Recurrent ACL reconstruction

M

MDMomma

Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2019
Messages
49
Anyone have experience with DODMERB stating a ROTC scholarship recipient does not meet DoD medical standards due to a "recurrent ACL reconstruction" and how to get a waiver?

Last surgery was more than 12 months ago, knee is asymptomatic and stable with full range of motion. Was released to full and unrestricted activity.

Son is active in ROTC program as a freshman and no issues at all with his knee. He is collecting his medical records to submit, but want to connect him with someone who has successfully worked through the process.

Knee Injuries were due to football. He no longer plays, as he is focused on ROTC and staying healthy. On his recent ACFT he scored 587/600 and is very active on the Rangers team and doing exceptionally well.
 
MDMomma said:
Anyone have experience with DODMERB stating a ROTC scholarship recipient does not meet DoD medical standards due to a "recurrent ACL reconstruction" and how to get a waiver?

Last surgery was more than 12 months ago, knee is asymptomatic and stable with full range of motion. Was released to full and unrestricted activity.

Son is active in ROTC program as a freshman and no issues at all with his knee. He is collecting his medical records to submit, but want to connect him with someone who has successfully worked through the process.

Knee Injuries were due to football. He no longer plays, as he is focused on ROTC and staying healthy. On his recent ACFT he scored 587/600 and is very active on the Rangers team and doing exceptionally well.
Click to expand...
His chain of command can advise him on the process. They are used to issues like this. He should take good notes on specifics on who he talked to and when, as an exercise in advocating for himself.

DoDMERB finds the pre-comm program candidate either meets or does not meet the standard. They do not request or process waivers.

Each case is evaluated against the standard and on its own facts and merits. Others’ experiences may or may not be useful except anecdotally.

The individual commissioning source/Service handles the waiver process. If additional medical information is requested (AMI), then the kind of information he is gathering is the right kind. His chain of command can advise him next steps for his situation. He does not request the waiver.

If the DoDMERB website was not hard down, I’d advise your son to go there and read all the menu items on the left-hand side, with notes on the process, FAQs, etc. Since that site being down is causing functional disruption, Mr. Mullen, Deputy, Director of DoDMERB, who openly volunteers here, has temporarily stepped away to focus on mission-related issues.

Let’s hope it’s just a matter of time-from-surgical repair, and that all follow-ups and med documentation support sustained good condition.

Your son should also get specifics on “how the money works” from his chain of command if the waiver, if requested, process drags out. I don’t know if the scholarship money can be paid retroactively. He may have to be prepared to pay full freight this semester if the scholarship remains inactivated. That’s one of the reasons the standing advice here is to carefully weigh the risk of not having the ROTC scholarship dollars available from the get-go vs ability to fund the school without it.

Good luck!

Here is the accession standard:

 
Last edited:
Thank you for the reply. Prior to the site going down, he printed off all resources and has read them numerous times. He is in communication with his COC, but they are telling him to "get his AMI in" and he needs more details on what should be sent vs not and how best to navigate. They want him to meet standards, so I wish they would do more to guide him. The Dodmerb case manager requested AMI and said he was automatically considered for a medical waiver.

As far as the AMI-how much should be sent? He is leading the way as his own advocate and I am merely supporting him and what he needs from local doctors at home that only want to talk during hours he is in class.
 
MDMomma said:
Thank you for the reply. Prior to the site going down, he printed off all resources and has read them numerous times. He is in communication with his COC, but they are telling him to "get his AMI in" and he needs more details on what should be sent vs not and how best to navigate. They want him to meet standards, so I wish they would do more to guide him. The Dodmerb case manager requested AMI and said he was automatically considered for a medical waiver.

As far as the AMI-how much should be sent? He is leading the way as his own advocate and I am merely supporting him and what he needs from local doctors at home that only want to talk during hours he is in class.
Click to expand...
I would go with the more detailed, the better! Sounds like your team effort is well-organized.
 
@MDMomma

A waiver is possible but the medical reviewers need to know why the first one failed and what type of graft was used. The latter info will be known from the op report which looks like will be submitted.

Would also need to know if there is evidence of traumatic arthritis.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top