Already Medically Qualified - Reporting Recent Illness

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partyofseven

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DS is a 2022 candidate and has already been medically qualified by DoDMERB. He has received an offer of appointment from USMA, as well as an NROTC Scholarship, but is waiting to hear from USAFA. After being qualified by DoDMERB, he recently had an illness that required a brief hospitalization, and he has fully recovered. Our question is, should he contact DoDMERB immediately, in order to allow as much time as possible for resolution before starting at an academy, or should he wait a week or two until he hopefully hears from USAFA, to avoid a red flag on his application there? Thanks in advance for any input.
 
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Has anyone else gone through the process of reporting an illness to DoDMERB and USMA, before or after they have accepted an appointment?
 
partyofseven said:
Has anyone else gone through the process of reporting an illness to DoDMERB and USMA, before or after they have accepted an appointment?
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What kind of illness are we talking about? Was it something serious that required surgery or other extensive medical treatment? Or was he just really sick and wanted to see a doctor? Honestly, be careful what you report. Doctors have a way of making mountains out of molehills, and if your son says the wrong thing, they may just try disqualifying him for something that is very minor.
 
It was viral meningitis, which required an overnight stay, but there isn't any treatment. I believe the hospital stay necessitates reporting it.
 
partyofseven said:
It was viral meningitis, which required an overnight stay, but there isn't any treatment. I believe the hospital stay necessitates reporting it.
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Again, be careful what you report. For example, I remember the initial DODMERB questionaire I filled out listing out a myriad of symptoms/conditions and asking whether I had ever experienced any of them. Had I ever experienced “stomach pain” or “headaches” at some point in my life? Sure I did. Was I going to mark “yes” on those boxes? Nope. At some point, you just end up making more work for yourself than what was really needed. You and your son should decide the best course of action in this situation, but just be sure before you report it.
 
A cadet in my Detachment had an accident, like she crashed her car and was hospitalized and needed to be on crutches for a while and the Cadre told her not to report because she did not had any surgery. She has recovered pretty fast from her sprained ankle so. Reporting that would have prevented her to commission on May.
 
My 2014 grad had a football ankle injury after he rcvd his appointment. He waited to accept appointment until he had fully recovered and was completely cleared by his doctor. He had his doctor write a letter that he was completely cleared for any type of military duty and had full range of motion/ functionality of his ankle. Once he had this information, he accepted his appointment and filled out the medical update form that came with his appointment paperwork to explain the injury, (in accordance with instructions given with appointment paperwork) and included attachments from his doctor. He sent all this in with his appointment acceptance. He never had any issues with Navy Medical or DODMERB.
 
falconchic88 said:
My 2014 grad had a football ankle injury after he rcvd his appointment. He waited to accept appointment until he had fully recovered and was completely cleared by his doctor. He had his doctor write a letter that he was completely cleared for any type of military duty and had full range of motion/ functionality of his ankle. Once he had this information, he accepted his appointment and filled out the medical update form that came with his appointment paperwork to explain the injury, (in accordance with instructions given with appointment paperwork) and included attachments from his doctor. He sent all this in with his appointment acceptance. He never had any issues with Navy Medical or DODMERB.
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This is very helpful, and sounds like the approach DS will take. Thank you!
 
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