Update#18: Medical Waivers!

Diane sent you and email with the subject "Update #18" with the medical waiver form attached in pdf format. You should be able to open and print out. You can also print a copy by clicking the link in the left column of this site for 2008 Medical Waiver - if you should need an additional copy. The form is required by all participating athletes at the U. S. Transplant Games. An athlete is the organ recipient that is attending the Games and actually competing in the athletic events.

Important things to note about this form:

1. If attending the Games as An Athlete, you must have one of these forms – please, please try to open and print the one attached if you don’t already have one. Do NOT use the purple one we handed out at the last team meeting – that was just for illustration purposes.

2. This form CANNOT be completed prior to March 11, 2008 – you must wait until March 11th 2008 or later to complete this and get it signed by your doctor.

3. The athlete needs to fill out – by printing so that we can read it: your name and date of birth, organ(s) transplanted and date of last transplant, and indicate donor type. You fill out your address, city, state and zip code. Indicate if you are allergic to bee stings and if you have any other allergies. You need to list the name, relationship and phone # of an emergency contact – this must be somebody that will NOT be at the Games with you. You will all list your Team Name as: Team Iowa. You will all list your Team Manager as Bruce Hoffmaster. You will then list all prescription and non-prescription medications AND THE DOSAGES on the form – or attach an additional sheet. I would suggest that you use an additional sheet of paper and type or neatly print this information and attach it.

4. You need to be registered for the Games before completing this form. Why? Because you have to indicate on the form what athletic events you have signed up for. You cannot cheat on this – because national NKF will compare what you are signed up for with your form to be sure you have permission to participate in that particular event(s).

5. Then, you take this form to your physician for them to mark either A, B, or C. They will need to show your blood pressure reading, indicate if you are diabetic, and comment on any other health issues. In the line that says, “I certify….”, the physican must write in the appropriate letter, “a”, “b” or “c” to match the box checked in the middle of the page. The physician needs to sign and date, plus print their name, phone, pager, fax and address. Your physician does NOT need to be your transplant surgeon. If by chance, you are going to be seeing your transplant surgeon anyway, by all means, take this form and have them fill it out. But, if you are not scheduled to see your transplant surgeon during the next couple of months, just make an appointment with your regular doctor. Who do you see if you have strep throat or a broken arm?

6. Bruce Hoffmaster needs this form – once completed – returned to him no later than Friday, May 23, 2008. On the form, it says June 11, 2008 – but that is the date that it has to be in our national NKF office. Bruce needs to collect these forms, review them to be sure that they are completely filled out and that they can actually be read. Then he mails them, in a bulk package, certified mail, to the national NKF office.

In 2006 we had many, many problems with the Medical Waivers – some were not completely filled out, some were not legible, some athletes did not mark the events on the form that they actually registered for, some doctors didn’t mark A, B, or C, some doctors didn’t sign and provide the necessary contact information, etc.

The NKF (National) will NOT allow an athlete to compete without this medical waiver. They are absolute sticklers on every item on this form. Failure to get this form filled out, signed by a physician and returned to Bruce Hoffmaster by May 23, 2008 will disqualify you from participating in the Games. We don’t want that to happen to anybody on Team Iowa.

If you are not an athlete, you do not need a medical waiver.

If anybody has questions, contact Bruce Hoffmaster or Diane Hagarty.