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A little back brief before I start bugging you all with questions.
I'm currently in the active duty component in the U.S. Army and I have one year left in my contractual agreement. Recently (January of this year), I suffered a serious fall from a height of two stories. I landed stiff, with my legs fully extended, causing a tremendous amount of pain to radiate from my right hip, and for three days after the incident, I found myself unable to put any more than 40% of my body weight on my right leg without feeling the tremendous pain.
With 1 being no pain at all, and 10 being pain so unbearable that I fall unconscious, I would accurately and confidently rate it a 7. I made an appointment with an Army doctor and she ordered an X-Ray and MRI to be safe. If anyone (I'm sure plenty are) is prior service, they know that Tricare's gears roll a bit slower than most, and I didn't manage to get my X-Ray and MRI done until around May. After completing my X-Ray, no major issues were present. However, after completing my MRI, the PA received the results in 3 days later. The MRI shows a small (around 1/8 of an inch) tear in my labral band. The band works as a bumper for my femur joint that connects the femur head to the hip socket. They also noted a small bone spur that could possibly have been pushed up with the impact from the fall. Surgery is extremely invasive, and the Doctor at our local Orthopedics essentially told me in a professional way, that he's never done it before but is willing to give it a try. Of course he didn't word it that way, but that's at least how I perceived it. With the surgery, I will be unable to walk for at least 3 months. After that, rehabilitation will be around 14 months. I have only 12 months left in the Army and this is causing some conflicts, as I had plans to honorably discharge and immediately start applying to local LEA's.
Fast forward to now, I have no issues walking on my hip. I feel no pain, however I feel a snapping feeling that's easily ignored, it's almost as if you're driving down a paved road, and then it shoots quickly to a dirt road and then back to paved. Hard to explain, but it's /not/ that big of an issue anymore. I am able to run, but not long distance. Unfortunately, my job description (Infantry) involves long distance runs. A 1-3 mile run will not cause excess pain. It might be uncomfortable, but I'm a grown man and I've felt pain before, I'll tough it out. A 5-8 mile run, however, will start to cause a sharp, pinching feeling deep in my socket. I am on my feet all day at work, upper body exercises, Army Combatives, and short runs are still being incorporated into my daily life. But I've talked to a few people who underwent the same surgery or similar surgeries, and they've all told me that their "condition" was worsened by the surgery. If I refuse the surgery, the Army will give me a medical discharge. But if I take the surgery, it will potentially leave me disabled and unable to accomplish common tasks, let alone my intentions of becoming a law enforcement officer.
So to the point, enough babbling from me. My questions are:
1.) Are applicants who received medical discharges for being unfit for /military/ duty, essentially deemed unit for /law enforcement/ duty?
2.) Would an injury like this cause me to even make it through the application phase?
I appreciate the advisement in advance.
I'm currently in the active duty component in the U.S. Army and I have one year left in my contractual agreement. Recently (January of this year), I suffered a serious fall from a height of two stories. I landed stiff, with my legs fully extended, causing a tremendous amount of pain to radiate from my right hip, and for three days after the incident, I found myself unable to put any more than 40% of my body weight on my right leg without feeling the tremendous pain.
With 1 being no pain at all, and 10 being pain so unbearable that I fall unconscious, I would accurately and confidently rate it a 7. I made an appointment with an Army doctor and she ordered an X-Ray and MRI to be safe. If anyone (I'm sure plenty are) is prior service, they know that Tricare's gears roll a bit slower than most, and I didn't manage to get my X-Ray and MRI done until around May. After completing my X-Ray, no major issues were present. However, after completing my MRI, the PA received the results in 3 days later. The MRI shows a small (around 1/8 of an inch) tear in my labral band. The band works as a bumper for my femur joint that connects the femur head to the hip socket. They also noted a small bone spur that could possibly have been pushed up with the impact from the fall. Surgery is extremely invasive, and the Doctor at our local Orthopedics essentially told me in a professional way, that he's never done it before but is willing to give it a try. Of course he didn't word it that way, but that's at least how I perceived it. With the surgery, I will be unable to walk for at least 3 months. After that, rehabilitation will be around 14 months. I have only 12 months left in the Army and this is causing some conflicts, as I had plans to honorably discharge and immediately start applying to local LEA's.
Fast forward to now, I have no issues walking on my hip. I feel no pain, however I feel a snapping feeling that's easily ignored, it's almost as if you're driving down a paved road, and then it shoots quickly to a dirt road and then back to paved. Hard to explain, but it's /not/ that big of an issue anymore. I am able to run, but not long distance. Unfortunately, my job description (Infantry) involves long distance runs. A 1-3 mile run will not cause excess pain. It might be uncomfortable, but I'm a grown man and I've felt pain before, I'll tough it out. A 5-8 mile run, however, will start to cause a sharp, pinching feeling deep in my socket. I am on my feet all day at work, upper body exercises, Army Combatives, and short runs are still being incorporated into my daily life. But I've talked to a few people who underwent the same surgery or similar surgeries, and they've all told me that their "condition" was worsened by the surgery. If I refuse the surgery, the Army will give me a medical discharge. But if I take the surgery, it will potentially leave me disabled and unable to accomplish common tasks, let alone my intentions of becoming a law enforcement officer.
So to the point, enough babbling from me. My questions are:
1.) Are applicants who received medical discharges for being unfit for /military/ duty, essentially deemed unit for /law enforcement/ duty?
2.) Would an injury like this cause me to even make it through the application phase?
I appreciate the advisement in advance.
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