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Help! At OCS and Drusen was discovered! Need Guidance!

opposum

Member
Hello all,

I am currently at OCS for SNA and it was discovered that I apparently have Optic Disc Drusen. I have very little ability to research this problem in my current state of training and am reaching out for assistance. Here is my situation, I have 20/10 left eye and 20/20 right eye vision. I have never had any vision problems in my life. During week one of training the Optic Disc Drusen was discovered. They submitted a wavier to NAMI and the waver came back denied. I am asking you all if there are any options on the table for me to overturn this decision. Has anyone ever had to circumnavigate a problem like this? As it stands now, I am disqualified from all of aviation according to NAMI. Like I said earlier, I have never had any vision problems in my life. I want to exhaust all options and try to get this overturned but I do not know how. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, If I am still denied with the Navy, will the Air Force or Army accept me with Drusen? Do I have a shot at changing branches of service in order to fly?

My responding to this post will be limited as I am currently in week 5 of OCS and do not have a blinking moment to breathe. I should be back at a computer in order to look at your responses in day or so since it is the weekend coming up.


(Update)- Here is more information from my NAMI Wavier: Drusen of optic disc, bilateral (H47323) shows repeatable nasal visual field defects right eye, scattered defects left eye (disqualified).
XXXX is not physically qualified but aeronautically adapted for all duty involving flying.
After review, wavier is not recommended for all duty involving flying.


With the highest respect,

opossum
 
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FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
Hello all,

I am currently at OCS for SNA and it was discovered that I apparently have Optic Disc Drusen. I have very little ability to research this problem in my current state of training and am reaching out for assistance. Here is my situation, I have 20/10 left eye and 20/20 right eye vision. I have never had any vision problems in my life. During week one of training the Optic Disc Drusen was discovered. They submitted a wavier to NAMI and the waver came back denied. I am asking you all if there are any options on the table for me to overturn this decision. Has anyone ever had to circumnavigate a problem like this? As it stands now, I am disqualified from all of aviation according to NAMI. Like I said earlier, I have never had any vision problems in my life. I want to exhaust all options and try to get this overturned but I do not know how. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, If I am still denied with the Navy, will the Air Force or Army accept me with Drusen? Do I have a shot at changing branches of service in order to fly?

My responding to this post will be limited as I am currently in week 5 of OCS and do not have a blinking moment to breathe. I should be back at a computer in order to look at your responses in day or so since it is the weekend coming up.


(Update)- Here is more information from my NAMI Wavier: Drusen of optic disc, bilateral (H47323) shows repeatable nasal visual field defects right eye, scattered defects left eye (disqualified).
XXXX is not physically qualified but aeronautically adapted for all duty involving flying.
After review, wavier is not recommended for all duty involving flying.


With the highest respect,

opossum

There are a lot of conditions in which they don't impact your day-to-day activities but are still considering disqualifying for aviation or the Navy as a whole.

As for other services, best bet is to do the research. Google is your friend.
 

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
A little more homework is required. Is the Drusen "nerve" or "retina" related? If it is nerve related you won't be able to fly for any organization as even the FAA won't give you a 1st Class Medical for this. If it is retina, the army might waiver but you need to get some kind of a laser treatment done.
 

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
It looks like a condition that affects the nerve.

http://www.nanosweb.org/files/public/DrusenLP.pdf
Yes, but there are two different diagnoses. One of my sons has this. I think the term they used was "buried" meaning it was on the nerve (not fixable) while the other, "retina," can be fixed with some form of laser surgery. The army will (or used too) waive the surgery if your eyes are otherwise healthy. It appears the Navy will not nor will the USAF.
 

bubblehead

Registered Member
Contributor
It appears the Navy will not nor will the USAF.
Pardon my ignorance... Is there something special about how the Navy and AF fly as apposed to the Army? Seems like a disqualifying condition to fly is a disqualifying condition to fly regardless of the service.
 

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
Pardon my ignorance... Is there something special about how the Navy and AF fly as apposed to the Army? Seems like a disqualifying condition to fly is a disqualifying condition to fly regardless of the service.
To be honest, I can’t say nor am I sure this is still the case. My oldest son looked into flying for the Army but was turned away because of this. They told him the difference. Perhaps it is like being able to take a different color vision test for the different services.
 

Skywalker

Student Naval Aviator
Based off the responses here, looks like I'll be seeing you in student pool soon - unless you redesignate.

Also, getting on AirWarriors during JOC phase? What are you thinking? You realize OTCN staff checks on here, right?
 
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