DQ'd then denied waiver
My son and I understand the devastation. Son was DQ'd due to "abnormal urinary findings"... (small amounts of blood and protein in urine only seen under microscope). This was a surprise to us since he is an extreme athlete with no other medical problems.
He was automatically given a waiver review b/c he is an ROTC scholarship recipient. We were advised by DoDMERB to NOT turn in any additional medical paperwork until directed. His status on DoDMERB remained "Pending waiver review" for several months. The waiver authority for NROTC, which is BUMED, also told us to not submit paperwork until advised.
He had every other test done short of a kidney biopsy...CT scan-all good, kidney function-all good...Kidney doc feels this is thin basement membrane...a waiverable condition...but it can not be confirmed without a biopsy.
Today, son's status on DoDMERB changed to "waiver denied" even though we never submitted any additional medical tests...because we were told to wait. We don't understand why the waiver authority did not request additional medical records.
Son's kidney doctor would rather take a watch and see approach with additional testing b/c the condition is not severe. However, in order to provide a definitive diagnosis to appeal the denied waiver, we feel that son must get the biopsy.
Since we were never directed to submit additional records...I wanted to inform you of our situation b/c your son was just DQ'd and the advice to "wait before submitting additional medical records" did not work for us. Now we are in a situation to try and appeal a denied waiver.
Also, without the waiver, we are unable to meet the tuition in time even though my son has a Presidential Scholarship from the college, multiple grants and loans...this is truly beyond heartbreaking for him. Our only choice is to stay in the fight until the end and try to appeal. Best of luck to you and your son. My heart goes out to young men and women who want to serve in our military but must walk through this difficult process.
