Online may be the way to go for now.
It's looking more and more like the best thing that Mark could do for him and his future, would be to get an online degree in some of the courses that he's interested in.
I know that there are some colleges, I even think a few of the local state colleges, offer courses in criminal justice and law like he wants to get into, and then he could take a few other courses to get a degree in something else too, something to fall back on in case he ends up not being able to do what he wants to do.
Maybe go for an online business degree plus the criminal justice, and then he'd have some extra skills and education even if he can do law enforcement if things turn out well for him medically.
Today was just a rough day for him on this subject.
He got 3 college fliers in the mail today, and as soon as he saw them, he looked upset.
He asked me to just stop giving these to him when they come in the mail, to just put them in the trash, it's upsetting him to see them when his life and future career is currently in limbo due to his spine problems.
I hate seeing him upset like this, I hate seeing him look and feel discouraged, and I keep trying to tell him that this whole thing isn't written in stone, that he's young, that maybe his spine issues aren't as grim as it looks right now, that we can get a second opinion, we can take him to my surgeon and see what he says, that maybe this can all be fixed pretty easily.
But for now, he can take some courses at a fully accredited online college, do it from home, from the comfort of our own home on his own time, take breaks when he needs to lay down and rest his back, but still be able to get an education that will help him in whatever career he ends up in in the future so that he can support himself and have a good life.
After we talk, he seems a bit more upbeat and seems to be encouraged, but I honestly think that he just smiles and says all of that to make me feel better.
I really think that he's completely bummed out about the whole thing, so he just tells me that he will consider online education and degrees in other career paths to comfort me.
I think he's really feeling like his spine issues are going to prevent him from living his dream job and the thought of not being able to do it, the thought of having to use a fall-back degree for a different career, is just killing him inside.
I wish I knew what to do or say to make him really feel better, but I know that he's watched what has happened to me and just has no hope at all for himself.
Comments
Please tell Mark there are so many areas in criminal justice. One of the most popular college minors right now is emergency management. You can actually get it online. There are jobs out there for people that are trained in criminal justice who can manage an emergency like a fire, earthquake or hurricane. It has some of the adrenaline rush of being a cop and you work with emergency services, law enforcement and homeland security. You also learn how to deal with some of the red tape of the system because you do reporting and verification of events.
Also....I am fused from S1-T11. I have been able to go back to work as a photographer/videographer/teacher. Sometimes it's very hard work and I hurt. I don't do as much as I did before but I've figured out how to make it work for me as a career. I wasn't about to throw away 20 years of my life because I couldn't bend the right way after they removed tumors from T2-3. It all depends on your surgeon, your rehab, and injury.
They've made some improvements in how they treat scoliosis patients so that should help. One of the folks they goes to my ortho parctice is a large animal vet and he's fused from L2-C2 in parts. I saw his xray. I thought that's amazing he can do his work. He told me he had been that way since he was a teen.
I wish you and Mark the best and I hope he can get the help he needs to have the career he wants. It's just so hard to deal with your life on hold.
Posted by: mo | October 24, 2009 9:15 PM
kat, ..as a college professor, i can give you some insight as to different options mark may have...with his spine issues, he is entitled to multiple accomodations, including physical accomodations as well as different financial aid options that he should look into...however its a lot of information to post as a blog response, so drop me an email when you get a chance and hopefully i can help you navigate the possibilities. Roe
Posted by: Roe | October 25, 2009 10:53 PM
Like Roe said, there are a lot of options. And as an HR Professional, I can also tell you that online courses are becoming more reputable. When the bif push really started, I think the quality of the education was questioned. That really isn't the case anymore.
Posted by: The Constant Complainer | October 28, 2009 6:02 PM