I'm sure Retired will reply with his excellent advise as always, but since he helped us get our waivers, I'll gladly support "his" forum and offer my two cents on what worked for us in his absence....
We also had a "history of" DQ (Knee pain) and you're probably stuck with that too. I.e. DODMERB sees it as black and white - i.e. if you EVER had it, you've therefore had a HISTORY of it. So unless your doc can say he wrote it up wrong, etc. then it's doubtful that DODMERB will allow you to rebute / remove it from his/her record.
The WAIVER of the DQ, however,
by the Academies, is an entirely different situation. Each SA has the right / ability to look at that DQ and decide if it affects your ability to complete school and become / act as an officer, etc. So what we did, and what you should do, is draft up a detailed waiver-request letter to DODMERB, which will then forward it automatically to all of the SA's you've applied to, stating that yes, the problem occurred BUT BUT BUT that it has not affected his/her ability to perform, etc. Throw in back-up documentation from coaches, your docs, etc. stating that he/she is fit for all "duties". Now know that that letter won't affect DODMERB's listing of a DQ on her record BUT said letter will get into his/her SA file when it comes up for the Appointment Board review. At that time, I beleive, is when the WAIVER REQUEST paperwork comes into play. I.e. if you are good enough to get in, then they'll review the story/facts you have just written them about and hopefully grant you the waiver / give you the nod.
This is how it happened to us. We wrote a letter w/backups stating that while son had indeed had knee pain and then surgery 3 yrs ago, that thru rehab and training he currently actively played on his HS Tennis and Cross Country Teams, ran XX miles a day, etc. Must have worked - we got the waiver from both AF and NA, as well as appointment (!) to AF (still awaiting NA, however, but DODMERB is showing that the waiver was granted, so we're hopeful).
Hang in there and write that letter ASAP! And if you are concerned that DODMERB won't cc the SA, go ahead and cc your contact there too also - can't hurt!
Good luck, and hopefully Retired will agree with my statements here. And if he doesn't agree with something I said, then trust him first! He's da best!
DKnightfam
PS: By the way, I don't have a clue as to what your daugthers' "disease or aflliction" really is, so I wrote up my note assuming that it is something that an SA can actually waive, vs it being an automatic "no way jose" problem. But I'm sure Retired will help you there...