Aching Feet Put O’Grady In Hospital

Air Force pilot Scott O’Grady was hospitalized Tuesday, his feet aching from his sixday ordeal in Bosnia. The pain was bad enough that “he doesn’t want to walk at all,” a spokesman said.

Late Tuesday, the pilot issued a statement saying “I am OK” and that he looked forward to “getting back on my feet and spending the next few weeks with my family and friends.”

“During my ordeal, my feet were over exposed to water and cold. … My feet started hurting and I asked the flight surgeon to check them out. He recommended I stay off them for 24 hours and the best way to do that was to spend the night in the hospital,” O’Grady said in the statement.

The F-16 pilot is afflicted with “immersion foot,” which can occur when someone’s feet are wet and confined in boots over an extended period of time, said an Air Force spokesman.

“The doctors have directed that O’Grady stay off his feet for 24 hours and rest,” said a Pentagon statement released Tuesday afternoon. It said doctors “indicated that this condition is not unusual, considering the circumstances of his ordeal.”

O’Grady entered the hospital at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Washington “for routine tests and observation,” the statement said.

“They need to take a hard look at him. His feet are hurting right now. We need to watch out for his well being first,” Col. John Chapman told dozens of reporters who had gathered in a Pentagon briefing room to interview the 29-year-old pilot. That news conference was canceled.

O’Grady had sat through about two hours of television interviews Tuesday morning, part of a three-day series of events marking his hero’s welcome in the nation’s capital.

He mentioned the problem during one interview, saying, “My feet still hurt, they’re cold and tingly. And when I walk around I’m still lightheaded.”

In his round of morning television interviews, O’Grady said his welcome in Washington - particularly his visit to the White House was “something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”

The pilot reported he’s been swamped with letters since his rescue from the unfriendly Bosnian countryside last week after his warplane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

“The one I got from Ronald Reagan was dear to my heart,” he said. “My mom is going to get it framed. He gave me what I always wanted. … He gave me some jelly beans. He said the next time I go out in the woods I should bring some of these - and inside the bag were the jelly beans.”