I believe that I suffered a neck injury while elisted in the Navy. I ran up a ladderwell full speed and collided with a hatch that was closed. The top of my head hit the steel and my neck absorbed most of the shock. The injury occurred on board the ship around 1999 to 2000. At the time I was about 22-23 and I was in good shape physically. I went to see the shipboard medical technician (an HMC) and I don't recall if he put the visit in my medical record. I told him about the pain and crunching sounds at the time of the injury, but there were never any actions taken. The HMC didn't treat the injury very seriously and he told me I might be sore for awhile but it would get better. So I trusted him and assumed the injury was not serious.

Its been 10 years since then and for the past 7-8 years I have been suffering from intermittent neck pain that never completely diminishes and periods of up to 4 weeks at a time with pain so intense I see white spots from the severity of the pain.

My latest spell was ignited when I sneezed moments after waking. My muscles not having had the time to loosen up, the sneeze sent me into pain that still hasn't subsided after 24 hours. It was only yesterday that while laying there in the pain with a towel under my neck that I realized something must be wrong. I have never had any other injury that could have caused this. I believe there was something that could have been done by the Navy that would have prevented the inury from becoming worse.

I want to know if there is any reason to pursue this matter any further. I am not a lazy person. I want to work, and I have tried to work. Over these past 10 years, my neck has prevented me from taking certain jobs and from performing to my fullest potential in the jobs I have had.