Michael Donnelly may no longer be able to talk, but that has not prevented him from speaking out.
When Donnelly graduated from Fairfield University in 1981, he was healthy and in great athletic shape, a former football player. When he enlisted in the Air Force and fought in the Gulf War, he had no idea it would be the catalyst to a series of events that would leave him immobile and unable to talk.
Now, he hopes to spread the word and prevent other young people from suffering his fate.
“Michael’s appearances on television and in magazines has sparked an interest in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and caused researchers to finally spend more time studying the condition,” said Tom Donnelly ’57, Michael’s father.
In fact, two papers published in the magazine Neurology two weeks ago offer proof that Gulf War veterans are much more likely to contract the fatal neurological disorder, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, than any other veterans.
“For twelve years, the government has lied and suggested that nothing happened in Iraq to cause this. Now, we hope, this proof can lead to further studies in prevention and treatment,” Tom Donnelly said.
The Donnelly family contends that Michael first began to get sick while flying his F-16 jet over Iraqi skies and destroying chemical weapons plants, allowing the poisons to seep into his cockpit. After returning from the war, Major Donnelly became a flight instructor at an Air Force base in Texas.
“Michael never felt right after returning from the war. He always felt tired and sick. Then, after being exposed to bug pesticides in Texas, his health deteriorated very quickly,” his father said.
The illness caused Donnelly to retire from the Air Force in 1996 and the military even failed to identify the disease immediately because they simply would not acknowledge a connection between ALS and the Gulf War.
While Donnelly still had the ability to speak, he went before Congress and became an advocate for veterans of the Gulf War. He even wrote a book with the help of his sister Denise entitled Falcon’s Cry, a memoir of his time in the military and the oncoming health problems caused by ALS.
The disease causes the motor neurons to the brain to become destroyed, making it impossible for the victim to walk, speak, or even swallow. However, Donnelly is still able to breath with the aid of a ventilator and is fed by tubes.
ALS does not impact the mental health of the sufferer so Donnelly is still able to think and reason on his own. To communicate, he must go through the painstaking effort of pointing to letters with his eyes. Despite all these hardships, his father assures that Michael is still mentally acute and willing to fight to spread the word of his illness.
Fairfield has not forgotten Donnelly, inviting him to the Commencement in 2003 and presenting him with an honorary doctorate in law.
Donnelly and his family plan to continue this fight for as long as they can.
“It is obvious young Americans are afraid to join the military and fight in Iraq now because the government has misled them in the past,” Tom said. “This lie has been a threat to our nation and hopefully this new research will finally let people know the truth.”
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