CherokeePilot38F
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2016
- Messages
- 7
Hi all!
I've been lurking around here for several months now reading up on the DoDMERB processes, but since no existing thread has closely matched my situation, I'd thought I'd create my own thread to gather the opinions of the many informed members of this site..
Here's the deal:
After applying to the Naval Academy and NROTC programs, in October I learned that I had received a full Navy scholarship to Penn State University. However, the day after that letter arrived, I received a notice from DoDMERB asking for more information regarding my history of mild PANDAS-induced obsessive-compulsive disorder. This was due to the fact that when I was completing the initial online self-diagnostic form, I indicated that I had at a young age been affected by this very minor, almost nonexistent, illness. I did this hesitantly, as I encountered a great deal of difficulty about these issues when I applied for my Federal Aviation Administration airman medical certification. Nevertheless, as a hopeful future military officer, I felt that full disclosure and honesty was the best policy, so I checked the appropriate boxes.
My history of OCD is as follows: When I was about 8 years old, I developed a streptococcus infection on my tonsils, which led to very mild obsessive-compulsive symptoms. I never engaged in ritualistic routines like hand-washing or doorknob-touching, nor did I engage in any other self-destructive tendencies common to sufferers of the disease. As a cautionary measure, my primary care pediatrician prescribed a very low dose of fluvoxamine. However, all symptoms of OCD disappeared with age and informal counseling with my doctor, thus leading him to deem me healthy and, therefore, discontinue the Luvox dosage in November 2013, years after the symptoms had ceased.
After being medically denied by DoDMERB in early November, I began the waiver process in earnest. In my waiver package, I included a recommendation from a noted child psychologist (written in 2014 for the FAA Airman Medical Certification Board) attesting to the fact that the OCD is totally gone and that I am a normally functioning, goal-driven teenager, two letters from my primary care physician delineating how the illness is non-progressive and will not be aggravated by any kind of military training or service, and letters from my flight instructor, a family friend who is a childhood affairs attorney, and my parents all stating that they have never observed any kind of OCD symptoms in the several years since I was cured.
Thankfully, I received a waiver from the USNA within an amazing three days of the request submission. Nevertheless, my waiver for NROTC has been processing for several additional weeks, and upon checking the DoDMERB site, I learned that the NROTC BUMED is requesting my full medical records from age 8 to the present. I of course duly complied, and the documents should be sent within a week or so. I've also been in contact with DoDMERB's fantastic Mr. Larry Mullen, who has been an invaluable resource in navigating this process and assuaging my fears.
At this point, is there anything else I can do to help my chances and make the waiver board's job easier? I've been extremely anxious about this for the past several months, and although I know that it's basically a waiting game, I still feel like I should be actively doing something to help myself.
Serving my country as a naval officer is all I’ve wanted throughout my entire life, and I do not want to lose it all because of something that does not affect me now and will not affect me in the future.
Thank you for your time and comments!
I've been lurking around here for several months now reading up on the DoDMERB processes, but since no existing thread has closely matched my situation, I'd thought I'd create my own thread to gather the opinions of the many informed members of this site..
Here's the deal:
After applying to the Naval Academy and NROTC programs, in October I learned that I had received a full Navy scholarship to Penn State University. However, the day after that letter arrived, I received a notice from DoDMERB asking for more information regarding my history of mild PANDAS-induced obsessive-compulsive disorder. This was due to the fact that when I was completing the initial online self-diagnostic form, I indicated that I had at a young age been affected by this very minor, almost nonexistent, illness. I did this hesitantly, as I encountered a great deal of difficulty about these issues when I applied for my Federal Aviation Administration airman medical certification. Nevertheless, as a hopeful future military officer, I felt that full disclosure and honesty was the best policy, so I checked the appropriate boxes.
My history of OCD is as follows: When I was about 8 years old, I developed a streptococcus infection on my tonsils, which led to very mild obsessive-compulsive symptoms. I never engaged in ritualistic routines like hand-washing or doorknob-touching, nor did I engage in any other self-destructive tendencies common to sufferers of the disease. As a cautionary measure, my primary care pediatrician prescribed a very low dose of fluvoxamine. However, all symptoms of OCD disappeared with age and informal counseling with my doctor, thus leading him to deem me healthy and, therefore, discontinue the Luvox dosage in November 2013, years after the symptoms had ceased.
After being medically denied by DoDMERB in early November, I began the waiver process in earnest. In my waiver package, I included a recommendation from a noted child psychologist (written in 2014 for the FAA Airman Medical Certification Board) attesting to the fact that the OCD is totally gone and that I am a normally functioning, goal-driven teenager, two letters from my primary care physician delineating how the illness is non-progressive and will not be aggravated by any kind of military training or service, and letters from my flight instructor, a family friend who is a childhood affairs attorney, and my parents all stating that they have never observed any kind of OCD symptoms in the several years since I was cured.
Thankfully, I received a waiver from the USNA within an amazing three days of the request submission. Nevertheless, my waiver for NROTC has been processing for several additional weeks, and upon checking the DoDMERB site, I learned that the NROTC BUMED is requesting my full medical records from age 8 to the present. I of course duly complied, and the documents should be sent within a week or so. I've also been in contact with DoDMERB's fantastic Mr. Larry Mullen, who has been an invaluable resource in navigating this process and assuaging my fears.
At this point, is there anything else I can do to help my chances and make the waiver board's job easier? I've been extremely anxious about this for the past several months, and although I know that it's basically a waiting game, I still feel like I should be actively doing something to help myself.
Serving my country as a naval officer is all I’ve wanted throughout my entire life, and I do not want to lose it all because of something that does not affect me now and will not affect me in the future.
Thank you for your time and comments!
