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Getting into the military with epilepsy.
Tue, 03/25/2008 - 17:45Comments
Re: Getting into the military with epilepsy.
Submitted by dainty on Mon, 2009-07-27 - 10:21
No you wont get into the military with E. My son so wanted to be a Marine, then a cop. No to both. BUt : ) what he could do and is doing is Firefighting. Not exactly what he had in mind but seems to suite him. He was sworn in last week and starts the academy this week. Your dreams may change but continue to dream**
I wish you well
joan*
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/JuvenileMyoclonicEpilepsy/
Son lamictal 350 mg a day 19 Grand Mals - Stable Daughter keppra 750 16 Juvenile myclonic - On MAD since 6/09 doing GREAT!!!! yet Both had first issues at 15 - Both JME - gotta love puberty : ) * Both dealing with
No you wont get into the military with E. My son so wanted to be a Marine, then a cop. No to both. BUt : ) what he could do and is doing is Firefighting. Not exactly what he had in mind but seems to suite him. He was sworn in last week and starts the academy this week. Your dreams may change but continue to dream**
I wish you well
joan*
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/JuvenileMyoclonicEpilepsy/
Son lamictal 350 mg a day 19 Grand Mals - Stable Daughter keppra 750 16 Juvenile myclonic - On MAD since 6/09 doing GREAT!!!! yet Both had first issues at 15 - Both JME - gotta love puberty : ) * Both dealing with
Re: Getting into the military with epilepsy.
Submitted by whitetigrus on Tue, 2009-07-28 - 05:15
When cooking do you use sharp knives or even hot water that you could throw or drop during a seizure? I broke so many of my moms glasses and dishes and also have thrown a few knives throughout the years "seizures, not on purpose!" I know that you probably don't want to hear this but we "people with epilepsy" are more of a danger to ourselves than we realize when we are active!!!!
My son got denied from all branches. He's never had a Gran-mal aka Tonic-clonic seizure but due to the fact that he does need medication on a daily basis, the military cannot gaurantee that they can get your meds to you on a daily basis especially in the dessert! That's the same thing that they told me 20 years ago when I tried to enlist in the army! Thank you again to everyone that has commented on this topic. I hope that this helps anybody interested in the military! I'm sorry about the answer on getting in. Trust me, it's not what I wanted to hear either when I tried to enlist in the Army, but they are only trying to protect you and others that could get injuried or even killed if we had a seizure and the wrong moment! I know that there's no right moment to have a seizure, but in the middle of combat with 20 or so people watching your back and you watching thier backs it could get real ugly! That's something that I had to come to realize over the years and am trying to let my son know from my experiences but he has to learn them on his own I guess!
Good luck to you in everything that you do!
Common sense is not so common!
When cooking do you use sharp knives or even hot water that you could throw or drop during a seizure? I broke so many of my moms glasses and dishes and also have thrown a few knives throughout the years "seizures, not on purpose!" I know that you probably don't want to hear this but we "people with epilepsy" are more of a danger to ourselves than we realize when we are active!!!!
My son got denied from all branches. He's never had a Gran-mal aka Tonic-clonic seizure but due to the fact that he does need medication on a daily basis, the military cannot gaurantee that they can get your meds to you on a daily basis especially in the dessert! That's the same thing that they told me 20 years ago when I tried to enlist in the army! Thank you again to everyone that has commented on this topic. I hope that this helps anybody interested in the military! I'm sorry about the answer on getting in. Trust me, it's not what I wanted to hear either when I tried to enlist in the Army, but they are only trying to protect you and others that could get injuried or even killed if we had a seizure and the wrong moment! I know that there's no right moment to have a seizure, but in the middle of combat with 20 or so people watching your back and you watching thier backs it could get real ugly! That's something that I had to come to realize over the years and am trying to let my son know from my experiences but he has to learn them on his own I guess!
Good luck to you in everything that you do!
Common sense is not so common!
Re: Getting into the military with epilepsy.
Submitted by onlyjustjoe on Mon, 2009-07-27 - 04:30
I plan on trying to join the Army. I want to be a chef, but I do have epilepsy. But, I haven't had a seizure in 2 years. I mean, why can't I be in the military as a chef if I have epilepsy?!? All I want is to be a cook. I need the money for college so I can go to culinary school. If I could get a scholarship instead than I wouldn't try to join the military. I don't want to put anyone in danger, but how can a chef do that?!? Doesn't the military need cooks?!? (Of course they do!) I've read every other post and it seems that after 5 years of being seizure free this is possible. Doesn't the job you do matter? I would just be cooking. The only way for me to find out is to go to the recruiter myself.
We shall see what happens. Will I need a waiver? Will I get in?
I plan on trying to join the Army. I want to be a chef, but I do have epilepsy. But, I haven't had a seizure in 2 years. I mean, why can't I be in the military as a chef if I have epilepsy?!? All I want is to be a cook. I need the money for college so I can go to culinary school. If I could get a scholarship instead than I wouldn't try to join the military. I don't want to put anyone in danger, but how can a chef do that?!? Doesn't the military need cooks?!? (Of course they do!) I've read every other post and it seems that after 5 years of being seizure free this is possible. Doesn't the job you do matter? I would just be cooking. The only way for me to find out is to go to the recruiter myself.
We shall see what happens. Will I need a waiver? Will I get in?