Into the woods: A last chapter

This week is the second of my injury recovery/rehab, with several more certainly to follow. It is also five days from my next scheduled race: the Croatan 24-hour Race from Saturday to Sunday (for which MARSOC Foundation is the charity recipient).

It is also a week of final decisions. I received word from the Physical Evaluation Board that I have a green light to permanently retire. That I will be fully, completely, entirely and unremittingly separated from the Marine Corps. It is not a bittersweet thought, rather, a conglomerate one of anger, frustration, wistfulness, sadness and, ultimately, relief that I can write the last words to this chapter and truly move forward. It means I no longer have to endure medical examinations that quantify the "extent" of my injuries, no more reliving the trauma under questioning from line officers and "wizards" probing to see how I react, no more defending my quest to put one foot in front of the other and see how far I can go.

I will receive notification of my transfer from TDRL to PDRL and that will be that. I will still go to therapy, and am still adjusting to my new left and right lateral limits, physically speaking, knowing they have narrowed out of necessity. There are no vertical limits though, and I will push my flight ceiling as high as I can, and, in continuing to strive upward, help others do the same.

Sunset over another Arabian desert circa 2008

[Don't forget that the MARSOC Foundation hockey raffle runs through next Monday - any game, home or away, so even if you're a west coast bubba, you get the goods! (Each package is worth over $600.)]

Click on the image to enter