To PT waiver, or not to PT waiver?

[BHartman007]

 I have a cadet who has been in since March, but still has not yet made his first stripe because he can not make the mile run in time due to bad asthma. I approached him last night about putting him in the temporarily restricted category so he can advance in the program without his asthma holding him back. I expected him to be happy about the idea, because he's got to be getting discouraged, but he seemed very hesitant, as if people were going to look down on him for having a temporary waiver. I assured him no one would know about it but him and a few seniors, but I got the feeling that he sees it as us trying to "help out the poor asthmatic boy that can't pass PT on his own like everyone else". He didn't say that, but if I were telepathic that's what I would have heard.

He's an otherwise great, active cadet, and I want to give him the waiver, and let him work on getting better as he can, but I also want to take his feelings about it into account. Would you go ahead and push the restricted category, or let him languish at cadet basic in perpetuity?

[Eclipse]

Have you discussed it with his parents?  If he's not able to perform to standards, he may not be getting
proper treatment for his asthma.

There's no way it will remain a secret, these things never do - for starters he won't be running, the other cadets
will see that, not that this necessarily should be an issue.

Teaching people, especially adolescents, to reach for help when they need it is an important life lesson,
but at the end of the day, if he doesn't want it, and the parents agree, well then so be it.

[BHartman007]

I haven't talked to his parents about it. I did confirm that it's a physician diagnosed condition, and he uses a prescription inhaler.

He could still participate in the run, it's just that he runs a couple laps and then has to slow to a walk to catch his breath, and ends up finishing a couple of minutes over his time. I think that given enough time he'll probably be able to overcome that enough to get a promotion or two, but I'm not sure he'll ever be able to sustain a pace long enough for even the upper NCO times.

He did concede that maybe it would be ok to waive it for his first stripe, but that he really wanted to get the others on his own ability. I admire his drive to want to achieve without help, I just don't want him to end up being depressed that he can't.

[Panzerbjorn]

Can he do the Shuttle Run?

[BHartman007]

Can he do the Shuttle Run?

Fair point. He can do it, and in fact tried it last night, he's just a couple of seconds too slow at it. He needs a 10.2 and was getting consistent 12.8s.

So should I just make him fail at the shuttle run instead of failing at the mile, because the shuttle run isn't a medical problem? 

I feel like I'm just trying to pick the least bad idea.

[Eclipse]

He's probably more likely to shave two seconds off the shuttle then make the mile.

They are both medical problems is he has asthma, just one might be more conducive to
his situation, which is why there is a choice.

The challenge with the waivers and medical is that there's a difference between "medically diagnosed" and
"medically restricted".   You need a Dr. to indicate his asthma restricts his doing long runs, not just that
he has asthma.  There are triathletes with asthma, and if his Dr. is unwilling to say he's restricted, merely
having "x" condition doesn't necessarily qualify for a waiver, especially more them temporary.

If you don't think he's going to be able to cope with the NCO requirements, might as well address
if at the lowest level, since it seems like this will clearly be a retention issue, either now or later on.

Again the parents are important - for all you know he's not supposed to run at all, but doesn't
want to be "different", that or they know his real capabilities and he's not doing anything outside PT
night, or something in between.

My son has a mild heart murmur, but he is not restricted and is athletic at or beyond the level of his peers.
If he wasn't able to do something his friends could, I'd be concerned, but if I didn't know about it, no
way to intervene.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Temp restriction only pushes the problem down the line.

Have a talk with the parents, see if he is truly in need of a medical restriction, go from there.

[Al Sayre]

If the cadet has a documented medical condition like asthma, from a liability POV, you should probably have a note from his Dr. saying it's OK for him/her to do the mile run or shuttle run or anything else that could bring on an attack.  You don't want to be the guy filling out the paperwork on why your cadet got hauled off in an ambulance.  Especially with a cadet who is afraid to be seen as restricted, he/she also may have a tendency to ignore onset symptoms and push him/herself too hard.

[MIKE]

The activities in which your child will participate while a member of CAP are generally comparable to those experienced in high
school, including physical education activities. To assure the fullest degree of pleasure and success in Civil Air Patrol, the cadet
should be healthy, both physically and mentally. If you mark "NO" in all the boxes below, your cadet will be placed in a Physical
Fitness Category I, and will not require a physical examination. If you mark "YES" in any box, an examination by a physician is
required.

There is an "ASTHMA" box.

Is it a case of mom attesting that junior is fine so that she doesn't have to take him to the doc?  It's another if the doc says he should be fit enough for Cat. I even with asthma.