Disabled Veteran Scholarship 2016 Essay
When I was 17, I decided to join the U.S. Navy. What was left out of that initial Navy contract was that I would pay for this journey, by sacrificing time with my family, wear and tear of my body, and a lifetime of disabilities – not only physical but mental as well. I was a child to a single mother who did not have much but spreader love and generosity instead of dollar bills. She was m rock but there were certain things she could not teach me. Things like being a man, taking care of your family, and making certain manly decisions in my life. The decision to the join the navy was all mine to make, and I look back and cannot say, “I made a bad choice”.
My career in the navy has been something I could have never dreamed. I had some of the best times of my life in the military, minus the long deployments and hundreds of hours sleep loss. As the years grew on, my body could not handle the rigorous affects of shipboard life. It was also taking a toll on my mind as well. By the time I had 18 years of active service, I was dealing with numerous chronic disabilities mental and physical. At times, I did not know how I could continue living with some of the things I was going through. Dealing with the mental disabilities start to affect not only work, but your home life as well. These issues caused major pain and grief in my career and family. Although my career flourished, my family and friends suffered from my unsociability. If I had not received help for my issues, who knows where I would be to this day.
Towards the end of my career, were my most excruciating years. It took all I had to get out of bed sometimes. I was dealing with herniated discs in my back, and neurologic radicular leg and foot pain. This had caused other health issues, including mental health, hypertension, irregular sleep patterns, sever knee pain, unable to participate in hobbies like I used too. I was at the point where I know my body can’t handle any more. I was approaching my 19th year in the navy at this point. It was time for me to make a major decision in my life, and that was to get ready for retirement. By this time I had seen every doctor that you can think of, dealing with my numerous health issues. While I was trying to get ready for retirement within a year, the navy told me I was not wanted anymore, because I was not fully physically qualified to work on a navy ship. I was a devastated. At this point I could retire in 10 months. I could not believe that my family and I could devote almost 20 years to the military and they ask me to walk away when I am close to retirement. I wold have received some form of settlement pay, but I would not be eligible for long term benefits. I had to formally request to stay in the navy for the last 10 months of my career. I felt like it was a kick in the back after all the time all I put into serving my country faithfully and honorably. I served in several war campaigns, received numerous awards and achievement medals and put my the military before anything in my life, and all I’m left with is a lifetime of dealing with pain due to chronic disabilities.
Since the start of my health issues, I have seen several doctors, from orthopedic to pain management and chiropractic. I even paid out of pocket to see a chiropractor when the navy could not offer the service. I have been open to countless treatments and asked for surgery to improve my condition and nothing has worked. I have not been offered surgery as a remedy. I am to the point where just bending over to pick up a napkin or walking up a set of stairs gives me excruciating pain at times. I am managing my pain with prescribed medication and some days are worse than others are, but I do not see a remedy in the near future.
I have not been able to find a job that I can manage the time I have available with going to school and physical therapy at the moment. I call my retirement date – May 15, 2015 – “The First Day of the Rest of My Life.” This is the time I where I start to live again. Being with family and friends and trying to live what people call a “normal life” while dealing with the pain and scars left from a time that most people try to forget all about. I will never get back anything close to what I gave………
