Broke my arm... 7 weeks out... Advice?

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dap

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I'm a civilian and was attending a try-out. My training was coming along 2000-3200m swims each hour with Masters 2-4X a week and closing in on a sub 18:00 5k (11:40 2miler) with tempo runs 6+ miles at a 7:00-7:30 pace 4-5 days a week, and easily 23+ pull-ups, 100+ pushups, 100+ sit-ups. I've been backpacking and trail running and doing yoga here in the PNW USA. Rest days training all my lower chains, hip flexors, gluteus minimum and medium, abductor Magnus, ankles, everything... doing HIIT and TRX with the ladies... feeling... Better than I've ever felt. I was proud of the outcomes of my efforts running and swimming and doing women's aerobics classes. I was committed.

This weekend I broke my arm and wrist trail running with friends after camping on a mountaintop. The 4+ mile march back to the trail head and all the pretty girls I only said hello to as I arrived back to my car that I couldn't drive (dominant, right hand broken... stick shift) was devastating/awakening... and with the September tryout so close I just... It's difficult to communicate but, awakening and part of the process.

So close to my first goal. I wanted to be a stand out participant and let the cadre know I took it seriously and had been preparing sedulously and was all in. I sold my house. Paid all my debts. I sold my motorcycle, and I am getting ready to sell my car after the New Year. My lease is up in December and timing was perfect for everything. I have a full-time career as a software engineer that will transfer me to their city in the future and I have all my transcripts and my degrees and my awards, letters of recommendation, etc. in hand ready to enlist. First thing was first; do well on this evaluation... I know I should wait. I know it's an exercise in temperance, patience, and a reality check. Training is fun... Who cares how well you do and whether or not you earn a place of responsibility and trust... that whole way back to the trail head, arm dangling, mangled, I just reminded myself... This could happen to you if you matriculate and you are out on a mission... to you or anyone. This could become another hurdle. How would I handle it? What if we were a couple guys with a bunch of broken limbs and still had a mission to complete... This reality continues to weigh heavily. It's extremely tempering and humbling, as I can almost smell September and the cast will likely come off... and yeah... I feel like I should wait at last 12 weeks to heal and regain strength and start training and conditioning again. I wished I had just stopped when I saw the people but I was moving so fast, I had the right of way, they should have given me space, but they were just novice and having a good time, they didn't mean anything, I tried to be polite and give them move space and lost my footing and went over. I'm lucky I didn't hit my head or shatter a bone... I'm thankful and while I've crushed that trail dozens of times... that day it crushed me.

Luckily... no soft tissue damage and the break was clean and doesn't need surgery. I might be good in 6 weeks... I can probably put down a decent performance all around. Not as sharp as I was honing in on the date in my conditioning...

I'm conflicted... Show up (if doctor okays it)... Or inform cadre of the injury and pass until the next. The latter definitely feels like the wise move. If you could give a solid effort would you be clear you are just overcoming a break and the cast came off just 3 weeks prior or would you just decline, thank cadre for the honor, and show up to the next one if they were willing to invite you? I honestly prefer to the latter because I want to be where I was planning to be if the break didn't happen when I show up... When I am healthy I only need 9-12 weeks to get into a respectable state... It's only a few more months and I can do a temporary room share as I decide which of my siblings gets what from my belongings. Thoughts? Book recommendations to get me through the next few weeks? I am planning to do lots of legs and core and get a waterproof cast cover when I get my shorter waterproof cast cover. Maybe cycle and run... depends what the doctor says. We don't want any bones shifting!
 
Holy shit that is a lot to read-

1) Should you go "where"?

2) What service are you joining?

3) Do you have a Ship Date?

4) In the end, you need to be cleared by MEPS
 
1.) To the tryout.

2.) Air National Guard

3.) No

4.) I've been to MEPS
 
I removed your silly poll. Inform your recruiter/unit of your condition NOW, and do what they and your dr says. The end.

A try our for what!?

Why the fuck would you sell everything to join the National Guard!?
 
Wow.

As my esteemed colleague from The Shire pointed out- that's quite a lot. Also, same question- why the hell are you selling off your life to go to the guard? That makes zero sense.

Are you trying out at the Portland unit to be a PJ? If so, talk to your POC at the unit and ask him what you're supposed to do, and ask your Doc.

As it stands, 33 year old brand new dudes are the exception in SOF, not the rule.
 
Pardus, my goal is to career change, serve, and hopefully someday still have it in me to become a doctor. Very loaded question so I will attempt to answer it thoroughly:

I decided a few years ago to start this direction but the house was a tough decision. I was either going to take a bath on a home I bought in 2008 or wait it out until the market stabilized. Received a cash offer last year, resigned my job, traveled, and soul searched. I'd like to get some medical exposure and my company is in a couple cities and I can transfer to other engineering offices and work on unifying code bases, etc. It's not that big a deal. It's just stuff. I'll get another motorcycle and I'm in the market for a pickup truck in the next couple years. I don't expect to use my vehicles or stuff as much anymore. I look at enlisting as a clean slate and starting over from scratch. Like I'm an 18 year old fresh out of high school. Forget what I thought I knew and get ready to learn.

Ultimately I'd like some exposure to health occupations and I want to serve with motivated people who are chasing similar goals and I want to reside in the Pacific Northwest USA. Perhaps I'll just go back to software if I determine that medical occupations are not for me... I mean my sister is an eye doctor, my brother is going to be applying to medical school. My dad became a doctor when he was 52. I don't think that I only have to do one thing because that's the thing that I've been doing.

I've considered active duty but for my goals and where I am at in life the Air Guard seems like a place for me to contribute and learn a new set of skills as I segue away from a career that I've been working in and having my achievements in only because I had had a house in another state for six of the eight years and was working simply to man up and own up to my mortgage and student loans. I'm seeking fulfillment and to be proud of my accomplishments. I earned my keep off a hobby that I was good at that I cultivated in highschool and I didn't try anything else. In short, I sold myself short of really challenging myself to reach out and evolve beyond who I was. I didn't know that I was going to "outgrow" my industry so-to-speak when I started the road to becoming who I became in 2002. When I started in the industry in 2004 and continued and won some awards it felt like validation. When I worked at the big social media giant. It felt like more validation. When I won one of the largest hackathons in my region with my two friends. I felt like I had arrived. When I sold the house I had the opportunity to not work for the first time in 13 years and I took some time to assess where I want to spend the next 30-some odd years of my working/waking life. I thought about the types of people who I want to work alongside. I thought about the type of work that I want to be doing. I thought about my strengths and what challenges would be satisfying. I guess looking onto the enlistment, whatever branch that it ultimately becomes, I know what types of schools and work that I would like to be doing. I don't see a lot of use for having a bunch of stuff that I won't be using. I want to focus on the job at hand and training. I want to focus on some health and life sciences and math at a university. I have a long road ahead but I saw my own father start it when he was about my age with two kids. I don't have any children and I am not married so I am pretty open to challenge myself in all capacities. I'm a hard worker and I want to learn as much as I can. I amassed a lot before my 24th birthday... and a lot more afterwards. I've been blessed and grateful for all my opportunities in life and I want to contribute and give back. I've had a successful career and I'm almost ready to hang my hat up and start on something else. Thankfully the country understands how important coding is and kids will be graduating highschool soon with the skills to succeed at Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. and I have no doubts in my mind that the same skills that they have been using to create web applications will be used to research and cure diseases. Look at the work of Fred Hutch for instance, and Solve Puzzles for Science | Foldit . It's already happening.

I thought the poll was cute "Cast your vote" LOL, since I'm in a cast and all that. But good call on all of the above.

Okay. I'll inform them that I can't attend the try out in September and that I would be honored if they would extend me an invite in the future when my arm heals. It's just a green stick fracture, no real damage, no pins, no surgery, nothing major, but it's limiting my activity for the time being.

Oh. It's a tryout for a slot with the Air Guard to see if they'd find me capable of offering a slot to enlist and then attend pararescue Indoc with the goal to return to their unit and serve in the region or as their unit is called upon. They have a couple of roles to fill so I figured give my performance and let them decide where I would be best utilized.

First thing is first. Explain the situation. Heal. Then continue on.
 
@dap -

Dude I wish you the best of success, awesome that you want to serve and all. But less is more ...

I'm not even breaking balls, but if you make it to boot camp (or whatever the Air Force calls it) , I have this cartoon bubble of your Drill Instructors reacting to your attempts of explaining things to them in paragraphs of sentences....

LOL -

upload_2017-8-2_20-33-16.png
 
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