Turns out this is the same certificate even retiring generals receive.

Photos:

Received a certified letter last week from Bethesda. On July 15th, a Marine Corps Colonel and two Navy officers met in Washington, DC and determined that my “disposition be changed from temporary to permanent disability retirement.”

I sent in my acceptance yesterday, and sometime in the next 12 weeks I will be permanently retired!

Reported to Bethesda Naval Hospital as ordered for my the temporary disability retired list (TDRL) periodic physical examination (PPE) today. I was told to arrive at 7:15AM. As soon as I got there, I was checked in, and sent to the orthopedic department. After they took my vitals and a few x-rays of my hip, I was seen by a Navy Lieutenant Commander orthopedic resident. He asked me about my activities of daily living, pain, and plan for my hip. He then evaluated my range of motion and strength. After talking things over with a colleague, they decided that I’d never be able to be a Marine again, and that they would put in the paperwork for my permanent retirement. It’s still possible that the retirement board will disagree and I will have to report back to Bethesda in another 18 months, but hopefully not. I look forward to hearing their decision.

From the site:

A metal cup with a polyethylene liner that is inserted into the acetabulum during a total hip replacement.

Link: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gec/series/fixing_hip_fractures

Received my first orders to appear for the temporary disability retired list (TDRL) periodic physical examination (PPE) this week.

I am to report to Bethesda Naval Hospital by the end of June 2010 to “determine any change in the condition for which I was placed on the TDRL.” As you may remember reading, those on the TDRL must be evaluated every 18 months in order to retain their pay and benefits. I’ll be scheduling my trip for the end of May, the only time I have off between Spring and Summer semesters. I’m actually looking forward to it. Unlike some civilian physicians, Navy physicians always appreciate the magnitude of my injury and seem to have a better understanding of my situation, though I’m not sure why.

The leg has been hurting more this past week or two, but it’s probably just from using it again. I’m planning on getting a referral to the Hospital for Special Surgery, where I will hopefully have my hip replaced in January 2011, right after I graduate. It should be a shorter recovery this time.

Even though I know it will be difficult to come to terms with replacement surgery every 10-15 years, I can’t deal with this pain, arthritis, and severely limited range of motion for too much longer.

Today’s appointment was with an orthopedic physician’s assistant. Again, we went over my medical history starting with the injury. This appointment however focused on my leg. She measured all the ranges of motion, and wrote down the degrees. For those of you that don’t know, I lost quite a bit of length in my right leg when I injured it, but never really knew exactly how much. Well, she measured, and it came out to a 2.5cm difference. So basically my right leg is an entire inch shorter than my left. It’s no wonder I limp so bad. Next, I had to rate how my injury affects everyday tasks, such as shopping, bathing, and driving (the degrees were none, mild, moderate, severe, & prevents). Once that was finished I was all set. The whole appointment took a little over an hour.

I guess now I just wait to hear from the VA.