Injury

[~KittyKat~]

I don't know where else to put this, this seemed like the best fit.

Ok, so my DH has a knee and a foot injury. His knee was shown to have bone spurring while he was at AIT and he was on a no PT profile most of AIT. My DH is a communications person, he is trained to work on Sattelite equipment and such..nothing really physically demanding, but he is attached to an Infantry Bn so of course he ends up running long distances several times a week.

He is finally at the clinic today after going to sick call 3 times and he is going to see a Dr. I am honestly thinking that the foot injury is due to him running funky on his bad knee since they are on the same leg. What are they likely to do? I know in most cases if it was something that cannot be easily fixed they would reclass him, but there is really no point in reclassing him. His MOS is not a combat MOS. I could see maybe reassigning him to a Signal Bn but I just don't know. I am terrified that they are going to discharge him and he isn't going to get these injuries handled when they all started since he went to basic. Him getting discharged with us having a baby on the way just would not be good right now.

So I was just wondering, from personal experience if anyone had been through a similar situation and what was done for them. I know every situation is different, I guess I am just wondering what the standard process is for getting this handled. I don't want to see my DH hurting anymore and some days he comes home and he literally can't walk and it breaks my heart.

[leiawen]

Bumping this for ya because I know there are folks here who have dealt with medical issues. Once he sees the doctor you guys should have a better idea of how to proceed. If he's in that much pain I would imagine they'd put him on a limited PT profile again until they figure out what to do.

[villanelle]

Since you aren't getting responses from someone who really knows, I'll tell you what happened to a friend of ours. He had cancer, which he was diagnosed wtih after he commissioned. It was treated and he was told he woudl go to flight school when he was clear for 3 years, but it came back before that point.

They did end up discharging him, but he kept his insurance--which continues to treat the cancer-- and he gets a sizable disability check each month. Also, he had a lot of notice that he would be discharged, so he had plenty of time to prepare and find another job.

I hope your DH gets good news, but even if they decide that is is disqualifying, I don't think they will jsut send him on his way without taking care of him.

[~KittyKat~]

Originally Posted by villanelle Since you aren't getting responses from someone who really knows, I'll tell you what happened to a friend of ours. He had cancer, which he was diagnosed wtih after he commissioned. It was treated and he was told he woudl go to flight school when he was clear for 3 years, but it came back before that point. They did end up discharging him, but he kept his insurance--which continues to treat the cancer-- and he gets a sizable disability check each month. Also, he had a lot of notice that he would be discharged, so he had plenty of time to prepare and find another job. I hope your DH gets good news, but even if they decide that is is disqualifying, I don't think they will jsut send him on his way without taking care of him.

Well that is comforting atleast. I had this image in my head where they would just say "can't help ya, have a nice life."

Apparently they put him on another no run profile for 60 days and are finally sending him for an MRI on his knee. The Dr believes the foot pain is from trying to compensate for the knee so he wants to work on the knee and hopefully the foot will resolve itself. So atleast for now they are finally taking it seriously, but I still won't lie and say I am not scared. Part of the reason he joined was due to the really bed economy and not being able to find a suitable job and now I am not working so I worry with us having a baby in 4 months. The fact that they won't just leave him on his own and he won't be like discharged in a week is certainly comforting, thank you.

[Charity]

I'm not an adult nurse - you know that. I am, however, an ortho nurse. It sounds to me that the foot pain could definatly be from compensating for the knee injury. Where is his knee pain? It could really be anything from an increasing in size bone spur to a frayed or torn meniscus to a ACL cyst. It may be an easy fix.

Hang in there. Things will work out.

[~KittyKat~]

Originally Posted by Charity I'm not an adult nurse - you know that. I am, however, an ortho nurse. It sounds to me that the foot pain could definatly be from compensating for the knee injury. Where is his knee pain? It could really be anything from an increasing in size bone spur to a frayed or torn meniscus to a ACL cyst. It may be an easy fix. Hang in there. Things will work out.

Its on the outer side. I personally have had knee issues my whole life. My entire dance career was ruined by knee surgery (I don't have an ACL anymore, I have pins which is not very conducive to being a ballerina) so I know alot about knee issues. I honestly think that he is having some ACL issues, but all we know of at this point is the bone spurring because they only did an Xray at AIT when this all started. Thank god the Dr finally ordered an MRI today, but I don't know when he is going to get it done yet. I just don't know how likely the Army is to keep him in if he ends up needing surgery. Having knee surgery makes for a long recovery so I am just worried about what it means for his career. I guess in this case the fact that he just got out of AIT so his 4 yrs just started ticking could make them more likely to keep him in than someone who has say a year left, right??

[jttigerbaby]

I wouldnt worry too much, my husband had an ACL reconstruction a few years ago and they didnt discharge him. They never even brought it up, they tried a few different 'quick' fixes before doing the reconstruction. He has a permanent 2 lower body profile and cant do certain jobs but that is about it.

[sorraia]

My husband injured his ankle while in training. He ignored it for weeks, thinking it was just a bad sprain, until the pain finally got to the point where he went to see a doctor. Turns out he had a small fracture in his ankle. He was put on profile and given an immobilizing boot to allow the injury to heal. It did heal itself, and that was that. Not exactly the same situation, but maybe your huband's will end up similar?

[BubMunkeyBles]

Bone spurs can usually be treated by surgery. I think he just needs to get treatment it sounds like. My DH isn't Army, but we have lots of friends in who've had surgeries (knee replacements, shoulder, etc etc) and cancer. Maybe he just needs some PT even. Hopefully the doctor can help now that he's staying put for a while (not in basic or AIT).

[Victoria]

DH had a bone spur on his foot. It prevented him from running, because it became really bothersome. Surgery to shave the bone spur worked! He can run just fine now and 5 months post surgery, he earned his second best time on his PRT run.