M

ary Lea Guerra joined the Army at 19 years old with the intention of making it a lifelong career. While in basic training she became sick and was hospitalized being told that she was suffering from heatstroke or sunstroke.

Upon completing basic training she married a soldier also from Fort McClellan. After graduating from MP school she joined her new husband at their permanent duty station in California where she performed duties as a 95C, MP prison guard. A few months later she was pregnant with twins. It was a difficult pregnancy and sadly, she lost one of the babies. This prompted her honorable medical discharge from the Army.

After the premature birth of her daughter she decided to further her education by pursuing degrees in business and nursing. Mary Lea received her associate degree as a medical assistant and in business then continued her studies toward her bachelor's degree in nursing. That's when her health took a turn for the worse.

Mary Lea recalls, "When I started to become frequently ill, I had to leave school without completing my BS degree because I was sick all the time. We had no idea why I was getting sick. It started with headaches and migraines, then allergies, then a total hysterectomy at 33. In 1999 was told I had a basal artery stroke at the base of my brain. All of a sudden from literally nowhere I progressed to spatial seizures. In October of 2001 I was hospitalized for Acute Rhabdomyolysis, [A breakdown of muscle tissue that releases a damaging protein into the blood]. We could not figure out why as I did absolutely nothing for it to happen. I have been battling for my health ever since then."

Currently, Mary Lea's list of ailments is long. She stated she is suffering with Myasthenia gravis, Ankylosing spondylitis also called Bechterew's disease, Fibromyalgia, an additional stroke in January 2003, migraines, anxiety, depression, ADHD, gastrointestinal disorders, CREST syndrome also called limited scleroderma, neuropathy in both legs, degenerative disk disease, unclassified connective tissue disease or CTD, Multiple sclerosis (MS), Raynaud's disease, hamstring tendons tearing from her pelvic bone for no reason, corneal tear with no known cause, systemic arthritis, disintegrating teeth, severe pain, and thyroid disease which is currently not under control.

Mary Lea stated, "I still have more specialists to see as my symptoms are getting worse. I'm on multiple medications just to carry out the most basic of my daily living activities. On July 12, 2014, I discovered, by accident, the information regarding the toxins we were exposed to at Fort McClellan. That offered answers as to why I have so many illnesses."

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Since learning about the toxins she may have been exposed to at the Army base,
Mary Lea has been trying to help spread the word to as many of her fellow Fort McClellan soldiers as possible.