Hey guys, I've been reading posts for years, but never had an account until now. I'm a Marine Corps veteran. I got medically separated for a spinal cord injury in May 2015 after 5 years of service. In 2013, while I was in Afghanistan, everything was going fine until all of the sudden, the right side of my body from my nipple down went completely numb. I didn't know what happened at the time, but after a couple of days, I went to talk to our Doc. He told me that it was just a pinched nerve and I should be fine. I don't think anybody really believed how bad it was until after we got back. It stayed numb for a month or so, then the sensation started to come back at it was a super intense pain. It felt like rusty razor blades on my chest any time something rubbed my skin. Luckily, the deployment was almost over, so I stuck it out. When I got back, I asked to get an MRI because I didn't think it was a pinched nerve, but what do I know, right? They told me no, still thinking it was a pinched nerve, and sent me to physical therapy and a chiropractor. When I got to physical therapy, she was like "wtf? I'm not touching you until you get an MRI.." I went and got one and found out that I had a tumor inside of my spinal cord and it was completely filling up my spinal column. A few months later, the week before I was about to have surgery to have it removed, Tricare denied the surgery.. after that, I got put on a med board and 9 months later, I was out with 100% P&T disability. So after a couple years of the pain getting progressivelyworse, I get the VA to approve the surgery. When I woke up, the pain was different than before and I couldn't feel my legs. It took some time and I have to completely relearn how to walk, drive, and everything else in life no being able to feel my legs.
After about 18 months, I'm at a point in my recovery that I can start getting out and do stuff again. In August of last year, I started going to gunsmithing school in North Carolina. It's a 2 year degree plan, and I love every minute of it. I am learning tons of stuff and greatly expanding my knowledge base. I'm hoping to get my FFL this year and start building precision rifles.
So that's sort of a little backstory about me, hopefully I'll fit in nicely here. If you have any tips about how things work in the forum that isn't completely obvious, let me know.
-Boot
After about 18 months, I'm at a point in my recovery that I can start getting out and do stuff again. In August of last year, I started going to gunsmithing school in North Carolina. It's a 2 year degree plan, and I love every minute of it. I am learning tons of stuff and greatly expanding my knowledge base. I'm hoping to get my FFL this year and start building precision rifles.
So that's sort of a little backstory about me, hopefully I'll fit in nicely here. If you have any tips about how things work in the forum that isn't completely obvious, let me know.
-Boot
