The time has finally come: I have been cleared by my orthopedic doctors at Boston Medical Center to return to full duty! They don’t need to see me anymore and as far as they’re concerned I can return to OCS whenever I am physically qualified to. I can finally start jogging and begin building my strength back up. I celebrated with a 20-minute jog around Fenway.

This doesn’t mean I’ll be back in the Marines anytime soon. I still need to get off disability, be cleared by the Navy, and finally have my waivers approved by the Marines and NOMI (Naval Operational Medicine Institute).

I have been looking forward to this for quite a long time. First step: get off disability.