Dan Choi has been Hospitalized

This is sad to hear, but some saw this coming. Dan has been hospitalized and seeking help at the Veterans Administration. Derek Washington of the Stonewall Democratic Club of Southern Nevada sent this e-mail to the Village Voice

Many of us have been quite concerned lately that Lt. Dan Choi has not been heard from recently during the battle to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". My concern stems from the fact that for the last two years I've watched Dan do his best to help move the Equality movement forward while not taking care of his own personal needs. In my opinion, Dan has had the movement weighing far too heavily on his mind and spirit. It's a role he took on as much by circumstance as choice, and he's served honorably, but he is only human and needs to take care of himself in order to help others. Dan called me today to let me know that it had all gotten a little too much for him lately. 

After last week's DADT vote, Dan, for lack of a better term, "lost it" and decided to seek professional help through the Veterans Administration. He is currently resting and receiving the help of professionals who understand what Dan is going through much better than any of us could. It's easy to forget that Dan was a combat veteran because he always puts on a brave front for the cause, but Dan is also a human who has seen much worse than most of us in his lifetime. Dan asked me to get the word out about him because he wants people to know that thousands upon thousands of men, young and old, are in the same boat as him. 

We welcome our Vets home, but we then just expect them to jump right back into life as if War was just a video game somewhere else. Hopefully when Dan is better, he'll be able to draw attention to the issues that all Combat Veterans face and, hopefully, take his present situation and turn it into a way to help him and others. As a journalist, it is strange to watch such a critical stage in the fight for equality in the military without the person who'd become that issue's face. Regardless of what happens in this congress, Choi will always be the person that pushed publicly harder on repealing Don't Ask than anyone else at this point in time.

I hope he gets the rest and help he needs. Rest, Dan.