I’m on active duty, can I be medically dishcharged with my pectus excavatum causing breathing and heart problem?

2020-10-12T11:21:11-04:00

I’m active duty 11b so as everyone know my jobs very physical , I made it through basic it fine with no problem haven’t been the best runner but still , I got covid in early August and ever since I got it I’ve been having heart pain/ chest pain , I can barley run to the car and back with out huffing and puffing for air I’ve see the army dr they scheduled ct scans and echocardiographs , my worry is if they are just trying to get me to rtd or actually there to help me .. thanks in advance if you can awnser question

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 12 at 2020 12:06 PM

2020-10-12T12:06:40-04:00

You were waivered in with excavum, so you won’t be separated for it. Your medical issue right now is COVID complications, not your chest wall. There’s a lot of documentation that shows some COVID patients have long lasting complications and others have irreversible damage to their lungs.

If your impairment prevents you from being deployable, then you will be medically separated. There’s no big rush to do that right now. As long as you have a passing APFT you aren’t flagged and you don’t have to actually pass an ACFT for quite some time. Months from now if you’re still getting winded, you can expect to be medical separated. At that it’s fair to say you either will not heal up completely or that it may take years. That would mean you’re not deployable and cannot stay in.

If your impairment isn’t so bad you can’t deploy, but is bad enough that you can’t keep up in the Infantry then your doctor will recommend a medical reclass.

Your doctors are there to help you. Sometimes helping you is medically separating you when it’s in your best interest. That might sound rough, but let’s ply through this scenario if you didn’t get separated. You can’t run so you’ll fail your ACFT in the future. Then you’ll be flagged. You’ll ETS as PV2 because you can’t pass an ACFT/APFT and get promoted or reenlist. You’ll be flagged and can’t use tuition assistance. If your provider medically separates you, you will receive a severance pay (or medical retirement, but not usually with your time in service) and a disability rating from the VA before you walk out the door. You won’t have to worry about getting flagged, your primary job will be to take care of your medical appointments and you will have plenty of time to take those transition classes instead of being detailed out to gate guard the last six months till you ETS.

Nobody wants to have their service cut short early. But if it is to happen, this way will take care of you and save you tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in future healthcare costs.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Oct 12 at 2020 2:29 PM

2020-10-12T14:29:59-04:00

No matter what happens you will be cared for. You have time and it sounds as if it is all being documented. Be patient, the goal of the Army is to keep all whom they train, it makes much more fiscal sense. There have been many possibilities portrayed to you by earlier posts, be patient, make sure you see what the Docs are putting I. Your record and keep your leadership informed.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 12 at 2020 4:40 PM

2020-10-12T16:40:06-04:00

Here's the thing:
Army professionals have to balance the requirements to look out for the health and well being of the Soldiers under their charge, consistent with their profession, with the Army requirements to maintain a deployable fighting force.

As already mentioned, this potential COVID complications may result in a discharged.

Continue to seek medical services as required and know that nothing said on social media can override the medical opinion

Response by SGT Russell Wickham made Oct 12 at 2020 6:48 PM

2020-10-12T18:48:09-04:00

So much depends on your unit and the military doctors. I got blown up downrange, every time I would run my knee would swell up and become extremely painful. I would go to sick call, but between checking in and when the doctor (often a PA) would get around to me the swelling had gone down, so they'd give me some Naproxin and tell me to drive on. Unit had a mission to do and a buck sgt that can't run is just in the way.

These other NCOs have a good report. I'm glad for them. There's no one who cares about your health more than you do. Therefore, you need to educate yourself of the regulations that govern your situation. You need to know what's going into your medical record. If you have good NCOs, they will guide you so that you don't get screwed. If you don't, well, your situation will be a lot like mine and you'll be a bitter old codger like me. Don't let that be you. Don't be a jerk, but ask a lot of questions and don't let the emotion cloud your judgement. I cannot emphasize enough, educate yourself, and don't be lazy about the followup.

Response by SGT Ryan Iriarte made Nov 18 at 2020 9:03 PM

2020-11-18T21:03:07-05:00

I know this is gonna come off a little bit rude, however you joined the military, then signed to be an 11b, you went so far as to get a waiver to get in even with this issue. Now unfortunately you caught covid so your probably having symptoms related to that and it really is unfortunate, but I got injured training when I came home from Iraq and completely broke my tibia. The army wanted to discharge me and to be honest at this point I was starting to not enjoy every aspect of the army, and I thought about just getting out. But I signed up to do 4 years and it was a commitment I wanted to fullfill, so I asked to see an outside orthopedic surgeon and the army granted me that. The surgeon said he could insert a rod into my leg and place a screen through my knee and one through my ankle so that’s what I did. It took me about 4-5 months before I was running again but I got there and even extended my contract to go to Afghanistan. What I’m getting at with all this is, one of you really think there’s something wrong besides the covid you had see if they’ll send you to a civilian doctor, and two, you made a commitment and if you stick with it and do your time, you’ll know that you did your time honorably and it’ll feel good knowing you completed it. Trust me I get it, being a grunt can suck, I was an 11B also, and my boys who are still in say that the transition to the peace time army sucks even worse as an 11B now than it did when we were doing back to back deployments. If your really not feeling good then definitely get it all checked out, but if your just not enjoying it anymore and you think maybe this could be a way out, definitely stick with it, it feels good knowing you fully completed your enlistment