WASHINGTON, June 13 -- Air Force Capt. Scott O'Grady, apparently experiencing pain in his feet possibly caused by a condition known as 'trench foot,' was admitted to a hospital Tuesday for routine tests and observations, the Pentagon said. O'Grady was scheduled to appear at a news conference at the Pentagon but made a last minute cancellation to see Pentagon flight surgeons. After an examination by doctors at a Pentagon clinic, O'Grady was admitted to Andrews Air Force Base Hospital Tuesday afternoon where he is being instructed by doctors to rest and stay off of his feet for the next 24 hours. Doctors have prescribed O'Grady with a mild anti-inflammatory medication to combat his foot disorders. O'Grady later issued a statement from the Pentagon to let well- wishers know his condition is not serious. 'I wanted to let everyone in America, who has so warmly welcomed me home, know that I am OK,' O'Grady said. 'During my ordeal my feet were overexposed to water and cold. This afternoon my feet started hurting and I asked the flight surgeon to check them out.' O'Grady added that 'I am looking forward to getting back on my feet and spending the next few weeks with my family and friends.' Air Force Col. John Chapman, who is charged with the Pentagon's survival training regimen, said O'Grady is not suffering from anything serious or unusual. 'Given the kind of situation he was in -- out there obviously in very constricted spaces and wearing his boots most of the time, and from what we can tell never having a chance to get them dry -- a number of things can happen physically...,' Chapman said.
Chapman said O'Grady could be suffering from 'trench foot,' a diseased foot condition caused by extended exposure to wet and cold with constricted blood flow due to inactivity. The condition was named after foot problems experienced by soldiers in wartime who spent several days standing in wet, cold trenches with no time to get dry. Chapman, who survived 6 days in a wooded area of Bosnia-Herzegovina after being shot down by a Bosnian Serb missile, was to be examined by a Pentagon doctor Tuesday afternoon. 'They ache, they hurt, he doesn't want to walk on them,' Chapman said. 'It's obvious he's just not really had a chance to really take time to sit back and not have people looking for information from him, to just take care of' his feet. Since his daring rescue last week and his return to the United States on Sunday, O'Grady, 29, has had little time to relax as he has been whisked from the White House to the Pentagon and in front of nearly every major television media outlet in the nation to recount his tale of survival. Chapman said O'Grady's hectic schedule has not likely contributed to his foot problems. 'I think his feet have been hurting to some extent all along and the longer you stand, sit, whatever, even if he was doing that back in his room, they probably would still be hurting, Chapman said. Other than the pain in his feet, 'he is in very good health' and his morale is high, Chapman said. O'Grady is expected to reschedule his appearance in front of the Pentagon press corps sometime this week, a Defense Department spokesman said. 'He has a story to tell and he's anxious to tell it,' Chapman said. Pentagon spokesman Douglas Kennett said O'Grady plans later this week to travel to his hometown of Spokane, Wash., to visit friends and will later stop by nearby Fairchild Air Force Base to visit the survival school where he was trained to live off the land and evade capture.
