Photo By Sgt. Olivia Lauer | From left, Ohio Department of Veterans Services Director Deborah Ashenhurst, Brielle...... read more read more
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Nov. 9, 2023, marked another significant accomplishment in the life and career of former Ohio Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson. Having served during overseas deployments to Iraq and Kosovo, Robinson was being inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame for his outstanding advocacy efforts that led to historic legislation expanding health care and benefits for U.S. military veterans.
But Robinson would not be at the induction ceremony — he had passed away over three years before the event. His widow, Danielle, and daughter, Brielle, accepted the honor on his behalf that day. As Heath’s name and contributions were announced, the audience stood and erupted in applause.
The applause was recognition of the journey of a proud Soldier who loved wearing the uniform and serving alongside and supporting his fellow military members. It is a tale marked by achievement, determination, sacrifice and the commitment to fight on against heavy odds. It is also a tragedy, however one that would ultimately lead to a greater good that will have an enduring impact on veterans and the care they receive long into the future.
This is Heath’s story.
The Beginning
Heath enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard in 2003. He was a dedicated Soldier; the uniform was his identity. He was proud to serve and was always the first one to lend a hand to his fellow Soldiers. In 2004, Heath was deployed to Kosovo for a year. When he returned, he started working full-time for the Guard alongside his first-line leader, Ty Henery, who today is the command sergeant major of the 112th Medical Battalion. “He was always striving to do better, and make everyone around him better,” Henery said.
In 2006, Heath was deployed again, this time to Iraq. He served as a medic in Iraq and once again worked alongside his friend, leader and mentor, Henery. Heath continued to stay busy on his deployment and support his fellow service members however he could. He was passionate about his job. “Whenever the bell rang for a trauma, he was one of the first ones running there to help,” Henery said.
After returning home from Iraq, over the next decade he married Danielle, whom he met in 2005; started a family; and continued to excel in his duties with the Ohio Army National Guard, including earning the title of state noncommissioned officer of the year two years in a row. Life was going well for Heath.
The Diagnosis
In the summer of 2016, Heath ran a half marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just east of Dayton, Ohio. Immediately following the half marathon, he began training for a chance to attend Army Ranger School. He noticed something with his body felt off while recovering from the intense training, Danielle recalled. Heath decided to check in with his primary care doctor to address his concerns. However, Heath’s conditions were attributed by his doctor as being related to his age and the changes in his testosterone and metabolism levels.
September rolled around and Heath spent two weeks at Camp Grayling, Michigan, for annual training. When he returned, Danielle noticed several bloody tissues in the bathroom trash cans, causing her immediate concern. Heath dismissed it, saying that the change in environment was causing him to get nosebleeds. The next sign came in October when Danielle found Heath asleep on the couch after coming home from work one day. According to Danielle, this was very out of character for him to fall asleep like that.
After months of concern, Danielle convinced Heath to go back to their primary care doctor. “They ran blood work, and still there was nothing,” Danielle recalled. Around this same time, Heath began to develop sores in his mouth, so he was referred to an otolaryngologist — an ear, nose and throat doctor (ENT) — who further referred him to an autoimmune specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Heath finally received an answer in January 2017 when he was diagnosed with Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid, a rare autoimmune disease. But the peace that came with finally getting a diagnosis and treatment plan lasted only a couple weeks when Heath completely lost his voice. The ENT found that his lymph nodes were swollen. A computed tomography of his chest found that all of the lymph nodes in his thoracic area were enlarged. The doctors immediately biopsied one of his lymph nodes and it came back positive for cancer. Two days later they saw the oncologist.
“What have you been exposed to?” Danielle recalls the first sentence the oncologist asked Heath.
At that moment, the life-altering impact of the diagnosis fully hit them. Heath was diagnosed with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma lung cancer, likely caused by exposure to toxic burn pits used during his overseas deployments. “We were kind of shocked and stunned,” Danielle said. “(The doctor) said, ‘listen I need to be honest with you, you have maybe four to six weeks to live; you guys need to go home and prepare for end-of-life (care), today.”
While left alone to process the news, “Heath just, he just collapsed,” Danielle said. “I held him up, he almost fell to the ground. I kind of put him up against a wall and just held him. (After) we had our time and had our moment, I went back out and got the doctor.”
The doctor explained potential treatments that could give Heath more time if he wanted to fight. Thinking about his young daughter and wanting to be in her life as long as he possibly could, Heath decided he indeed would fight. “The military, Soldier mentality was there. He wasn’t going down without a fight,” Danielle said.
The Fight Against Cancer
Although Heath was sick and battling stage 4 lung cancer, he continued to fight to be there for his family. He would wake up early every morning to help Brielle get ready and see her off to school, Danielle said.
One of his biggest priorities was spending time with family and friends. “He would still just try to make them laugh, even though a lot of us were kind of the sad ones or maybe would have a down moment,” Danielle said. “It seemed like he was still the one that always wanted to … bring everyone else’s spirits up.”
Even though he was no longer contractually obligated to show up for military duty due to his health conditions, he still went into his unit to help whenever needed. He donated workout equipment at one point and helped paint the workout area facility — trying to live every day to the fullest. “Even though they had told him he was terminal, he wasn’t going to let that stop him at all,” Danielle said.
When Heath went into the office one day, he ran into his old friend Henery. Heath, certain he had gotten cancer from exposure to toxic burn pits while deployed, wanted to warn his friend. “I ran into him here, in a classroom, and he kind of pulled me aside and let me know what was going on,” Henery said. “It was more about ‘hey, make sure you’re taking care of yourself because this is what I’m going through.’ It was selfless; it was a selfless thing.”
The Blessing in Disguise
When the 2020 pandemic hit, and Heath’s health was declining, he made it a point to organize virtual meetings with friends and family to make sure they had a chance to spend time laughing and sharing memories together.
In February 2020, Heath was in hospice care at a hospital. While Heath fought for three years, the treatments were no longer working, and his oncologist decided to withdraw the treatments. They wanted to keep him as comfortable as they could. Heath was experiencing some back pain and his doctor decided to use localized radiation in his back to help his comfort level. Miraculously, the localized radiation started attacking the cancer in his entire body. Heath started breathing better and overall feeling better. At the end of February, Heath was taken off hospice and allowed to go home.
Although COVID-19 made things harder for the Robinson family, as it did for most everyone, Danielle also views it as a blessing in disguise. The pandemic shut everything down and Brielle was home from school and Danielle was home from work. While the radiation didn’t yield a long-term solution, the family was gifted a few extra months with him. Because of the pandemic, they spent his last couple of months at home together before Heath succumbed to his illnesses in May 2020.
Tackling Capitol Hill
Before Heath’s death, he and his family started teaming with Burn Pits 360, a nonprofit veterans organization that educates the public on the impact of toxic chemical exposure, advocates for those who were harmed, and empowers veterans and their families to stand up for their community. Burn Pits 360 had been actively lobbying in Washington D.C. for several years, attempting to influence the passage of legislation that would help veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits.
Although the group’s efforts had been unsuccessful to that point, it didn’t discourage the Robinson family from helping fight for the cause. The family continued their advocacy for Heath and other veterans like him, even after Heath’s death.
Following years of persistent efforts, on Aug. 10, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. The law required significantly improved health care access and funding for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service.
“It took over a decade for legislation like the PACT Act to get passed,” Danielle said. “It took every veterans’ organization out there to tackle Capitol Hill.”
Although Danielle had been fighting for years, she had no intention or knowledge that the act would be named after Heath. She was on vacation when she got a call from John Feal, head of the FealGood Foundation, which advocates for injured first responders, informing her that U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer wanted to name the PACT Act after Heath. “Words just really can’t describe how much of an honor this is,” Danielle said. “Because it’s not just for Heath, but it’s for all his brothers and sisters who have suffered before him, and unfortunately, will suffer after him.”
Danielle said that Heath would have been on “cloud nine” to know the PACT Act was passed and signed into law. “He wanted to testify in front of Congress, and he didn’t get that chance… so, he didn’t get to have his voice heard (while he was alive),” she said.
With the PACT Act becoming law and being named for him, Heath’s voice was finally heard. It is still heard today.
Heath’s Legacy
The morning of the induction ceremony for the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, Danielle and Brielle sat together on stage with 19 other Ohioans who were being recognized for their post-military service accomplishments and contributions to their communities. They stood with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Veterans Services Director Deborah Ashenhurst while proudly accepting Heath’s inductee certificate and medal on his behalf.
“Heath being inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, it means so much to my family, to Brielle, to his family and friends,” Danielle said. “It’s just another way of us knowing that Heath’s not going to be forgotten for everything he did, with his service, but also what he was trying to do in his last few months.”
After everything Heath did in his lifetime, from serving honorably and proudly including multiple overseas deployments to being named Ohio Army National Guard NCO of the year twice, to the advocacy that he and his family did on behalf of veterans, Henery said it “feels right” for him to be inducted. “It’s great that it happened, and obviously it’s terrible that it had to happen,” Henery said. “You really wish that you could trade all that to have him still here.”
Although the PACT Act is now law, Danielle still says the work isn’t done. “To me, I feel like the battle isn’t completely over yet. The mission isn’t completely over yet,” she said. She and Heath talked before he died, they agreed that their biggest goal was not only health care coverage for veterans who are affected by toxic substances, but also the quality of the health care they receive.
As Danielle continues Heath’s fight for veterans nationally, she knows that he is always with her. “With Heath’s life, it was just interesting because there were a lot of signs. You know you always ask, ‘Why? Why him? Why me? Why’d this have to happen?’” Danielle said. “I don’t want to say it was meant to be, but for some reason, it was Heath for a reason; and I knew he was with us during our battle and struggle for the PACT Act.”
Although his family misses him every day, they find comfort in recognizing the difference his life made. Because of Heath’s willingness to fight, and the treatment from his doctors, he had three additional years with his family after his initial diagnosis. He also had more time to fight for what he thought was right and to try and make a difference. Unfortunately, he did not get the opportunity to see the results that his fighting achieved, but through his ultimate sacrifice, his name will never be forgotten — and he will continue to be heard.
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2024 01:29 |
| Story ID: | 474355 |
| Location: | COLUMBUS, OHIO, US |
| Hometown: | PICKERINGTON, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 1,001 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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