Spleen removed, will it keep me out?

[solwertkin]

I had my spleen removed because of trauma when i was 20 years old. It has been 10 years now and I have zero side effects, i am very fit, athletic, and active; much stronger than I was prior to the surgery. My question is whether a spleen removal is something that will hold me back from getting a firefighter job in washington state?

[Mzanghetti]

If it was removed due to trauma then probably not. Alot will depend on the Doc doing the physical and the other candidates. If all the other candidates have theirs and it comes down to looking for a reason to DQ you it may matter.

I do have to tell you that you will never know until you try so why not at least try?

[GFPD2005]

Please give it a shot. If this is your dream job you deserve to apply. What is out of your control you cant do anything about, but you'll never know if you dont try.

I missed two letters on an eye chart and it prevented me from being a pilot in the US Navy. It was my dream job but being a career firefighter is awesome too.

If you get rejected by dept. X that doesnt mean dept. Y will reject you too. This is one situation in which lack of national standards can be beneficial and improve your chances of getting hired somewhere.

[MEck51]

Are you kidding me. I know some guys that have had thier brains removed, or at least relocated to thier ***.

[slipperypete]

Are you kidding me. I know some guys that have had thier brains removed, or at least relocated to thier ***.

LOL!!!! So true! On a more serious note. I had half my spleen removed when in 82' and have never had any problems. My Lt also had his entire spleen removed w/o any problems. Besides how would they ever know?