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Soldier, family face sinister foe
Guardsman stricken with encephalitis
Dianne Williamson
T&G STAFF
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John M. Salonich, who was stricken with encephalitis in January during National Guard service at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, spends time with family members _ from left, Emily, 3; Andrew, 5; his wife, Lisa; and Collin, 5. (JAMIE LYN GIAMBRONE)
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Army Sgt. John M. Salonich is home now, but he never really returned from Guantanamo Bay.
“Can I give you a hug?” the 35-year-old father of three sweetly asked a first-time visitor to his home. “You look familiar. Where are you from?”
His wife said he gives the same greeting to almost everyone — neighbors, friends, even strangers in the supermarket, which is why the Saloniches don’t venture far these days from their home on Clearview Avenue.
“People are uncomfortable around him,” said Lisa Salonich, as her husband sat next to her at the dining room table. “He’s not the same person he was. He’s a child. He has no inhibitions or boundaries. He asks everyone for a hug. Never in a million years would he have done that before.”
In January, while stationed with the Army National Guard in Cuba, Sgt. Salonich called his wife complaining of a headache. Within days, he was confused and hallucinating. He eventually collapsed and was flown to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he was diagnosed with viral encephalitis.
Sgt. Salonich came home in March, physically healthy but mentally ravaged.
The once-charming husband who routinely bought flowers for his wife now paces obsessively and stares blankly at their wedding album. The man who once designed Web programs for UMass now asks strangers for gum and gets lost walking the dog. And perhaps worst of all, the soldier who willingly answered the call to serve is now locked in a battle for his family’s survival, his illness rendering him ineligible for the services he needs.
For almost a year, Lisa has run into walls as she seeks programs and help for her husband. The Statewide Head Injury Program won’t assist her because his brain damage is not the result of trauma or an accident, she said. He doesn’t qualify for services offered to the mentally retarded or to victims of brain tumors. He has no caseworker and no advocate save his wife, who is struggling to provide her husband with the 24-hour care that he requires.
“I’ve had to fight for every single thing,” Lisa said. “I’m very disappointed in the lack of advocacy for him and the lack of resources for my family. In this day and age, when help is poured out for everyone and everything, a soldier like John should have more at his disposal. … Everyone involved in this is scratching their heads. No one knows what to do with him.”
Recently, Lisa found a Community Rehabilitation Care program in Newton that accommodates her husband from 10 a.m. to noon on weekdays, but his needs are enormous. His memory is seriously impaired and his diminished cognitive skills require that he be watched constantly. He suffers a seizure disorder, behavioral problems and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Last week, when Lisa asked her husband to take out the dog, he wandered into the woods behind their house and got lost.
Doctors have suggested that Lisa place her husband of eight years in a long-term care facility, but she can’t bring herself to do it. Encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, is caused by a virus and can result in permanent brain damage.
“I married him for better or worse,” Lisa said. “He’s still loving and sweet, even though he’s not the man I married. The kids have come to accept him for who he is, and he’s still their father.”
Sgt. Salonich realizes that he’s ill, but is unable to comprehend the ramifications. Friday, as his wife spoke to a visitor, he held her hand and listened, occasionally injecting a childlike comment about the laundry or his dog or his children, ages 6, 5 and 3. He was a 15-year veteran of the National Guard when he was stricken in Cuba; he said he still loves his country and hopes to someday return to active service.
“God must have intended this to happen to me,” he said softly, with his ever-present smile. “There must be a reason. I’m not happy about it, but my life will go on. I know God will heal me. If you pray, please pray for me. I’d appreciate that very much.”
Lisa also prays.
Sgt. Salonich was being paid more than $70,000 a year at UMass when his unit was deployed, and his Army pay of $35,000 will be cut in half when he receives a veteran’s disability. He’ll also receive Social Security, but Lisa must return to work as a graphic designer and is unsure how she’ll juggle a job and kids with the overwhelming task of caring for her husband.
She said she’s grateful for the support from family, friends, her church and the military. Members of his Army unit help drive him to Newton and volunteer for other chores, but the brunt of his care falls on Lisa’s tired shoulders.
“Sometimes I’m bitter,” she acknowledged. “Sometimes I shake my fist and ask why. But I’ve never been angry at God. It’s more like I have moments when I ask, ‘Where are You?’ My husband and best friend and the memories we made together have been stolen. … He’s so dependent on me. I’m not his wife anymore; I’m his caretaker. He can’t be left alone.”
“Why can’t I be left alone?” her husband asked.
“You get distracted very easily,” she replied gently.
“OK,” he said with a smile. “You take very good care of me.”
His prognosis is uncertain, although Lisa said she loses hope for recovery as each day passes. But she remains devoted to her family and sometimes allows herself to remember what her life was like before a cruel virus robbed her of the man she married. She remembers the man who made her laugh, the man who adored his kids, the man who, on their wedding anniversary in October 2003, greeted her with champagne and flowers through a Webcam from Cuba.
“Things are very hard, but John is my husband and the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said. “I’m proud of the way he served his country. And sometimes I have hope that he’s still inside there somewhere. Physically, he came home to me — mentally, he never did.”
Donations may be made to the Salonich Family Fund at UMass Five College Federal Credit Union. For more information, call (800) 852-5886.
Dianne Williamson can be reached via e-mail at dwilliamson@telegram.com.
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