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I've been searching high and low for an answer to this question, and my Unit, Veterans Affairs, QR&O's, not even the far-reaching scope of Army.ca has been able to provide me with any kind of real answer to my issue... so I'll do something that I haven't done often: start a new thread.
To disclaim: This is not entirely a medical issue, and not entirely an administrative issue, but a combination of the two... the medical side of it concerns me a lot more than anything else though... so here I go.
I am a former member of the Regular Force, who released and changed trades from RegF Infantry to PRes Sapper.
When I did my Release Medical pt.2, I was asked if there was anything that I wanted to mention specifically that bothered me; I mentioned to the Warrant who was conducting the medical that I had numb spots on the top of my feet. He said it was a circulation issue and it would probably clear up a few weeks after I was released and not wearing MkIII's everyday anymore, I don't think he noted it in my Med Docs. He was partly right, as 2 of the spots did just that. Two other spots never regained feeling. This was in the fall of 2006. I still have these spots on my foot, and after working on courses, National Exercises, and 2 Class B contracts with my unit (most of this year on Class B), my feet are getting worse. I'm looking at working a lot more with my unit, and it's reached the point where a single day wearing my boots makes multiple spots on my feet feel.... weird. And the dead spots have begun to grow.
Now, I don't experience any pain from this (obviously), my feet are still functional and mobile, and my boots seem to fit well, and are even fairly comfortable. I don't get blisters or hotspots, and my boots don't make my feet hurt. They are MkIII's. My unit has told me that as a Class A/ Class B under 180 days I am not entitled to a visit to NDMC, and that I was to contact Veterans Affairs because the problem arose out of my RegF service. I did contact VA and was told that short of filing a medical pension claim (which probably would get shot down since I am not actually hurting, and do not have a CF98 to back up my claim), Veterans Affairs can't help me.
Even the Canadian Forces Ombudsman admits that there is not clear policy on Reserve Medical Entitlement and that it needs to be expanded and clarified.
I contacted my unit with this information and was told that they would contact NDMC directly, but not to expect anything for about 6 months, and even then it would probably just be authorization to exchange my MkIII's for the newer GP's.... for a trial period to see if that fixes me before I can even attempt to get authorization to wear anything non-standard. So what happens for that 6 months?
My family doctor tells me I have nerve damage, so it's not going to "heal". It arose out of my military service, and as such I feel that I should at least be able to get looked at by a medical professional. Ideally I would like to be able to go out and at least buy a pair of boots with my own money that won't slowly kill the nerves in my feet. I can stick a pin in the top of my foot and not feel anything... like I said it doesn't physically bother me now, but it's not normal, and I don't want to wait until it becomes a major problem.
Advice?
To disclaim: This is not entirely a medical issue, and not entirely an administrative issue, but a combination of the two... the medical side of it concerns me a lot more than anything else though... so here I go.
I am a former member of the Regular Force, who released and changed trades from RegF Infantry to PRes Sapper.
When I did my Release Medical pt.2, I was asked if there was anything that I wanted to mention specifically that bothered me; I mentioned to the Warrant who was conducting the medical that I had numb spots on the top of my feet. He said it was a circulation issue and it would probably clear up a few weeks after I was released and not wearing MkIII's everyday anymore, I don't think he noted it in my Med Docs. He was partly right, as 2 of the spots did just that. Two other spots never regained feeling. This was in the fall of 2006. I still have these spots on my foot, and after working on courses, National Exercises, and 2 Class B contracts with my unit (most of this year on Class B), my feet are getting worse. I'm looking at working a lot more with my unit, and it's reached the point where a single day wearing my boots makes multiple spots on my feet feel.... weird. And the dead spots have begun to grow.
Now, I don't experience any pain from this (obviously), my feet are still functional and mobile, and my boots seem to fit well, and are even fairly comfortable. I don't get blisters or hotspots, and my boots don't make my feet hurt. They are MkIII's. My unit has told me that as a Class A/ Class B under 180 days I am not entitled to a visit to NDMC, and that I was to contact Veterans Affairs because the problem arose out of my RegF service. I did contact VA and was told that short of filing a medical pension claim (which probably would get shot down since I am not actually hurting, and do not have a CF98 to back up my claim), Veterans Affairs can't help me.
Even the Canadian Forces Ombudsman admits that there is not clear policy on Reserve Medical Entitlement and that it needs to be expanded and clarified.
I contacted my unit with this information and was told that they would contact NDMC directly, but not to expect anything for about 6 months, and even then it would probably just be authorization to exchange my MkIII's for the newer GP's.... for a trial period to see if that fixes me before I can even attempt to get authorization to wear anything non-standard. So what happens for that 6 months?
My family doctor tells me I have nerve damage, so it's not going to "heal". It arose out of my military service, and as such I feel that I should at least be able to get looked at by a medical professional. Ideally I would like to be able to go out and at least buy a pair of boots with my own money that won't slowly kill the nerves in my feet. I can stick a pin in the top of my foot and not feel anything... like I said it doesn't physically bother me now, but it's not normal, and I don't want to wait until it becomes a major problem.
Advice?
