Reservist Dies After Vaccination Before Deployment

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FROM THE CHICAGO SUN TIMEShttp://www.suntimes.com/output/iraq/cst-nws-shots11.htmlReady to deploy, reservist diesApril 11, 2003BY ANA MENDIETA STAFF REPORTERA young soldier from the south suburbs died of a mysterious illness beforeshe could fulfill her dream of serving her country on the front lines.Rachael A. Lacy, a 22-year-old Army reservist from Lynwood, became ill morethan a month ago after receiving several mandatory vaccinations--among themanthrax and smallpox--before her deployment to the Middle East. She diedApril 4."Rachael left home a healthy young woman, and she became sick shortly aftershe received her inoculations,'' said her father, Moses Lacy, who buried hisdaughter Wednesday in Lynwood.An Army spokeswoman at Fort McCoy, Wis., where Lacy was based, said therewas no indication any of the vaccinations Lacy received were involved in herdeath."But until the autopsy is done it's really hard to say," spokeswoman LindaFournier said. She said it would be a month before all autopsy results werereceived.Lacy's father said she developed what doctors first thought was a cold or aminor reaction to inoculations about five weeks ago. Her condition worsened,she did not respond to treatment for pneumonia and doctors looked further,even calling a specialist from the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention in Atlanta."They were just guessing; they had no idea,'' Moses Lacy said.He said when his daughter could not breathe unaided and had an extremelyhigh fever, weakness, headaches and nausea, she was taken from the militaryhospital to hospitals in nearby Sparta and LaCrosse, Wis., then flown byhelicopter April 2 to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.Rachael Lacy died there two days later. Her father said he was then told shemight have suffered from the immune disorder lupus, and her condition couldhave been caused by the smallpox vaccination.Rachael Lacy joined the Army Reserves in 1998 after graduating from ThorntonHigh School in Lansing. She was studying to become a nurse at South SuburbanCollege in South Holland and hoped to receive a master's degree as well. Astraight-A student, she had received state scholarships. She was with the452nd combat hospital support unit based in Fort McCoy.She was a "fanatic" when it came to her health and she exercised regularly,her father said. "All she kept telling me is, 'I want to get better becauseI want to go with my unit.' I would like the 452nd unit to know thatalthough my daughter did not die in the battlefield in Asia, she gave herlife for her country that she loved, nonetheless," Moses Lacy said. "Theyare soon to be deployed, and she will be with them in spirit."Contributing: Brenda Warner Rotzoll-Dawn RichardsonPROVE(Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education)prove (email)http://vaccineinfo.net/ (web site)-PROVE provides information on vaccines, and immunization policies and practices that affect the children and adults of Texas. Our mission is to prevent vaccine injury and death and to promote and protect the right of every person to make informed independent vaccination decisions for themselves and their family.-