<p>I currently have a Principle Nomination to USNA and will be attending CVW in April. In September I took an awkward fall during a soccer game and hurt my wrist. I got an x ray and everything was fine nothing fractured or broken. My wrist is still a little sore when I do pushups and I am scheduled to get another x ray and maybe an MRI just to make sure. Do I need to report this to DoDMERB? I want to try to avoid any unnecessary complications with my appointment.</p>
<p>When you receive the appointment, in order to accept it, there is a place that says, “I ACCEPT. I understand that:” and letter d. states “If ANY (bold and underlined) illness, surgery, or injury has occurred since the time DODMERB medical examination, I must describe the condition on the reverse side of this form and enclose my doctor’s statement. If ANY (again bold, underlined) illness, surgery or injury occurs between now and Induction Day, I will notify the Naval Academy immediately.”</p>
<p>Then it has a space on the back to report that and a different address to send any medical information. One recommendation I’ve heard from others is especially since it’s early now, to wait until you’re completely recovered to accept the appointment and enclose a copy of all the medical info with the appointment (and to the separate address), including a note from your doctor explaining the injury, that you are completely healed and completely cleared for all physical activity. Hopefully doing it this way keeps you from having to have your Dodmerb status changed to DQ’d or pending waiver or some other transitional state and they just look over the info and keep you as qualified.</p>
<p>However, I’d think you would want to disclose it, especially since you saw a doctor and there is a record of it. Think it could really come back to haunt you other wise.</p>
<p>What EXACTLY is being suggested that he/she report: That my wrist is sore? That I had a sore wrist in Sept? That I may have sprained my wrist in Sept?</p>
<p>Illness? No. Doesn’t sound like it.
Surgery? No. Apparently not.
Injury? Generally thought to be a “harm or damage that is done or sustained.” You have had it x-rayed and nothing was fractured or broken; sounds non-injurious to me. Is a “sprain” reportable? Was it wrapped, restrained, or anything?</p>
<p>What is the attending physician’s diagnosis at this time? If there is nothing to report, medically speaking, there is nothing to report. </p>
<p>So, my question is: What exactly are you going to report?
Reporting “sustained soreness” may indeed introduce “unnecessary complications” to your appointment.
If you start reporting issues that have no cure, you should be prepared for DODMERB to be cautious and advise you have it tested, perhaps re-tested, until somebody concludes you have no problem. </p>
<p>The real question is whether or not you are cleared, by your attending physisican, for all activities at this time? If so, and if there was no treatment in Sept., there may be nothing to report.</p>
<p>Nothing to report in Sept [after DODMERB?]; nothing to report now.</p>
<p>My son is in the same position with the principal nomination and an injury to his hand. He actually broke a bone in early December. We emailed Larry Mullen at DODMERB right away and the remedial showed up on the website immediately. It’s a bummer to see it there but it is what it is. Our congressman hasn’t sent in his nominations yet so we are hoping that the doc will release him at next week’s appointment and the remedial will be removed in time for the first review after the MOC nominations get there. Hopefully the clearance will be posted as quickly as the remedial was! 
Larry Mullen is the best, very attentive and responsive. He seems to really look out for the candidate.</p>
<p>On the back of the DODMERB qualified letter that son received months ago is a statement that says that you must notify DODMERB immediately of any injury requiring medical attention. We sent Larry Mullen an email when it happened. I know that the report from the doc can be sent via email. It seems that it can be a quick process as long as things are clear cut. </p>
<p>Son is also going to CVW in April. He wanted to wait until he was 100+% to go for the visit and it fit his schedule best. When he called today the admission person seemed surprised that he wasn’t coming sooner.</p>
<p>Want a DODMERB disqualification that won’t be waived?</p>
<p>Try this one:</p>
<p>D252.00 -Failure to disclose information</p>
<p>I would also contact Larry Mullen over at serviceacademyforums.com for the definitive answer.</p>
<p>No one else here is qualified to respond to your specific situation but him.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice.</p>
<p>Bill lends a careful, articulate analysis in posing his questions.</p>
<p>But the bottom line doesn’t change. You did injure your wrist, sufficiently to require a follow-up visit months afterwards. This may be a fair illustration of legalism and wordsmithing struggles to trump what’s happened. Luigi has both the letter and the spirit of the law …you hurt your wrist sufficiently to require a physician’s care and you should report it. It’s called honor, and @ USNA you’ll become increasingly familiar with the concept. </p>
<p>What’s the real point? Not if you did or did not break your wrist, but rather in the expert medical opinion you are and will be able to be at 100% full physical speed come I Day.</p>
<p>For the record, after hearing the advice of the forum I was planning on upholding my honor and reporting the sore wrist. Lucky for me, that sore wrist, after having a MRI, has turned into a severely fractured wrist and as of this morning I am in a cast. (Apparently I fractured it in Sept. and after both a soccer, football and half a swim season compounded the injury) I should be completely healed in 6-8 weeks, no surgery needed. How should I go about this process? Should I wait to recieve my appointment package as “marciemi” suggested? Wait until I am healed? If newnavymom or anyone can offer any advice I would be grateful.</p>
<p>I’m definitely not an expert - that was just what I heard from another mom. </p>
<p>I would strongly say that the best advice would be (as Luigi said) to contact Mr. Larry Mullen directly. Give him your name and last four of your SSN. He usually responds within an hour or so, but always very, very promptly. He’s the best thing to ever happen to Dodmerb and will be glad to help you out. His email is</p>
<p><a href=“mailto:Larry.Mullen@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil”>Larry.Mullen@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil</a></p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the severly fractured wrist - wouldn’t quite classify that as "lucky! Hope it gets better quickly and good luck!</p>
<p>I would again heartily recommend and advise you to contact Larry Mullen.</p>
<p>Remember, Larry Mullen is not some data entry clerk or some guy who who is sneaking into the files at night - he is the Deputy Director of DODMERB!</p>
<p>He is your advocate, and it is incredible that he actually devotes so much time to helping out candidates who have encountered red-tape, questions, or utter confusion at the DODMERB qualification process.</p>
<p>He WILL answer your question within 24 hours maximum, and in most cases, within 1 hour.</p>
<p>Hard to believe, but 100% true.</p>
<p>:cool:</p>
<p>I just e-mailed him! Thank you everyone. I hope he is the miracle that I have been told he is. Thank you Luigi59.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear that it’s a fracture. We’re in the same boat here, as I mentioned before. Just a few weeks ahead of you. It’s tough to see the remedial but it’s still early in the process. It’s only January! It seems like such a long wait. My son put in his preliminary application on February 2nd of last year. You have to just sit and let it heal. He is taking a calcium pill everyday as directed by his MD to facilitate healing. He also moved him to a soft cast/brace after three weeks so that he could regain a little flexibility. His doc is great, very understanding about the position with the academy and wanting to get back to 100% as fast as possible.</p>
<p>I am a firm believer that these things happen for a reason and that it will all work out. Maybe you two can meet at CVW in April!</p>
<p>TAB1129,
Hope you heal fast and completely.
Our son had to deal with DoDMERB and the paperwork. The people at dodmerb were always helpful and friendly. Patience is the key when the paperwork goes in. It first goes to an evaluator who reviews and decides which physician and/or specialist should review your condition. After the Physician reviews it and recommends either qualified, more examination etc, or unqualified, the file goes back to the reviewer who then notifies you by mail and on the dodmerb website. </p>
<p>Our son had a broken bone too that had healed, and they didn’t ask for any update. My opinion is that broken bones are normal for athletes, but each case is handled individually, so you can expect that your case will be looked at with the personal attention somebody would want. </p>
<p>The people at DoDMERB were always helpful and willing to tell us where our son’s file was in that evaluation process. </p>
<p>Big THANK YOU to the folks at DoDMERB in Colorado.</p>