Hi, all!
First off, can I say I have never been so happy to stumble upon a forum in my entire life as I was a few days ago when I found this place??? I am hoping you will all become my new best friends.
You are all SO INPSIRING TO ME.
I am in the very early stages of hatching my insane plan. So, a little about me.
I just turned 40 a couple of weeks ago. Since I was about 12 years old my goal in life has been Medical School and a career as a doctor. But in my teenaged years I started running into some health problems (diagnosed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome after Epstein-Barr Virus) that seriously derailed my accedemic plans. I was an honors student, so I had covered enough material by the time I was forced to drop out of high school that I was able to easily pass the GED. I attempted Junior College at 18 and managed 14 credit hours before I had to drop out again.
I got married to a Military Officer at 23 and we now have a 12 year old son (soon to be 13), whom I homeschool. Since getting married, I have only once dabbled in college enough to finish one History course at Kansas State University. Until about a year and a half ago, that is, when I started back to college online through American Military University, and I now have a total of 35 (soon to be 38) total credit hours toward my Associates/Bachelor’s, with a cumulative GPA of 4.0.
My health has thus far stopped me from pursuing my dreams, and in the intervening years I have been trying to start a career as a novelist, but in the past year or two, I have finally been making some discoveries that have lead to some improvements in my health (mainly dietary intolerances such as Gluten Intolerance, Fructose Malabsorption, and Salicylate Sensitivity), and the mere fact I’ve finished as many college credit hours as I have is a result of that improvement. I am cautiously optimistic for continued improvement as I vigorously pursue this avenue of treatment and management, and for the first time in 20 years, I find myself believing I might be able to go back and tackle my dreams after all. And this is evening MORE motivating to continue to unlock my health mysteries.
This whole idea is insane, I realize this.
But frankly, I have been grinning like an idiot for three days at the mere THOUGHT of taking steps toward attempting this insanity. I feel strangely like myself again after a very long absence.
There is no guarantee my health will ever be up to the true task of Medical School, I don’t know where the ceiling may lie, but if I don’t try, I’m not sure I could live with that. If I try and hit a point where I can’t make it any farther, well…that’s a lot easier to accept than apathy.
For now, my goal is to finish my Associate’s Degree through my online university, then I will hopefully be strong enough to look into taking my Junior and Senior year at a brick and mortar institution. Or at the very least, I hope to take my pre-Reqs that way. Any thoughts on this? Am I damaging my chances by finishing my Associate’s through Distance Learning? Considering this is for health reasons, and it is something I could certainly explain down the road after I have the brick and mortar credits to back it up.
My husband is still serving in the military, so the when and where of my education will still be largely dependant upon where the Army sends him! I hope to be done with my Bachelor’s and applying to MedSchools by the time my son is ready to head to college himself, so I won’t be as limited in my choices at that juncture. So, all going according to plan, I will be late 40s by the time I apply to/start Med School.
Anyhow, basically this is my long-winded way of saying I have just lost my mind and had a sudden inexplicable attack of picking up my career where I left off 20 years ago and taking one last wild shot at my dreams. And if I don’t make it, I will have still learned and grown in the right direction along my path.
And I’m counting on all of you (currently completely strangers) to prop me up through the experience!
Peace and love,
Liz
Welcome to the asylum, Liz!!! You’re in good company here!
Taking some of your credits distance is fine, but your core science prerequisites and the labs should be at a brick and mortar institution.
Good luck in your first steps!!
Kate
You obviously have a very good, healthy attitude about your dreams, I wish you the best of luck!
Shin and Kate - Thank you both so much for the warm welcome and support! I wish you both the best in your quest as well and look forward to getting to know you.
We are all here for support and encouragement. Please do not hesitate to share your frustrations as well as accomplishments. Who knows whom they may help next.
BTW- Kick ass rock-climbing pic; Dyno much???
- Julio Cesar Said:
BTW- Kick ass rock-climbing pic; Dyno much???
LOL. Thanks! Family vacation to see my husband's relatives in Seattle.:) It was my first time rock climbing, but I love to climb things in general, always did. I thought perhaps the pic would be appropos for my current undertaking.*g*
I take it from your post that you and your military husband are still married…good on you. My wife and I were married while I was serving, and we are well acquainted with the failure rate of military marriages. Add the med school track on top of that, and then throw a child in (we are due in a couple of months!), and the complications can mount quickly. It takes strength to go it together.
Funny…when I was in the Navy as a medic with the Marines, I had the Navy medical officer confront me after finding out that I was dating my (now) wife (he was a mentor to me of sorts). He blatantly told me that if I got married, I would never make it to med school, much less through med school. I think his experiences konwing married med students was rather negative. Though that may be true to some people, I have, conversely, met a couple at a Christian outdoor ministry who encouraged me in saying that it was because they were married and had kids that the husband was able to make it through medical school. I tend to appreciate the latter story more than the former. Keep at it.
PS - Rock climbing is awesome. If you have the chance to go out with someone who has sport gear and knows good routes, go…there is no thrill quite like it!
Welcome to THE crazy-train!!
Navy Vet here. My wife and I have been married 20 years. Unfortunately one of the many lies I listened to were people telling me that our marriage would fall apart during med school.
You sound like you have an awesome plan. Keep moving forward and when the fear, uncertainty, and depression (FUD) kicks don’t make any decisions without checking here or speaking with a positive mentor.
Jfowler - Yes, we are very much still married! And congrats on your coming baby! You’ll have to keep us posted when your new miracle arrives. Speaking as a Mom, I do not think there is much more magical in this world than the first few days of having that new little life in your arms.
It’s quite true one has to really take into account the state of one’s marriage before contemplating Med School and how to possibly hold both together and make the pairing an integrated strength instead of a competing liability. I think if I had tried something like this in the earlier years of our marriage it would have presented a much greater challenge. But after 16 years (17 since we started dating), raising a son, dealing with all my health issues, my husband’s deployments, etc., etc., we have a solider base and a better vision of the long term. And though I don’t expect it will in any way be EASY, I also don’t expect it to ever separate us. We’re kind of war buddies.
Plus I figure if I have smiled and said, “Sure I’ll run the house, raise the kid, take care of the dog, etc., despite all my health issues while you go off to Afghanistan to help your career,” enough times, he owes me a few years of med school on the other end.g
Yes, I would love to try outdoor rock climbing! I had an awesome time my first time bouldering.
crooz - Wonderful to hear you’ve been married 20 years. And I really appreciate the support and encouragement. It can really make all the difference just to have a place like this to go where people GET what you’re going through! I tend to be more tight-lipped about my own issues face-to-face (I tend to be the go-to person for OTHER people with problems…in fact I tend to collect wounded birds, quite unintentionally g), so places like this are really good for me.