Battling cancer, fighting to change law
Sgt. First Class Rich Stayskal, a San Jose native who graduated from Willow Glen High, was wounded in Iraq in 2004. He survived a bullet that nearly killed him, but now stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., he’s likely to lose another battle for his life. And it’s a fight the Green Beret believes he should have had a chance of winning.
Stayskal, 37, was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in June 2017, but he says that an Army exam months earlier to determine why he was having trouble breathing missed the cancer, allowing it to grow and spread. Following his dire diagnosis, Stayskal contacted an attorney intending to sue the federal government for $10 million alleging medical malpractice.
But it’s unlikely to go anywhere because of a 1950 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that estab-
lished what is known as the Feres Doctrine, which prevents active duty military personnel from suing the government or military hospitals for injuries sustained during their service. Now, Stayskal is spending the time he has left trying to get Congress to make exceptions for cases like his.
Stayskal’s case has gained media coverage, including on military-related websites and publications, but he says his wife, Megan, and his two daughters, aged 9 and 11, are what’s keeping him going.
“What keeps me fighting is my family first and foremost,” Stayskal said in an email. “Making sure that I show my girls that you fight for what’s right, and for what you believe in. I also fight for the men and women that service our country. I believe that we deserved the same rights that civilians are given when it comes to medical malpractice.”
Stayskal and his wife recently had a “positive week” meeting with legis- lators in Washington D.C., and there are plans for a march in the nation’s capital this spring to bring more attention to the issue. A petition on Change. org has gotten more than 88,000 signatures, too.
“There is a quote that I found from George Washington that has kind of stuck with me and it is, ‘Just because you put on a uniform, doesn’t mean you cede being a citizen,’ ” Stayskal said. SANTA PAWS » Santa Clara County’s Animal Shelter has dropped adoption fees for all animals to $20 through Dec. 31 as part of its Home for the Holidays promotion. County officials are hoping the reduced fee — which includes spay/neuter surgery, microchip ID implantation, vaccinations and more — will encourage people to bring home an animal this holiday season.
Lisa Jenkins, animal care and control program manager, says there are adoptable animals arriving every day at the shelter on Murphy Avenue in San Martin. “We have many wonderful dogs, cats, and rabbits at the shelter waiting to find their forever homes,” she said.
The Santa Clara County animal shelter takes in about 3,000 dogs and cats annually, but also accepts other small animals including barnyard pets. With its rural setting, it’s the only facility in the county that can house horses and large livestock. Go to www.sccountypets.org for hours and details or to see pets available for adoption. INSTITUTIONAL AMNESIA » While San Jose State has billed this week’s commencement ceremonies as the first to take place in the fall, Dick Henning, the retired dean of community services at Foothill College, begs to differ. The founder of the Celebrity Forum speaker series pointed out that he went through commencement ceremonies as a Spartan in January 1958 along with my late predecessor, Leigh Weimers, and several hundred others at the Civic Auditorium.
Maybe, like a movie franchise, we’ll just consider this a “reboot” of fall commencement.