DODMERB Multiple DQ's

[Dreamer]

Hi:
My daughter was accepted for a four year NROTC scholarship in December 2008. The DODMERB medical was completed late January and soon after we got the DODMERB letter outlining the following six remedials: R252.10, R140.00, R222.00, R230.00, R252.40, and R160.00.
I was just advised by the DODMERB staff that my daughter is DQ'ed on all of them except R252.40.
DQ topics include Scoliosis, GERD, alergy, and history of mood swings.
Summary:
- Scoliosis: minor, observed by pediatrician without concern since elementary school, participated in gymnastics and soccer all during elem school, played High School JV field hockey, softball, track and High School Varsity field hockey, track, and cheerleading. "Scoliosis" has never slowed her down.
- GERD: history of burping and indigestion during freshman and sohomore years. Controlled with OTC drugs.
- Alergy: During visit to doctor last summer, she mentioned that a raw apple caused a tingling in her lips. Doctor ran food alergy tests and confirmed apples/carrots/celery alergy if eaten raw (cooked food is not a problem). No other foods were discovered to cause any allergic reaction during extensive tests. She also has the usual pollen sniffles during the spring season which she controls with infrequent OTC medicine.
- Mood swings: During early 2007 (Jan/Feb), she was burdened with a lot of pressure (schoolwork, sports, various leadership positions) plus a breakup of a year-long relationship. She was hurting so she and her Mom visited the pediatrician which resulted in a diagnosis of short term depression / anxiety (not sure of the exact description - med records are at home). Prozac was prescribed for several months which she stopped taking, with doctor guidance, by late summer, 2007. She is back to her happy, wonderful self.
DODMERB staff said we will get the letter within a week. They advised that the waiver process is automatic since she was already accepted for a four year scholarship. Althought they advised that waivers are often granted, it is up to BUMED in this case.
With all this background, do you have any comments? Are we a lost cause or do we have a fighting chance. How do we go about pursuing successful waivers? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
VR, 30 Year Navy Dad

 

[RetNavyHM]

Each of the disqualifications mentioned in and of themselves could be difficult to obtain waivers for with the descriptions of them that you have stated. I will detail each disqualification and what I feel the chances are for a waiver for each one.

Scoliosis: Depending on the degree of scoliosis a waiver is possible. Since you did not state the degrees it is hard for me to make an accurate determination

GERD: If your daughter is currently taking medication, even OTC meds, to control the GERD symptoms it will be difficult to obtain a waiver. Not impossible, but the fact that she is still taking meds will hurt.

Mood swings: The fact that she was on medications up till the summer of 2007 may hurt the waiver chances. If she had been off medication for over a year, and has completed treatment, then I would say her chances for a waiver would go up.

Food Allergy: The fact that there is oral tingling when ingesting certain foods is a concern. Most of the foods listed are common, and the common food allergies are the hardest ones to obtain. They are easy foods to avoid, and she has not had an anaphylactic reaction to the foods, so there is some hope.

Each disqualification will be looked at individually, and a granted or denied decision will be made on each one. Unfortunately it only takes one of these disqualifications to be denied to deny the waiver for ROTC.

At this point in time I would have your daughter write a letter explaining, in her words, each of the disqualifications. I would have her detail what happened, what treatment she has received, what activities she participates and and how each of these disqualifications affects those activities. Submit this letter to DoDMERB and it will be forwarded to the waiver authorities. If there is any additional information that has not been submitted to DoDMERB, I would include that as well.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask away.

 

[Dreamer]

RetNavyHM:
Thanks for the response and info. We are working on the letter. Plus, we have coordinated with each of the physicians representing the four DQ's to submit additional comments via letter beyond the basic medical record input.
My daughter is scheduled to see an orthopedic specialist to get additional support for the scoliosis DQ. BTW, you asked about the degrees: Levoscoliosis (10 degrees) and
dextroscoliosis (6 degrees).
Question: does influence outside the medical realm help (i.e. Senator, Congressman, Flag Officer) or does that just serve to "upset" the process?

Thank you.

 

[RetNavyHM]

The levoscoliosis and dextroscoliosis measurements are not what DoDMERB or the waiver authorities are looking at, there should be reading for lumbar, thoracic, kyphosis or lordosis measurements noted on the radiologists report.

As for letters from outside the medical community, they will not make a difference, unless the individuals writing the letters have actually seen her participating in physical activities and can comment on that. If you were to go outside the medical community for a letter I would suggest getting letters from coaches stating how she has done physically.