both of you should just go down there, visit them and apply.
basically i guess it's because flying a plane is different from
anything else you can possibly do.
you'll be flying high in the sky, where something as simple as
the air that you breathe will be different from the air on the
ground so even people who had childhood asthma but never had it
again may possibly experience it all over again due to a lack of
oxygen or any other various reasons. also, a plane cannot "stop" in
mid-air, so making absolutely sure that nothing will happen to you
in mid air is just part of the process i guess.
on top of all that, even healthy people can sometimes not get
past the first lesson by simply feeling nauseous from the flight,
getting sea-sick, and etc.
some healthy people also do not respond well to the changes in
pressure, temperature, height, among others and can black out,
vomit, have breathing difficulties, etc.