medical waiver

bcsoccer17

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Feb 20, 2017
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hello my daughter is currently a candidate at the USAFA. She was DQ on her medical waiver for history of anaphylaxis to stinging insect. When she was 10 she got stung by a bee and swelled up and broke out in hives. She now carries an epi pen with her. It has been a couple of months since she got DQ, and her portal says "pending waiver review" for a month or two now and she hasn't been sent anything about a request for any additional medical info or tests. Do you think it would be beneficial to go to an allergist to see if she is still allergic to bee stings? Or should I contact someone at the academy? Also, has anyone else had this similar DQ and what do you think the chances are of receiving a waiver?
 
I am not giving medical advice here, but it may be extremely helpful to see a specialist about this issue to provide the waiver authority with more information. When you are being considered for a waiver, a doctor in the relevant service will personally review your file. They will consider anything that you have sent to dodmerb - including things that dodmerb did not specifically request. I saw a gastroenterologist for a second opinion on a DQ that I had this year, and I most likely would not have received a waiver without that consultation. It may be too late for you to send anything in since your daughter is already pending waiver review (that is, her file is already in the hands of a USAF doctor for review) but it can't hurt.

In my case, I actually received an email from the waiver authority asking me for more information. They didn't ask for any more official medical information, but simply wanted a statement from me that I no longer experienced any symptoms due to the DQ condition. It is possible that they might also ask for something similar from your daughter. Just keep in mind that the waiver authority cannot make a decision based on information that they do not have.

How the heck do I know all of this stuff if i'm just a candidate? Well, the reason that I got that second opinion was due to a recommendation from Dr. Glen Merchant, who is a former director of DoDMERB. He now does private consultations to help service academy applicants navigate the medical process. Here is his website: http://www.dodmerbconsultants.com/

Good luck on your waiver request, I know it's a hell of a roller coaster.
 
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