Ryan's medical evaluation board package will be submitted this coming Friday. It is unsettling to think his career is in jeopardy. A career he built from the ground up. At the age of twenty he enlisted in the AF. Seven of his first nine years he spent in night school and wracking up hours of online courses to earn his bachelors degree. He even emailed a research paper from a tent in Iraq during a deployment. Meanwhile, he worked his way up to the 5th of 8 enlisted ranks. Ryan then applied for Officer Training School and with an acceptance rate of 30% at best was selected. This pushed him through another round of basic training which isn't for the weary. After serving as an officer for a couple of years he applied for the Air Force Institute of Technology to earn a masters degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Despite a much lower acceptance rate Ryan earned a spot. All of his performance reports over the last 16 plus years are outstanding. He has deployed or gone TDY (Temporary Duty) to over 25 countries. Like most, he has missed birthdays, holidays and milestones. No doubt, he has answered this nation's call of duty with nothing less than honor.
Currently, Ryan's Sarcoidosis is not inhibiting his daily duties. But protocol requires him to be evaluated because of his diagnosis. So, a board of doctors out in Texas will read about Ryan and determine if he is still fit for duty.
Even these last days of 2014 are weighing on me. The uncertainty taunts me. The possibility of an outcome, that in my mind would be an injustice, lurks.
But just as I feel certain I can claim this last year as my toughest yet, I read something which helped change my perspective. It speaks about the significance of hanging on. Below is an excerpt. Perhaps you can be left inspired too.
Because 2014 was hard for many, many people.
For you, it might be going down as one of the worst years you can remember.
For you, it may have brought you to your knees more times than you could count.
For you, it may have left you breathless … hopeless … tired and weary.
But before you eagerly slam the door on 2014, I ask you to look down at your hands.
See that dirt under your fingernails?
My friend, that is beautiful. That is remarkable. That is significant.
You could have let go. But you didn’t.
You could have given up. But you didn’t.
You hung on.
You hung on.
And here’s what I believe:
I believe 2014 was not your worst year, but possibly your greatest.
Your Year of Greatest Strength
Your Year of Greatest Faith
Your Year of Greatest Hope
Your Year of Greatest Patience
Your Year of Greatest Risk
Your Year of Greatest Determination
Your Year of Greatest Courage
Just look at that dirt beneath your fingernails.
That is what you are made of.
Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it remarkable? Isn’t it significant?
It was your Year of Greatest Survival.
And you lived to tell about it.
Thank you for holding on.
Let us celebrate.
Let us celebrate.
The light overcame the darkness.
Wow! What perspective.
So to the New Year, and to you my dear friends and family, I raise my glass to commemorate one of the greatest years!
Cheers!
Just pardon my dirty fingernails.
