My son is a candidate for the class of 2011. He received his nomination and the
application process has been coming along beautifully until recently. We
received a letter from DODMERB deciding that my son did not meet the medical
standards due to asthma related conditions. However he has never had asthma,
nor has he ever been diagnosed with asthma. He had an anaphylactic episode
three years ago while running cross country. After extensive testing, the cause
was never determined. The allergist/asthma specialist at his pediatrician's
office had examined him during this time and inaccurately documented "
exercise-induced bronchospasm" in his medical chart. These key words proved to
be very damaging. In our rebuttal process his pediatrician wrote an extensive
letter documenting our sons medical history and participation in a very
demanding high school sports program, all without ever being diagnosed or
treated for asthma. He concluded that had our son had asthma he would!
never
have been able to reach his current level of fitness untreated. The allergist/asthma specialist also
wrote a letter admitting his grave errors in his documentation. Still the
rebuttal was denied based on what DODMERB considered "facts" in his medical
chart.
This morning my son had a methocoline test performed at the local university
hospital. This test attempts to induce asthma in the patient. His results were
negative, concluding he does not have asthma. We will be forwarding the oficial
results to DODMERB and the USMA admissions office as proof of our son NOT having
asthma. Because he is a competitive candidate in all of the other areas, we are
hoping a medical waiver will be granted. Unfortunately time is of the essence
now as LOA's are being issued.
Has anyone else had to deal with a similar matter, and if so what would your
recommendation be in most effectively handling this?
application process has been coming along beautifully until recently. We
received a letter from DODMERB deciding that my son did not meet the medical
standards due to asthma related conditions. However he has never had asthma,
nor has he ever been diagnosed with asthma. He had an anaphylactic episode
three years ago while running cross country. After extensive testing, the cause
was never determined. The allergist/asthma specialist at his pediatrician's
office had examined him during this time and inaccurately documented "
exercise-induced bronchospasm" in his medical chart. These key words proved to
be very damaging. In our rebuttal process his pediatrician wrote an extensive
letter documenting our sons medical history and participation in a very
demanding high school sports program, all without ever being diagnosed or
treated for asthma. He concluded that had our son had asthma he would!
never
have been able to reach his current level of fitness untreated. The allergist/asthma specialist also
wrote a letter admitting his grave errors in his documentation. Still the
rebuttal was denied based on what DODMERB considered "facts" in his medical
chart.
This morning my son had a methocoline test performed at the local university
hospital. This test attempts to induce asthma in the patient. His results were
negative, concluding he does not have asthma. We will be forwarding the oficial
results to DODMERB and the USMA admissions office as proof of our son NOT having
asthma. Because he is a competitive candidate in all of the other areas, we are
hoping a medical waiver will be granted. Unfortunately time is of the essence
now as LOA's are being issued.
Has anyone else had to deal with a similar matter, and if so what would your
recommendation be in most effectively handling this?