Help with Medical Waiver Review Please!

WI USNA Mom

5-Year Member
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Dec 19, 2010
Messages
17
My son received an LOA followed by an Offer of Appointment to the USNA in December of 2010 which he proudly accepted.

On March 1, 2011 he had a Grade 2.5 shoulder separation and immediately reported the incident to the academy, as instructed, and was put on medical hold.

He saw an orthopedic surgeon who advised a course of rest and physical therapy. After completion he was deemed fully recovered and allowed 100% full activity with no restrictions. We faxed all the requested medical information to DoDMERB on April 22, 2011 (X-ray reports, Physician & Physical Therapist final evaluations) and he has now received a letter stating that he does not meet the DoD medical standards.

DoDMERB has informed us that his file has been forwarded to USNA for a medical waiver. We are confused at the initial determination as the evaluations stated that he is 100% recovered with no limitations. We are also very concerned as I day is June 30, 2011 and are not sure if the timing of his review will allow him to receive the necessary approvals to report. Where do we go from here? Your assistance would be very much appreciated.
 
My son received an LOA followed by an Offer of Appointment to the USNA in December of 2010 which he proudly accepted.

On March 1, 2011 he had a Grade 2.5 shoulder separation and immediately reported the incident to the academy, as instructed, and was put on medical hold.

He saw an orthopedic surgeon who advised a course of rest and physical therapy. After completion he was deemed fully recovered and allowed 100% full activity with no restrictions. We faxed all the requested medical information to DoDMERB on April 22, 2011 (X-ray reports, Physician & Physical Therapist final evaluations) and he has now received a letter stating that he does not meet the DoD medical standards.

DoDMERB has informed us that his file has been forwarded to USNA for a medical waiver. We are confused at the initial determination as the evaluations stated that he is 100% recovered with no limitations. We are also very concerned as I day is June 30, 2011 and are not sure if the timing of his review will allow him to receive the necessary approvals to report. Where do we go from here? Your assistance would be very much appreciated.

DoDMERB has certain medical requirements they have to go by and ANY history of shoulder dislocation, subluxation, or instability is a disqualification. There is nothing else you can do at this point if you have sent in all medical records in. Did the letter state that a medical waiver is being submitted? I think that if a candidate is judged competitive they will automatically review the file for a waiver. Does that make sense? Hope it helps.
 
Based ONLY on what you posted, the "recency" of the event is the concern. That is why the "investor," the USNA, is being approsed by the DoDMERB and will make the final decision:thumb:
 
The letter says that

"...the process is not yet over for two reasons. First, I invite you to submit any additional information (not previously submitted) you have regarding the above condition(s). Second, my findings, and all of your medial records, have been forwarded to the service academy(ies) and/or ROTC program(s) to which you have applied."

"All programs to which you have applied will automatically review your file for waiver consideration (in the case of Service Academies if you are judged competitive for appointment)."

So what type of information could we further send? Another letter from his physician stating that he is qualified?
 
If u read the letter....in conjunction with what u said...mixing in what I said, there is nothing else u can send. Now, u just need to await the decision:thumb:
 
same issue and initial response from USNA

We have a very similar issue: Our son (USNA Class of 2015) had inpatient shoulder repair surgery 22 December 2010. He went through the subsequent physical therapy and was deemed fully functional less than two months later. He was back to working out, wrestling, etc, etc. We reported the surgery (as well as submission of supporting documents from his surgeon) as required by DoDMERBS/USNA in the USNA Acceptance Letter. Then...last Friday...we received a phone call from a DoDMERBS representative stating that our son was DQ'ed and that a letter would be sent to us this week. Our son called USNA Admissions immediately....the Admissions Officer placed him on hold...came back and said "don't worry." (FYI - we kept USNA informed along the way regarding the situation and provided them a copy of our son's letter from his surgeon stating the he is fully functional, with absolutely no limitations.)
While I completely understand DoDMERBS mission and support it totally, I do not understand the timing of this DQ'ed announcement for a young man that has already accepted the appointment and is heading the I-Day on 30 June. Moreover, we are looking at a young man that is in what some would consider "SEAL shape"...and cleared for "return to duty" last Feb by his surgeon....therefore, the "shock" of this announcement from DoDMERBS placed a ton of stress on our household.
Therefore, in the meantime we intend to fully comply with whatever DoDMERBS requires/needs. Of course, we will also believe and trust the USNA Admissions Office in their statement of "Don't worry."
Any feedback/guidance/reassurance from fellow board members and/or Mr. Mullens would be most appreciated.
 
My first post in this thread is the applicable answer for your son. Again, if u re-read our qualification notice, it states to inform DODMERB of changes in medical status. This did NOT occur, hence, this is why DODMERB took the action we took when we found out about it. We would have taken the same action in Dec, had we been informed then. USNA needs to render the final decision on fitness for duty in your son's case, because of the decency of the surgery:thumb:
 
Waiver Granted!

Now we can breathe again! Received word today that his waiver has been granted! Boy this sure has been a roller-coaster ride. Thank you for all the good advice.
 
My son is in the waiver process with USMMA for history of shoulder dislocation 6 years ago that went back in by itself shortly after the incident. We have sent in requested AMI which includes doctor report, XRAY report concluding a Type 2 dislocation with no fracture, and description of upper body fitness routine. No surgery was recommended, just PT which he completed. He had a normal wrestling season after completing PT. He has had no instability or interventions since then (6 years) wrestling every year. It seems it is taking around 3 weeks for AMI to get processed right now, which gets us to the end of April before they even look at the AMI. QUESTION - should I have him pro-actively see an orthopedic doctor to get unconditional release now even though DoDMERB has not yet asked for it? If they ask for this at the end of April, I am afraid it will be too late because I heard that we must clear the waiver process by May 1st. Thank you Mr. Mullen in advance for your help.
 
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