Coast Guard airlifts collapsed man who thought 'just had flu' for long time

The Coast Guard airlifted a Sarasota man from his boat on the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning after he collapsed. He had been saying for months that he "just had the flu." His CatScan showed his left lung riddled with tumors.''

Former career Navy man, "Patrick," whose name is withheld for privacy reasons, has been a healthy tugboat captain based in Tampa, Florida for ten years, towing barges from the Mississippi River to Tampa. Since the gulf Operation overtly began on April 20, his work has been constant.

This writer has received reports from people in the Coast Guard who are also sick after working on the Gulf Operation.

'Running for the hills or dying'

After two months of being on the Gulf waters after the Macondo Well exploded, Tugboat Captain Patrick began feeling like he had the flu. That was in June. Now the captain Patrick is in hospital where he will have a biopsy performed Thursday. His wife is presently undergoing chemotherapy after surgery for cancer.

captain Patrick's best friend, Michael Edward, told Dupr today, "This just hit him overnight."

"I feel like everything is going crazy. I'm still - somewhat - healthy and everyone I know, especially from the northern Gulf area is either running for the hills or dying," Edward stated.

"Patrick's CAT scan today showed his left lung was riddled with nodes everywhere. His right lung has them as well. This guy survived agent orange and two extended tours in Viet Nam for seven years. I can't believe that this is happening right now."

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