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Military and Epilepsy, my rights

Thu, 03/18/2010 - 14:06
Topic: Veterans with seizures

Hello, I am active duty Navy currently and experienced my first grand mal seizure in Sept. 2009. I am been on Limited Duty since then, and will be getting Med Boarded as soon as the results of my 48 hr EEG are analyzed. I am currently at home doing the 48 hour EEG.

Since my limited duty has been extended, I have been targeted by my commander and she is giving me a hard time about everything. She tried to force me to take personal leave for my appointments, though I am entitled CON LV for these appointments. Everything I do is under a microscope, from the type of overcoat I wear with my uniform to how I submit my timecard. She has also told several people about my epilepsy and makes comments in front of the other staff about my "condition". This diagnosis has been difficult for me to say the least. I also have a baby and am unable to drive at this time, so my husband has to drive me everywhere, including to and from work. I have never been late once to work and am completely competent in my job.

To those who have served, I want to know what my rights are, what kind of action I can take to limit our interaction and force her to quit harassing me and making comments about my health condition in front of the other staff. My medical condition is a private matter, but somehow, everyone knows about everything going on in my life. I am also trying different anti-seizure meds which have been really rough on me. I have experienced depression, extreme fatigue, and difficulty thinking/speaking as a result of these medications. I am barely keeping it all together, but I'm still working 40 hours a week and taking care of my family.

Also, to those who have been diagnosed with a seizure disorder in the military, what kind of disability package did you get, if one at all? From what I have read, it looks like I'm entitled to only 20% for one seizure. I just want to have as much knowledge as possible going into this process. I believe I should be entitled to more than 20 if I'm going to get discharged and my career cut short.

If anyone who has gone through this has some experience dealing with the military and disability, I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you.  

Comments

Help for Veterans

Submitted by jimamily on Tue, 2010-11-16 - 04:58
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Re: Military and Epilepsy, my rights

Submitted by ShakeyJack on Sun, 2012-01-22 - 15:32

hello,

  Bluebaker34, hi im a active duty Marine currently on a med board for epilepsy and your comment is throwing alot of red flags. have you talked to JAG about your command running their mouth? the commander can dig through a medical record but im not sure she can rattle the details to everyone. google HIPA and check the details. now, when it come to schedules and field time, the training section understands that im exempt from certain things because of my medical profile. so cetain people have to be made aware so adjustments can be made. also, i got diagnosed in 2008 and have never been charged a day of my own leave for the millions of appointments iv had to go to. i just submitted a rebuttle for the 10% DoD wanted to give me for seperation. 20% from VA. i have a JAG now. hope this helps a bit

hello,

  Bluebaker34, hi im a active duty Marine currently on a med board for epilepsy and your comment is throwing alot of red flags. have you talked to JAG about your command running their mouth? the commander can dig through a medical record but im not sure she can rattle the details to everyone. google HIPA and check the details. now, when it come to schedules and field time, the training section understands that im exempt from certain things because of my medical profile. so cetain people have to be made aware so adjustments can be made. also, i got diagnosed in 2008 and have never been charged a day of my own leave for the millions of appointments iv had to go to. i just submitted a rebuttle for the 10% DoD wanted to give me for seperation. 20% from VA. i have a JAG now. hope this helps a bit

Re: Military and Epilepsy, my rights

Submitted by Tim Tilt on Mon, 2012-01-23 - 13:06
Bluebaker34, I did one tour of duty in the AF back in the late 70's. I was a firefighter when I experienced my first seizure out of the blue. No known cause to this day. Thankfully, it only took eight days in the hospital for them to diagnose the problem. They gave me the option of getting out, or cross-training into a desk job. So, I worked in the reenlistment/promotions office for the second half of my tour of duty. When my enlistment was about up, a master sergeant friend of mine told me I'd better get copies of as much of my enlistment and medical records as possible, but he told me if I got caught, I'd be in trouble and he'd deny he knew anything about it. I had the advantage of having access to my records because of where I worked, so I made copies of my entire file over a period of weeks. Looooooooong story short. Get your hands on absolutely every page of records you can. When I applied for disability, the VA was shocked! The people handling my case told me they'd never dealt with someone who was able to hand them their files from day one to day of discharge. Within weeks, I was approved, and they have taken great care of me ever since. Like the master sergeant told me, get a hold of as much of your records as you possibly can before you get out. I've heard some real horror stories of how "lost" the paperwork can get in a short period of time. Good luck, and I hope your commander will back off on the unneeded pressure. Oh yea, I have been on 40% for years. For about two years back in the early '90's they raised me to 60%, but then dropped it back to 40% again with no logical explanation. I went through all the formal challenges, and it got turned down. I would have had to hire a lawyer to pursue it, and I sure couldn't afford that, so... But they have taken great care of me.

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