Medical Waiver Denied

CC_Candidate

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5-Year Member
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Oct 16, 2007
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I believe I am having the same issue as mnolan. The only difference is that my waiver was denied before I even finished sending all of their requested information.

I started by being dq'ed for the recurrent dislocation of my knee. I dislocated it twice. However, I was sent medical remedials for the waiver process. It requested that I send a letter stating my athletic/recreational activities, and also get an evaluation done through concorde, military doctor, or personal doctor. I opted to go through concorde and saw their contracted orthopedic surgeon. After my appointment, he wrote that he saw no reason why I should not attend the naval academy because of my knee. That statement was included with another stating that I had "100% function of the left knee." Unfortunately, there was a two week delay in getting the surgeon to fax his evaluation to dodmets, who then overnighted it to DoDMERB.

A few days before the evaluation got to DoDMERB, my waiver was denied. All that DoDMERB had was my letter. Do you know why they would have denied my waiver without having all of the information? I have spoken to DoDMERB, and they told me that they were sending the evaluation to the waiver board for review. Is there a good chance that my case will be overturned? I play varsity soccer, ran varsity cross-country, and an orthopedic surgeon has said that I have 100% function of my knee.

Thank you for your advice.
 
I didn't include much out of my doctor's evaluation in my previous post. The whole thing is positive, but here are what I think are some key quotes that will help you understand the situation better...

"...He had what describes the knee as mobile subluxation and not a dislocation the second time in February 2007. He comes to my office today for continued evaluation due to his desire to go into the Naval Academy. The patient has no pain today. He has 100% function of the left knee. He has had no recurrent dislocation in the past year."

"Left Lower Extremity: Shows good alignment and good symmetry of the muscles. There is no atrophy of the muscles. There is no crepitation in any of the joints. there are no defects, tenderness or masses in any of the muscle groups. No effusion. Active and passive range of motion is full. Strength 5/5. Skin shows no rashes, lesions, or ulcers. Neurologically intact. Good sensation to light touch and deep tendon reflexes. The patient walks with a normal gait.

Left knee: ...On exam, he has negative apprehension, negative McMurray's, negative Lachman, and anterior drawer. He is stable to all ligamentous testing including ACL, PCL, medical collateral ligament, and lateral collateral ligament. He has no medial lateral joint line tenderness. No popping, catching, or giving away. I am not able to sublux his knee cap. He has no atrophy in the quads in either leg. Range of motion is within normal limits 0 to 10 degrees."

[X-Ray Comments are included in the next paragraph, but they only restate what is said above and that I have no fractures.]

"I feel this patient at this time shows no signs of recurrent dislocation or subluxation. Given his physical exam today to include his range of motion, his strength, neurological status is all within normal limits. no further treatment is needed at this time. No surgical intervention is needed. I do not see any reason why this patient should not be accepted to Naval Academy regrading the knee."

Sorry about the length. I don't understand the meaning of ALL of that and I don't expect anyone else to, but it sounds like there is nothing wrong with my knee. The only exception is that I have is a history of dislocations.

Are doctor evaluations a key factor in the waiver process? The only downside I can see is that I wear a NEOPRENE knee brace as a precaution. It's only function is preventative, and does not have ANY effect on the functioning of my knee.

Thank you for all of your advice. I apologize for such a long post, I'm just searching for answers.
 
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The physicians report was normal according to what you posted. I think the fact that the injury was so recent is what caused the waiver authorities to deny the waiver. Also the fact that they did not have the most recent physicians evaluation. I would call DoDMERB in the morning to make sure that new evaluation was forwarded to the waiver authorities. They will review the new information and re-evaluate the waiver.
 
Thank you for your advice!

I spoke with DoDMERB last week, and they said that it was being forwarded. Tomorrow, I will probably call again to be sure that that happened.

Fortunately, I spoke with a person in the medical office at the Naval Academy. She told me that they tend to go with what the doctor says or recommends. That is, the waiver board will look at the evaluation before anything else.

Since my evaluation was normal, would you say my chances of receiving the waiver are fairly high? I realize that you can't give me any guarantees, but I would like to know how you see this playing out. Since February 2007, I have had no problems...
 
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Physicians Rec.

I didnt get to read my physician's recommendation until after my medical waiver was approved. I would have panicked if I had read it before though. It clearly said that the left side of my back had not completely healed (as this is the nature of the injury), but he OK'ed full military physical training, and the waiver review board accepted that.
 
CC_Candidate, the fact that you've had 2 knee dislocations, and one fairly recently worries me, but you also have a normal evaluation so to be honest I'm not sure. Lets all hope for the best!!
 
I spoke with DoDMERB after school today. I believe I head her say that the reviewer said my evaluation was good. After that, she told me that the DQ would still stand, and it would be forwarded to the waiver board. I'm not sure what all of that means. Either way, I think I have a good shot at the waiver.

Ironically enough, I got the letter from the Naval Academy denying my waiver, a week ago, in the mail today.
 
Since my status is "Waiver Denied" for USNA, will it go straight to "Waiver Approved" if it is overturn? Or will there be a period of time where my status goes back to "Pending Waiver Submission/Review?"
 
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