{"id":1000204,"date":"2021-11-11T18:58:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T23:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1000204"},"modified":"2021-11-11T18:58:42","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T23:58:42","slug":"veterans-dying-at-home-from-military-toxic-exposure-ben-grizzy-griswolds-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/veterans-dying-at-home-from-military-toxic-exposure-ben-grizzy-griswolds-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans Dying at Home from Military Toxic Exposure: Ben &#039;Grizzy&#039; Griswold&#039;s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fveterans-dying-at-home-from-military-toxic-exposure-ben-grizzy-griswolds-story%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1000204&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ben \u201cGrizzy\u201d Griswold died before I could interview him.<\/p>\n<p>I was put in touch with him in late 2020 by the HunterSeven Foundation (H7F), a non-profit that works tirelessly to save veterans exposed to toxic substances while serving in the military.<\/p>\n<p>Ben was a Marine and a fighter. His illnesses began in 2011. He stayed strong throughout it all. He inspired people.<\/p>\n<p>He grew up in the same area I did and I was looking forward to interviewing him. But I waited \u2014 part of me was nervous, part of it was the busyness of the holidays. I thought I had more time. I was wrong.<\/p>\n<p>I got word he went to the hospital. I reached out to him via email. He wrote back.&nbsp;He was upbeat.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">\u201cThanks for so much for reaching out! I hope this is a great conversation representing Veteran cancer victors as well H7F and their incredible work.&nbsp;As far as availability, Monday-Wednesday would be best next week. Please fit me into your schedule as you see fit, and I\u2019ll make it happen,\u201d he wrote on January 14.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Ben died on January 29, 2021, before I had the chance to talk to him. He was only 36 years old.<\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\" readability=\"271\">\n<p>His wife Jessica said, looking back, she thinks he knew.&nbsp;That Christmas, she said there was something different.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was just in the moment and he\u2019s never really in the moment \u2014 he\u2019s always on his phone or whatever, but he really was in the moment. And looking back, did he know it was his last?\u201d she said.&nbsp;\u201cHe was so present and it was like, gosh, was he reflecting on life?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben grew up in a loving household in Antioch, California, with his mom, dad, and sister. His father was a Marine. He joined after high school, and did boot camp in San Diego.<\/p>\n<p>He deployed three times \u2014 twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.&nbsp;He was ready to get out of the Marine Corps when he and Jess started dating. They had gone to high school together but were just friends.&nbsp;In Jessica\u2019s last year of college, Ben messaged her on MySpace and they reconnected. He asked her out. She was teaching at summer camp at that time and showed up in her summer camp clothes, not realizing it was a date. He was all dressed up.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18678698\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/54318646_1612151862268891_r.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18678698\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/54318646_1612151862268891_r.jpeg\" alt=\"Ben Griswold. (Photo Courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation)\" width=\"639\" height=\"426\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Griswold. (Photo Courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation \/ Chelsey&nbsp;Simoni)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s how our story began,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n<p>He moved back to California in 2006. Jessica became a teacher. They were married five years later in 2011 and two years later, she was pregnant with their first child. It was a bittersweet time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>The day after they found out she was pregnant, Ben was diagnosed with Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma at 28 years old.&nbsp;He had been having the night sweats and lumps were developing on his body. He started to look pale and skinny.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI talked to the doctor. I said, \u2018 No, it can\u2019t be, he\u2019s so young and I\u2019m pregnant. I can\u2019t do this.\u2019 And he\u2019s like, \u2018It\u2019s going to be fine. It\u2019s going to be okay,&#8217;\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Ben started going through cancer treatments. He had just started a screen printing business, so as he was going through chemotherapy, he was working on his screen printing out of their garage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did it so well and gracefully, and he of course had his bad days, but we were surrounded by so much love and family,\u201d Jessica said.<\/p>\n<p>Ben finished chemotherapy in November 2011 and the couple celebrated their first son Oliver shortly after. Ben began welding, something he had always wanted to do. \u201cEverything was working out perfectly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_18678722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-09-195103.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18678722\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Screenshot-2021-11-09-195103.jpg\" alt=\"Ben Griswold (Screenshot via GoFundMe \/ Team Grizzy)\" width=\"640\" height=\"381\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Griswold (Screenshot via GoFundMe \/ Team Grizzy)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>It was around this time that Ben started researching why he got cancer and if it was related to his military service.<\/p>\n<p>He started looking into toxic exposures, especially uranium he believed he may have been exposed to in Iraq.&nbsp;He found out that a Marine who had deployed with him had passed away from throat cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe met with a lot of doctors. He did a lot of the research on his own. \u2026 He\u2019s the one that advocated for himself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>He was surprised by the lack of support. He asked himself, \u201cWhere\u2019s the support? I\u2019m doing it for myself because I can, and I\u2019m young, but what happens when people are 60 years old and nobody\u2019s fighting for them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Initially, Veterans\u2019 Affairs (VA) doctors did not take his symptoms seriously.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18678738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/54318646_1612162888758860_r.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18678738\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/54318646_1612162888758860_r.jpeg\" alt=\"Ben Griswold. (Photo courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation \/ Chelsey Simoni)\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Griswold. (Photo courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation \/ Chelsey Simoni)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI remember when Ben went in for one of his first checkups, gosh, it was maybe in 2011, he felt bumps and the doctor\u2019s like, \u2018Well, it\u2019s just stress .. .maybe you have PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder], let\u2019s put you in therapy.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we\u2019re like, \u2018OK, well maybe it is stress. Maybe you need to relax. Maybe you need to just not go to work right now or whatever,\u201d she said. \u201cThe doctor like pushed him off. And then sooner or later we found out, no, it\u2019s not stress.&nbsp;It\u2019s not PTSD. It\u2019s cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also had to fight to get more information about his deployments from the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of it was classified information that they wouldn\u2019t give to him. So it was really frustrating,&#8217;\u201d Jessica said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just worried about how many other veterans were there. What else were they exposed to? How would they find out, how do they get tested to prevent a horrific fight that Ben had to experience? I wouldn\u2019t want that on anybody, Ben also said he wouldn\u2019t want anybody else to experience the pain that he had,\u201d Jessica said.<\/p>\n<p>In 2015, they had their second child, Jack. \u201cEverything was great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it was just after they had their third child, Aria, when the cancer came back in late 2017.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18678762\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/54318646_1612164434839463_r.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18678762\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/54318646_1612164434839463_r.jpeg\" alt=\"Ben Griswold with his family. (Photo courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation \/ Chelsey Simoni)\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Griswold with his family. (Photo courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation \/ Chelsey Simoni)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s when it started happening again, his face was swelling up,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was in November when he found another lump and by January, he was going through his treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben left for treatment in Seattle at the end of February 2018 and returned home in May. His father went to Seattle with him, and said it was a difficult time, but Ben made it back home.<\/p>\n<p>Less than two years later, on&nbsp;December 12, 2019, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. He underwent chemotherapy on and off for the next few months in Sacramento. Jessica said Ben was \u201cadamant\u201d about getting home and getting healthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he did, he looked so good. He looked strong and healthy. And then, in September [2020] it started all kind of falling apart,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ben contracted graph<strong>\u2013<\/strong>vs-host disease originating from stem cell transplants. Jessica said she thinks Ben knew he was not fit enough to fight it off this time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said that to me in December or January, he said, \u2018I\u2019m just at my weakest. I\u2019ve never been so weak in my life.\u2019 I asked the doctor, I said, \u2018What if medications are not working and what\u2019s the alternative?\u2019 And you said he would have to have new organ transplants and his body cannot. It\u2019s so weak.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ben had made it through so many things: multiple episodes with cancer, pneumonia, a lung puncture from a medical procedure, shingles, and C-Diff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019d always say, \u2018Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m coming back. Don\u2019t worry about this. This is temporary. I\u2019ll be back,\u201d&nbsp;she said. \u201cAnd then from his hospital he would be checking in on people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe always looked outside of himself,\u201d she said.&nbsp;\u201cHe was so good at connecting with people, checking in on people, calling them. We\u2019re so caught up in our day-to-day text messaging, Instagramming, but he actually picked up the phone and called people to check in.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18678802\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Ben-Griswold2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18678802\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Ben-Griswold2.jpg\" alt=\"Ben Griswold (Photo courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation \/ Chelsey Simoni)\" width=\"640\" height=\"1086\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Griswold (Photo courtesy of HunterSeven Foundation \/ Chelsey Simoni)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ben always wanted to motivate people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBen\u2019s biggest thing was, whatever you\u2019re going through, let\u2019s go through it together. His biggest thing was climb with me \u2014 let\u2019s climb this mountain together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>He ran an Instagram account filled with his inspirational messages.&nbsp;In January 2021, Instagram suddenly deleted his account. He was upset, but immediately started a new account, where he only had the chance to make three posts before he died.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was outspoken, but my goodness, he had every right to be. He saw life in a different way and he saw life from the top of the summit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, they had written them down and there are copies of his posts in his phone, which Jessica plans to repost someday.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica is determined to keep Ben\u2019s memory and legacy alive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe really died a hero and he died for his country. He died when he was in those burn pits, and exposures to everything that he\u2019s been exposed to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica said she is learning that veterans who were exposed to toxic substances \u201cdied a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir body is slowly dying. \u2026 And that\u2019s what makes me sad, but also proud that he served his country in the ultimate way. And I want the kids to know that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>It would have been 10 years of marriage this year.<\/p>\n<p>Right before he died, he moved Jessica and the kids into a beautiful new home. She wonders if he did it knowingly, to provide her that comfort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was one heck of a guy,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was so peaceful when he was taking his last few breaths. \u2026 It was very fast. I think he was waiting for us all to be there in a room and just knowing that, we\u2019re going to be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She knows that if he were around and saw her moping, he would say, \u201cGet up and move because you can. Get up and get outside. Enjoy the day. Life is too short.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I spoke to Jessica on February 11, she had not yet left their home since Ben\u2019s death. She said she knew it would be hard.<\/p>\n<p>But, I follow Jessica on Instagram. Their children are beautiful and thriving. She has been strong.<\/p>\n<p>As I sit here, reading my notes from my interview with Jessica and writing this story, I know Ben has taught me a life lesson.<\/p>\n<p>Life is too short. Never put off picking up the phone and talking to someone. Never put off something that I can do now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben \u201cGrizzy\u201d Griswold died before I could interview him.I was put in touch with him in late 2020 by the HunterSeven Foundation (H7F), a non-profit that works tirelessly to save &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1000204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1000204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1000204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}