to follow up with a cardiologist. Finally! Some one is listening to me. Of course I have to see my primary doctor before I can see a cardiologist so I can get a referral, per tricare rules. When I go to see her she gets copies of my records and does an EKG of her own. She gets very concerned and tells me that I need to get into see a cardiologist "stat." She also says that she thinks that I am severely depressed and that my husband needs to come home. That my constant stress is beginning to take it's toll on my health and I have two small kids to care for and consider. She writes me a message to give to the red cross and puts me on a halter monitor to wear 24 hours a day for a week. at this point I am terrified... I do not know what is going on and this could be really serious. Again I am alone. Days later (tricare took 4 days to OK my referral) I went to see a cardiologist. He says that I may or may not have an underlying condition but that my constant stress is really starting to take a physical toll on me. I am currently scheduled for an Echo cardiogram on January the 27th and I am to receive my results from wearing the heart monitor on Feb. the 3rd. It took me a week to even get a red cross message sent. They made me jump through hoops to even send the message. The message was sent on the 16th of January and for days my husband had not received it. Now I am stressed to the max because I have to keep calling and calling to find out where the message is. Red cross tells me that the message has been sent and that they closed my case. Still I hear nothing. I have to call and call for hours just to get through to my husband, I can barely have a conversation with him because the phone constantly hangs up. He tells me that he still hasn't received the message and that I need to find out who received the message. I called the red cross again, they give me the information that my message was sent on the 16th of January and received by Spc. Cowen and the the message had been passed on to command. This is the 21st of January. Today, conveniently my husband finally receives my message and they tell him, well we will put this in a personnel file and if it comes up again they will re-evaluate. So I have just been put into a folder and forgotten. I have been basically told that I don't matter. And you would think that if my husband couldn't help me through this that they would elicit the help of the FRG. Yet I have recieved no support. No contact. It took me 2 weeks to send a message to my husband! That was more stressful than my possible condition. I feel neglected and let down. During his entire career we have been dismissed and pushed aside. Yes, I understand that there is a mission. I also have come to accept that "if the army wanted you to have a family they would have issued you one." This is not a cry baby letter. This is no longer about having my husband home to help me through this. I am strong and get through this like everything else. This is now about the principal of this whole deal. This is about being pushed aside. This is about my husband having to stress out and be worried because some one just didn't give him the message. This is about everyone who came before me and will come after me having a voice. Not being afraid to speak up and fight for whats right. It is not right that I don't seem to matter. And it is unacceptable that it took 7 days to get a red cross message over there. The red cross told me that they send emails... emails take seconds not days. I hope that some day for every other family in the future that they do not have to endure the hardships that I have had to endure. That when they have an emergency that they are taken care of. That there spouse receives a red cross message in a timely manner, and that they receive it at all. Again, I just want to be heard. I want you to know my story so that you can help someone else. I don't want this to happen to others. I still have no idea what is going on with my heart. I have a long list of doctors appointments. I have kids that are scared. I am still terrified. But I have faith. I will tell my story to anyone who will listen and hopefully things will change. I also hope that this letter is taken with kindness and consideration for all that I have been though. That this is not going to become a tool to make my husbands life miserable and affect his career. My husband is an excellent soldier and they are lucky to have him. As far as I have come to understand I should be able to take my questions and concerns to the FRG and that's what this is. Thank you for taking the time to listen.

Hoping for change,

Christen Schultz