Stephen Scott:
CLASS OF 1967
Colton High SchoolClass of 1967
Colton, CA
Terrace Hills Middle SchoolClass of 1963
Grand terrace, CA
Grand Terrace Elementary SchoolClass of 1959
Grand terrace, CA
Stephen's Story
My Story Part I
I grew up in Grand Terrace, California. It was a great place to grow up in the 50s and 60s. I went to Grand Terrace Elementary (does anybody remember the cement turtle? It is still there) and to Terrace Hills Junior High School. I lived on Michigan Avenue, the first street off of Barton Rd from the freeway.
From Terrace Hills Junior High I went on to Colton high school. Upon graduation from Colton in 1967 I was pretty burned out with school and with the Vietnam War and the draft going on I decided to join the Air Force. In the Air Force I would more likely be trained in a skill that I could use in civilian life and in addition the G.I. Bill would help pay for college.
Basic training (boot camp) for the Air Force was held at Lackland Air Force Base south of San Antonio in Texas. Since the baseball season in high school had just ended I was in pretty good shape to handle the physical aspect of basic. Of course coming from Southern California I was quite surprised with the weather that they have in South Texas. With temperatures in the 90s and the humidity in the 90s it was quite an adjustment. I remember that I sweated a lot.
After graduating from Basic Training I received my first stripe and was sent to Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado for Tech School. Unlike today in the All-Volunteer Military, I didn¿t have a choice about what my military career was to be. I went to Tech School to become a Material Facilities Specialist or better known as a Warehouseman. Other than having two weeks (16 hours a day) of KP (kitchen police) duty I enjoyed Tech School.
After graduating from Tech School I was stationed at Castle AFB near Merced, California. Castle was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base that trained B-52 pilots. I worked in a small warehouse that ordered and issued flight equipment to pilots and flight crews. I didn¿t want to be stationed in my home state so I volunteered for overseas assignments. In August of 1968 I received orders for PCS (permanent change of station) to RAF Mildenhall, England.
RAF Mildenhall was an old WWII base that the USAF leased. RAF Mildenhall was a MAC (Military Airlift Command) base and was the entry way for everything going to USAF bases in Europe. Being an old WWII base all the buildings were of that vintage. My barracks was an open bay living space with bunk beds and lockers arranged in two long rows (in AF bases in the states the barracks were usually divided into rooms that held two to four airmen). Again, I worked in a small warehouse in a hangar but now I ordered and issued tools and equipment to aircraft maintenance personnel.
In 1969 I met an English girl who had moved from Greenwich, London to the area (the vi...Expand for more
llage closes to the base, established in the 16th century, was also named Mildenhall), in 1970 we were married in the local medieval age village church and in 1971 we had a child (a boy).
By this time I had been promoted to Staff Sergeant (four stripes in four years). Working as a Material Facilities Specialist I was exposed to working with the main frame computer that the Supply Squadron used to order, issue and ship supplies and equipment. I thought that computers were the future and decided to apply for a career change, to move from being a Material Facilities Specialist to something in the Air Force¿s Computer field. I took a battery of tests and was then offered to be sent to Computer school if I would extend my 4 year commitment by two more years. In early October of 1971, I agreed and received orders to attend school at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
In preparation for a PCS move I was required to make sure my medical records were up to date. My immunization records showed that I was due for a couple of shots. When I received the shots a flu shot was added since flu season was approaching. I had a not too uncommon reaction to the flu shot and felt like I had the flu. I was recovering from the typical flu symptoms but the calves of both legs were very painful and were making it difficult to walk.
On the morning of October 21st I awoke from sleep, sat up and put my feet on the floor. I tried to stand but couldn¿t and I noticed that I couldn¿t wiggle my toes or move my feet. I could feel my feet on the floor but just couldn¿t use them. A USAF ambulance (much like the ones used in the TV program MASH) took me to the military hospital at a nearby American base, RAF Lakenheath. There they determined (from a Lumbar puncture procedure) that I had a rare condition named Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) ( "ghee-YAN bah-RAY") is a rare nervous system disorder that results from peripheral nerve damage caused by the body's own defenses (immune system), usually in response to an infection or other illness. GBS causes muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, and numbness or tingling in the arms, legs, face, and other parts of the body. It may progress to complete paralysis. The progression of weakness usually does not last longer than about 4 weeks. The weakness then stabilizes and gradually improves within the following few months.
In my case, in two weeks it progressed to complete paralysis and then I contracted pneumonia that interrupted any improvement that was expected. I did improve, I could breathe on my own and my trunk and shoulder muscles were returning but my arms and hands and my legs and feet had atrophied beyond hope.
Part II coming soon!!!
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