NROTC DoDMERB Worries

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alusna22

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Dec 1, 2017
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I received the National NROTC Scholarship this weekend and obviously one of the things that the receiving of the scholarship requires is that you pass (or receive a waiver for) your medical exam. When I applied to USNA I was DQ’d for what they called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis two years ago from playing catcher 4x a day for three days a week all summer, every summer. I haven’t caught for over a year and a half now and I have been completely cleared by my specialist - as well as taken off the subscribed meds, for well over a year. Also, my PT run was really competitive and I think prove that my knee doesn’t bother me at all. So, I know that everything is a case-by-case issue; but, I was wondering if anyone could provide some insight on this to relieve some anxiety.
 
Were you diagnosed by a rheumotologist with JRA or is the DQ just under a category of arthritis? JRA is not a diagnosis to be given lightly and would require many months of signs/symptoms/tests to confirm. And, there are several different types of JRA. It is definitely not the same as arthritis from overuse of a joint...JRA is a systemic autoimmune arthritis.
 
I was tested for JRA and the results were negative. I went to a rheumatologist but was cleared by him a long time ago. I also haven’t filled any prescriptions in almost a year.
 
I did not mention rheumatoid arthritis in my forms, just juvenile arthritis. But JRA was what I was DQ’d under.
 
alusna22 said:
I was tested for JRA and the results were negative. I went to a rheumatologist but was cleared by him a long time ago. I also haven’t filled any prescriptions in almost a year.
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Have you addressed DoDMERB on this yet? After the DQ, was there follow-up regardng your improved health? If not, if I were in your shoes I would proceed by contacting the DoDMERB tech or a supervisor to try to resolve this ASAP. Persevere!

Best wishes, and congratulations on your scholarship!
 
Agree with GHTeam. NROTC will contact DoDMERB to set up the physical, see that USNA has already done one, and use that. You might still get waiver from NROTC but it's better to nip it in the bud if you can. If you tested negative I'd be sure to send that report along with anything from the rheumatologist.
 
Update: Sent the DoDMERB tech every piece of medical info I could find on my knee. Including proof of no rheumatoid arthritis. My status was then changed to being DQ’d for having an osteochondral defect (a possibility that was noted in one sentence in an MRI report out of ~12 pages of info) AND the JRA DQ stayed with “juvenile inflammatory arthritis” added to the end of DQ. So it is still listed as a single DQ but with two listed reasons. Any advice on course of action?
 
My DS had a similar situation. OCD lesion was a single DQ. 3 season XC/track athlete led to some knee swelling during his junior year- which led to an MRI- which showed a possible OCD lesion. He did not get a waiver. We even tried to prove it "healed" by getting a recent MRI, because he has had no symptoms for over a year, and we were told it could help prove him healthy. But the MRI still showed some fissuring in the cartilage behind the kneecap. AFROTC waiver authority did not waive him, despite documentation from the orthopedic Dr that he has no symptoms, noting that an MRI like his is typical for any varsity runner, no restrictions on activity, and even included his running times/athletic accomplishments in the past 12 mos.
I will pray that you have a better outcome.
Send any supporting documents from doctors, coaches, etc.
If my son's repeat MRI was perfectly normal, there was a chance he could have gotten a waiver. Surely there is no guarantee, but something that you could talk with your orthopedic Dr about...
 
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