Page 2 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, June 1 2018

2
June 2018 Commentary Thunderbolt
www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb
http://www.luke.af.mil
Lupus: An invisible disease
PHONE NUMBERS
Airman and Family Readiness Center ................................. 623-856-6550 Airman’s Attic ......................................................................... 623-856-6415 Armed Forces Bank ............................................................... 623-535-9766 Base Exchange main store ..................................................... 623-935-2671 Base taxi ................................................................................... 623-856-6866 Beauty shop ............................................................................. 623-536-1897 Chapel ...................................................................................... 623-856-6211 Chapel (after duty hours) ....................................................... 623-856-5600 Child development center ...................................................... 623-856-6338 Clothing sales .......................................................................... 623-856-6310 Club Five Six ........................................................................... 623-856-6446 Command post ........................................................................ 623-856-5600 Commissary ............................................................................ 623-935-3821 Community center .................................................................. 623-856-7152 Computer IT service desk .................................................... DSN 945-2900 Crime Stop ............................................................................... 623-856-6666 Dental clinic ............................................................................. 623-856-2273 Dermatology ............................................................................ 623-856-2273 Dining hall ............................................................................... 623-856-6396 Dorm management ................................................................. 623-856-7841 Education center ..................................................................... 623-856-7722 EMERGENCY ONLY ............................................................................ 911 Equal opportunity ................................................................... 623-856-7711 Eye clinic ................................................................................. 623-856-7965 Falcon Dunes Golf Course .................................................... 623-535-9334 Family health clinic ................................................................ 623-856-2273 Family housing ....................................................................... 623-388-3515 Fire station ............................................................................... 623-856-6641 Firestone Car Care .................................................................. 623-271-8104 Fitness center ........................................................................... 623-856-6241 Flight medicine ....................................................................... 623-856-2273 Food court ................................................................................ 623-935-2671 Fort Tuthill ............................................................................... 623-856-3401 Fraud, waste and abuse hotline ............................................. 623-856-6149 Hobby shop ............................................................................. 623-856-6722 Housing assistance section .................................................... 623-856-7643 Housing facilities section ....................................................... 623-856-3007 Housing maintenance ............................................................. 623-935-2676 Identification cards .................................................................. 623-856-7832 Information, tickets and travel ............................................... 623-856-6000 Law enforcement desk ........................................................... 623-856-5970 Legal assistance ....................................................................... 623-856-6901 Library ...................................................................................... 623-856-7191 Lodging office/switchboard ................................................... 623-856-3941 Maintenance control center ................................................... 623-856-5469 Marine Corps ........................................................................... 623-856-2417 Marine Corps 24-hour duty desk .......................................... 602-421-5806 Marketing ................................................................................ 623-856-3245 Medical appointments ............................................................ 623-856-2273 Military equal opportunity ..................................................... 623-856-7711 Military pay ............................................................................. 623-856-7028 Navy Operations Support Center .......................................... 602-353-3008 OB/GYN clinic ....................................................................... 623-856-2273 Office of Special Investigations ............................................ 623-856-6821 Optometrist .............................................................................. 623-856-2273 Orthopedic clinic ..................................................................... 623-856-2273 Outdoor recreation .................................................................. 623-856-6267 Pass and registration ............................................................... 623-856-4880 Patient advocate ...................................................................... 623-856-8968 Pediatric clinic ......................................................................... 623-856-2273 Pharmacy refill call-in ............................................................ 623-856-3969 Photo services .......................................................................... 623-856-6168 Post Office ............................................................................... 623-935-1343 Public affairs ............................................................................ 623-856-6011 Recycling information ............................................................ 623-856-4749 Retiree Activities office............................................................623-856-3923 Rodgers Travel ........................................................................ 623-856-6894 Safety ........................................................................................ 623-856-6941 Security forces ..........................................................................623-856-5970 Security incidents .................................................................... 623-856-7777 Service calls CE maintenance ............................................... 623-856-7232 Sexual Assault Prevention/Response ................................... 623-856-4878 Shoppette ................................................................................. 623-266-0040 Sick call .................................................................................... 623-856-2273 South Gate VRC ..................................................................... 623-856-4768 Straight-Talk line ..................................................................... 623-856-7064 Telephone repair (Base) ......................................................... 623-856-4400 Thrift store ............................................................................... 623-935-5782 Ticket/tour office ..................................................................... 623-856-6000 Travel management office household goods ....................... 623-856-6425 TMO passenger travel ............................................................ 623-856-7035 Transient alert .......................................................................... 623-856-6204 Travel pay ................................................................................ 623-856-7028 Vehicle maintenance ............................................................... 623-935-6576 Veterinary services .................................................................. 623-856-6354 Weather .................................................................................... 623-856-6805 Wellness center ........................................................................ 623-856-2273 Youth center ............................................................................. 623-856-7470
by Staff Sgt. OLIVIA DOMINIQUE
23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — “You don’t look sick.”
If I had a penny for every time I heard that statement, I would be a millionaire!
But, I am sick. I have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, an autoimmune disease, which mistakenly attacks healthy tissues. It can affect the skin, joints, brain and other organs. In my case, it is attacking my kidneys.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, I am the perfect target for a disease such as this. I am a 26-year-old black woman and one of five million people to develop a form of lupus. It’s unknown as to why women of color are three times more likely to develop lupus than Caucasians, but anyone, male or female, can fall victim.
I’m the type of person who hates to be blindsided, so being diagnosed with a chronic illness at 25 caught me by surprise. This chapter of my life took a turn for the worse, and I never saw it coming. I mean, what normal, healthy woman in her 20s would think she’d be considered disabled at such a young age?
I’ve always thought that I should be out in the world, living freely, and enjoying the things that others do. In- stead, I find myself watching others do just that and me just trying to keep up.
For most people, living with a chronic illness seems like the hard part, but I say being diagnosed is the worst. It’s sort of like the movies when someone is being diag- nosed with cancer. Words are muffled, time slows down, everything is blurry, and it feels like your world has been completely flipped.
The summer of 2016, before I was diagnosed, I was on my first deployment to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. I developed a throbbing and aching pain in my hips within the first week of touching down. Although it was difficult to walk, I thought nothing of it and continued to push through the
pain. I disregarded the symptoms and continued to do my job for almost a month until I became seriously ill.
It was my day off, and, just like others who deploy and work 12-or-more-hour days, I was in bed all day. For me, it was not because I wanted to, but because I was unable to move. Every joint in my body was in excruciating pain and swollen, and I had a high fever. After being in bed in agony for more than 20 hours, I found the strength to make it to the base hospital. I was medically evacuated to Germany where I was diagnosed with lupus. My first question to the doctor was, “How do we fix this?” Unfortunately, you don’t ‘fix’ a chronic illness.
You learn to adapt and live with it. A part of that is telling your closest friends and family. You may get a sympathetic response such as “Get well soon,” or a compassionate, “You’ll get through this.” Or, you may get an ignorant response such as, “Can you catch it?” But, you have to remember, this is not only new to you, but to them as well.
Your life changes completely. You become unreliable to those who need you because who knows if you’ll be able to get out of bed the next morning. Your body is no longer yours.
Lupus is considered the invisible disease. Someone, whose symptoms are not as severe, may appear as if every- thing is fine, when in all actuality, the individual is fighting symptoms such as chronic fatigue, joint aches, pains, and swelling. It’s not so invisible for those who hide from the sun and its rays that tattoo their skin with heat rashes.
People say, “At least you don’t have cancer,” but cancer has treatments and can be cured. My lupus is here to stay. Although my symptoms can lessen, I maintain the disease. I will live with it for the rest of my life. I compare it to my shadow. Even on your best days, it’s lurking behind you, ready to strike at any moment.
Many people ask how I fight the fight. I tell them you just have to do it. You force yourself to get up. You refuse to let it get to you. You may cry, curse and feel like giving up, but you don’t. That’s how I’ve done it and will continue to do so.
Lupus is only a chapter in my book, not my whole story.
OTS: ‘The assignment I never knew I needed’
by Capt. JOSHUA GOERSS
Officer Training School
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. — Sometimes there are things in life that happen to you that are so unexpected you fail to comprehend their inherent value. Such was the case for me in my assignment to Of- ficer Training School.
OTS was an assignment that I was not expecting and had entirely no interest in. However, since arriving at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama,
more than two years ago, this duty has proven to be the assignment I never knew I needed.
What’s so special about OTS? As an OTS instructor, you are truly chal- lenged to become a better officer. As it turns out, many of the same traits expected of a good leader, such as enthusiasm, patience, confidence and empathy, are some of the same traits exhibited by highly effective instruc- tors. The abundant amount of inter- action with adult learners provides a near-constant feedback loop that the instructor can then refine old patterns
of behavior and sharpen leadership skills.
Let’s consider the aspect of commu- nication. There seems to be a natural human tendency for us to think of ourselves as sufficient communicators; however, this is often an incredibly naive assumption. Directly leading a flight of 16 cadets from sunup to sundown will quickly highlight any shortcomings in your methods of com- munication. This deliberate focus on precise, confident speech is something
See oTS, Page 16
Thunderbolt editorial staff
Publisher ....................................................Aerotech News and Review Editor ........................................................................... Deborah Leuthold Designer .................................................................................Tinna Sellie
Luke Air Force Base
Commander....................................................Brig. Gen. Brook Leonard Public affairs chief ................................................. Maj. Rebecca Heyse Command information ................................... Master Sgt. Vilma Cantu
Editorial Information
For past issues of the Thunderbolt, go to www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb/ and click on PDF edition
The Thunderbolt is published by Aerotech News and Review, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with the 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. This civilian enterprise Air Force news- paper is an authorized monthly publication for members of the U.S. military services.
The 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office prepares all editorial content for the Luke Air Force Base website and social media and is the source for articles and
photos published in the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt editor is authorized to use photos and articles from other .mil or .gov websites.
Submission deadline is at noon the 15th day prior to the month of publication. Contributions for the Thunderbolt can be made via email to 56FWPAThunderbolt@ us.af.mil. The editor can be reached at 623-856-5998 or deborah.leuthold@us.af.mil.
The Thunderbolt uses material from the Armed Forces Information Service, Air Force News Service, AETC News Service and other sources. All advertising is han- dled by Aerotech News and Review. They can be reached by calling 877-247-9288.
Contents of the Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or en- dorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.
The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supple- ments, does not constitute endorsement of the products or services advertised by the DOD, the DAF or Aerotech News and Review. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. All photographs are Air Force photographs unless otherwise indicated.