Medical Issue

[Mommabear216]

My daughter is a rising junior on a 4 year army ROTC scholarship. She has had some issues with pain in her tailbone while doing sit-ups for pt, but has always just pushed through it. It began bothering her enough to see a dr. The doctor told her that X-rays show her tailbone curves to almost a horizontal position- which is why it is so painful. He told us he was shocked she’s pushed through. He did say part of why it’s so painful is because she is very thin and has no meat on her bottom - she is working on trying to gain more weight- and going through some PT on the chance it will help. The army path has always been her plan- so understandably, she’s worried about this. Because we are a middle class family, I also need to plan if any.
My question is this: if this turns into something that causes her to be medically removed from ROTC- is she required to pay back the past 2 years of tuition? I know we don’t know anything for certain at the moment, but I want to have a plan in place. She’s busted her butt to get where she is, I just want to help her have a plan B ready to go.
Thanks for any advice!

 

[Capt MJ]

My daughter is a rising junior on a 4 year army ROTC scholarship. She has had some issues with pain in her tailbone while doing sit-ups for pt, but has always just pushed through it. It began bothering her enough to see a dr. The doctor told her that X-rays show her tailbone curves to almost a horizontal position- which is why it is so painful. He told us he was shocked she’s pushed through. He did say part of why it’s so painful is because she is very thin and has no meat on her bottom - she is working on trying to gain more weight- and going through some PT on the chance it will help. The army path has always been her plan- so understandably, she’s worried about this. Because we are a middle class family, I also need to plan if any.
My question is this: if this turns into something that causes her to be medically removed from ROTC- is she required to pay back the past 2 years of tuition? I know we don’t know anything for certain at the moment, but I want to have a plan in place. She’s busted her butt to get where she is, I just want to help her have a plan B ready to go.
Thanks for any advice!

I recommend posting this in the DoDMERB Forum, where Mr. Mullen, Deputy Director, DoDMERB, often offers to communicate privately with the individual to help them understand their situation. @MullenLE

Your daughter is in the best position to work with her chain of command to advocate for herself and get answers to “what if” questions.

 

[Mommabear216]

I recommend posting this in the DoDMERB Forum, where Mr. Mullen, Deputy Director, DoDMERB, often offers to communicate privately with the individual to help them understand their situation. @MullenLE

Your daughter is in the best position to work with her chain of command to advocate for herself and get answers to “what if” questions.

Thank you for taking the time to respond! She has reached out to her command and is waiting to hear back. While we are praying that medically there is a positive solution and that this isn’t the end of a path she has worked so hard for, I wanted to get an idea of what is ahead if that isn’t the case. Thank you again!

 

[Herman_Snerd]

OP

My daughter is a rising junior on a 4 year army ROTC scholarship. She has had some issues with pain in her tailbone while doing sit-ups for pt, but has always just pushed through it. It began bothering her enough to see a dr. The doctor told her that X-rays show her tailbone curves to almost a horizontal position- which is why it is so painful. He told us he was shocked she’s pushed through. He did say part of why it’s so painful is because she is very thin and has no meat on her bottom - she is working on trying to gain more weight- and going through some PT on the chance it will help. The army path has always been her plan- so understandably, she’s worried about this. Because we are a middle class family, I also need to plan if any.
My question is this: if this turns into something that causes her to be medically removed from ROTC- is she required to pay back the past 2 years of tuition? I know we don’t know anything for certain at the moment, but I want to have a plan in place. She’s busted her butt to get where she is, I just want to help her have a plan B ready to go.
Thanks for any advice!

Does her condition limit her from a full range of motion? Does the condition interfere with walking, running, weight bearing, or the satisfactory completion of training or military duty tasks? Does the physician state the PT may help her to return to the states listed above if she is not there now? Is there a surgical option to repair? Are there OTC drugs (Advil et al.) that alleviate the pain such that she can function through her duties? Is this degenerative or progressive? How and to what extent is it believed weight gain would help - and if it will help, how much does she have to gain so she can balance performance and the medical issue. Not questions you need to provide answers for here but questions I recommend you seek answers to.

Yes, spine conditions that can impact performance do introduce a risk for medical DQ and I agree with your approach to get details/ talk to the experts/ talk to her chain of command. Agree with recommendation above to ask the expert. Good luck and sorry your family is dealing with this.

 

[Mommabear216]

OP

Does her condition limit her from a full range of motion? Does the condition interfere with walking, running, weight bearing, or the satisfactory completion of training or military duty tasks? Does the physician state the PT may help her to return to the states listed above if she is not there now? Is there a surgical option to repair? Are there OTC drugs (Advil et al.) that alleviate the pain such that she can function through her duties? Is this degenerative or progressive? How and to what extent is it believed weight gain would help - and if it will help, how much does she have to gain so she can balance performance and the medical issue. Not questions you need to provide answers for here but questions I recommend you seek answers to.

Yes, spine conditions that can impact performance do introduce a risk for medical DQ and I agree with your approach to get details/ talk to the experts/ talk to her chain of command. Agree with recommendation above to ask the expert. Good luck and sorry your family is dealing with this.

Thank you so much for this!! I have written down every question and shared the with my daughter. Thank you for taking time to respond. I am grateful for thie throughout response and it will truly help us. She’s a great kid- but is upset about this. I want to help her prepare and asking the right questions is the best place to start. Thank you again!!