Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 1/9/2009

Question
My daughter is at a loss for what to do.  She is in a lot of pain.  Her back is so bad that she can't bend over anymore and her knees are generally swollen and purple.  She has been to the base Dr and they are not supportive of her at all.  How do we deal with this and find out what is going on with her and if needed medical discharge?  She graduated in Oct from boot camp and is now in tech school.  She is just beside herself and feels that there is nobody she can talk to to get this resolved.  She has tried, to no avail.

Answer
Dear Sheri --

First, your daughter needs to contact her company commander and have them insure she gets the medical evaluation and treatment that she needs to heal, or to be evaluated for discharge.  She should not be doing military activities that aggravate her condition, and if the doctor thinks she is "malingering" (faking a more severe injuring than she has) your daughter should be allowed to get another opinion from a specialist.

She will get better treatment, if she insists she wants to get better and finish her training, and serve her tour, even if he doesn't feel that way right now.  She should definitely not even mention a medical discharge, because they are likely to treat her poorly for being weak or a "quitter."  However, if she has injured her back, she should be on long term but temporary profile to allow her to heal.

Unfortunately, it has been my experience that even in today's age some military men, to include doctors, do not want women to serve.  If they can get the women to quit on their own, then they have achieved their goal without exposing themselves to an equal opportunity suit.  By assuming your daughter is malingering, her doctor is causing her additional injury, and limiting her opportunity for success.  Her chain of command needs to get involved.  If they will not help her she needs to visit the Inspector General or the Chaplain, or both.  Representatives from both of those offices are trained to intervene on a service member's behalf.

Good luck to you and your daughter.  Please write back (with the private box checked so I can be frank) if you have additional questions or concerns.