For six years, Jason Hall’s life was defined by unanswered questions.
The 47-year-old Army veteran from Olathe, Kansas, lived with pain, fatigue, and rapidly declining mobility without a clear diagnosis. Once an active soldier, deputy sheriff, and motorcycle owner, Hall found himself homebound, struggling to climb stairs, and needing help just to stand from a chair.
“My mind went into what I would call worst-case-scenario mode,” Hall said. “I was worried about dying from this unknown disease, about my financial stability, and about losing my independence.”
Hall’s military career spanned nearly 11 years, with deployments to Bosnia in 1997, Kuwait in 2000, and Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. He served as a petroleum supply specialist, working around fuels containing multiple benzene compounds and spending time near burn pits—open-air fires that disposed of everything from plastics to chemicals.
Years later, in 2022, Hall was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, both linked to toxic exposure. But that still didn’t explain his worsening muscle loss, weight drop of 40 pounds in five months, and mobility issues.
Over the next several years, Hall saw multiple neurologists, rheumatologists, and hematologists, as well as a geneticist, but no one could pinpoint the cause. “We were losing hope,” he said. “The only thing sustaining me was faith that God would guide the doctors to figure it out—or send me somewhere that could.”
That “somewhere” turned out to be the UAB Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP).
Hall learned about the program in January 2024 during an appointment at the Veterans Administration with Daniel Clausing, M.D., fellow in the V.A. Division of Hematology and Oncology. Clausing, who trained at UAB under UDP physician Martin Rodriguez, M.D., Endowed Professor of Medicine, recognized that Hall’s case might benefit from the program’s multidisciplinary approach and referred him.
In May, Hall traveled to Birmingham to meet with Rodriguez and Angelo Gaffo, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology. The team reviewed his records, listened to his history, and recognized that his condition was likely connected to unique toxic exposures not typically encountered in the U.S.
By the time Hall left UAB, he had a diagnosis, a treatment plan, and a prescription. The change was almost immediate.
“When I went to UAB, I weighed 124 pounds, walked with a cane, and couldn’t climb stairs or get up from a chair,” Hall said. “By Tuesday—just two days after starting medication—I could do all of that again. Three months later, I weighed 176 pounds.”
For Hall, the difference was life-changing—and life-restoring.
He now offers advice to others facing years without answers: “Don’t give up. If you’re being bounced between specialists, ask for a referral to an internist or a program like the UDP. Research, ask questions, and know what’s normal for your body. And if you don’t have a support system, find one.”
Hall credits UAB’s UDP with more than just a diagnosis. “They listened. They treated me like a partner in my care. They understood that my case was unique and worked with the VA so I could get answers sooner. That’s the reason I had a diagnosis in May instead of months later.”
For patients like Hall, the UAB Undiagnosed Diseases Program is more than a clinic—it’s a place where hope is restored, answers are found, and lives are changed.