Brother may have chiari/chiari in the military

[Keigwyn]

Hello- Does anyone here have any idea about how to go about getting diagnosed and treated if you don't have insurance and you are pretty sure you have ACM? Furthermore, does anyone here know about how the military treats newly diagnosed soldiers?

I've got ACM I with a C2-T1 syrinx, and was decompressed in Sept. 2004. I'm covered by an HMO, so this isn't an issue for me directly (I evaded my family's military service tradition). My younger brother has recenly been developing symptoms that are identicaly to my own when I was his age.

He is in the Army Reserves (he has 3 more years to serve), and has a minimum wage part-time job and is uninsured. Both of us are concerned with how he can get diagnosis and treatment and what the implications of that will be if he is diagnosed without insurance, and what the military will do if he does have ACM. Will they discharge him? If he waits, we are concerned that the military activities will actually exacerbate the condition if he does have ACM...can he wait until he gets a job with insurance? Would it be better to get diagnosed before he gets insurance?

Thus, I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with a situation anything like this. Since I'm his older sister, I feel somewhat obligated to help him navigate this issue, and would appreciate any advice or stories that could help us understand how to approach this.

Thanks-
Keigwyn

[pringlec]

Is your brother a weekend warrior or is he inactive reserve? I was medically retired from the Air Force after 13 years of active duty service because of a syrnx caused by ACM. My husband is still Active Duty so all my expenses for surgery and treatment were covered by the military. I am also a disable vet so I can receive my medical care from the VA. I am not exactly sure of how the reserve benefits work but he should find out. If he is a weekend warrior I would assume he could receive medical care while he is on duty. Let me know if you find out anything.

[Keigwyn]

He's a weekend warrior. He is fairly sure he has no coverage except for dental and life insurance, but he's not really investigated it as his unit is pretty disorganized and he's frustrated with trying to get info out of them.

It is good to know that at least active duty personnel get some good treatment. My brother has considered active duty, but he's concerned that if he's got chiari, he'll just get discharged as soon as it is discovered.

He's a musician, and one of his instruments (bassoon) makes his headaches worse. He's pretty concerned that he won't be able to continue playing it if he doesn't get help soon...

I'll keep you all posted about his status.

Cheers-
Keigwyn

[pab]

he needs to "go up the chain of command" with his questions....perhaps try the state commander.....good luck

[Discododi]

Hi Keigwyn,
Are your brothers doctors saying he needs surgery right away? If not, could he possibly get a job that offers health insurance? I only ask because this is a major surgery. My sister had decompression a few years back. She is doing very well today. How about yourself?

Is there anyway he could get enrolled in medicare/medicaid possibly? As a reservist, health issurance is left to the soldier to handle. Only dental and life insurance is offered.

I wish I had more answers for you. Please let us know what you find, Dodi