Goodbye--sorta

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LifeTake2

LifeTake2

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Well, not a post I hoped to make but while I am stick around some since I successfully got accepted......I am choosing to remain a MS0 and will not be matriculating in August.

I started down this path determined to know if I could do it, have one acceptance and 2 wait-lists, and I still believe I would be an excellent physician. However, I have a son with medical issues that has had a very bad 6-9 months and the future does not look good.

The school I have been accepted to does not offer deferrals and I don't believe I can do justice to medical school and walk the path that life is presenting.

Thus I'm choosing my family and returning full-time to my past career. I was blessed with getting lucky with a great gap-year job and can stay and do well here.

I will probably be around some and try to help others walking this path, but it will be limited.

Thank you all for your support, I have found SDN to be invaluable in this journey.

Tom
 
Tom,

I for one am sorry to see you go. This is not necessarily the end of that path, perhaps just a detour for a while?

I wish you and your family all the best.
 
One day you might be able to do it again. I wish you the best!
 
NuttyEngDude said:
frame your acceptance letter and know you did it. it will hopefully be a pleasant memory.
good luck with everything.
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At first I was just sad, but this post almost brought tears to my eyes.

Good luck. Your kids are very lucky to have you as a father. Truly a noble thing you are doing. There isn't a thing in the world that is more important. I wish you the best.
 
LifeTake2 said:
Well, not a post I hoped to make but while I am stick around some since I successfully got accepted......I am choosing to remain a MS0 and will not be matriculating in August.

I started down this path determined to know if I could do it, have one acceptance and 2 wait-lists, and I still believe I would be an excellent physician. However, I have a son with medical issues that has had a very bad 6-9 months and the future does not look good.

The school I have been accepted to does not offer deferrals and I don't believe I can do justice to medical school and walk the path that life is presenting.

Thus I'm choosing my family and returning full-time to my past career. I was blessed with getting lucky with a great gap-year job and can stay and do well here.

I will probably be around some and try to help others walking this path, but it will be limited.

Thank you all for your support, I have found SDN to be invaluable in this journey.

Tom
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Surely it is your school's loss. Best wishes to you and your family.
 
Your priorities are in the right place, and your family is lucky to have you there for them. Hit medical school hard next season.
 
You won't regret any time you spend with your family. And, like others here have posted, this may be just a detour and not the absolute end. I put med school on hold to take care of my Mom for several years but eventually I ended up in med school. I wish you and your family the best.
 
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You will always have a great story to tell your kids 🙂 I'm sorry to see you go, but if you want to come back in the future then med school is always there. I wish you the best of luck, you sound like a great dad.
 
Our hearts are with you and your family in your journey. I'm sorry that medical issues are what are taking you away from your dream of becoming a doctor, but school will still be there when the time is right for you.
 
LifeTake2 said:
Thus I'm choosing my family and returning full-time to my past career. I was blessed with getting lucky with a great gap-year job and can stay and do well here.
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This breaks my heart. We haven't corresponded personally, but I have always enjoyed your wit and wisdom on this board. I am so sorry about the difficulties with your son, and I admire you even more for making this decision. Best wishes.
 
I am very sorry and hope the best for you and your family.Tough places life puts us in makes us better at making future decisions. If medicine is your true passion, you'll be back to it eventually. But your priorities are right in line with what they should be and your family should be proud of you!
 
Just remember that you did it once, and can do it again. I am 40 and was neck deep in the application process this cycle when my daughter had some misgivings about me being "away" at med school for her senior year of high school. So I pulled out and plan on reapplying next cycle when I am 41.

It is never too late to try again. Just be sure to retake the MCAT before it changes format.

Best of luck to you and peace and health to your family.

Dsoz
 
I'm sorry to hear this isn't working out for you right now. I've never wound up regretting putting the people I love first. Sometimes in the long run things have a way of working out the way they're supposed to. Life just might surprise you and bring you back to medicine somewhere down the road a bit.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
 
LifeTake2 said:
I started down this path determined to know if I could do it, have one acceptance and 2 wait-lists, and I still believe I would be an excellent physician. However, I have a son with medical issues that has had a very bad 6-9 months and the future does not look good.


Tom
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Tom,

Best of luck to your family. Your input and journey here has been inspirational to myself and many others. Life is a journey and takes us strange places - With your acceptance you have made it and nothing to prove.
 
Man, that's really tough to hear. I remember one of your posts in a thread I made really helped give me the confidence to keep moving forward and you'll definitely be missed.

I hope everything goes well with your family and you'll be able to pursue your dream in the near future. Please come back and visit.
 
The best of luck to your son and family with the challenges ahead. Your insight has been invaluable even in the short time I've been here. Keep in mind that your dream isn't closed to you, if you want and are able to go that path later on it will still be there.
 
I wish you and your family the absolute best. I wish you great success in your future, as well.
 
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Thank you all for your reassuring words.

This was not an easy decision; but I'm at peace and willing to see what the future holds.
 
Family first, everything else is BS.

I'm sorry about your circumstance. I wish you all the best.
 
I'm not sure you should count yourself out just yet. Have you tried actually talking to the school about your situation? Even though they have a policy of no deferrals, rules often have exceptions. It's worth a try if you haven't already. And if the school refuses, well, as others have said, there will be a new opportunity when the situation is right. Best of luck.
 
LifeTake2 said:
Thank you all for your support, I have found SDN to be invaluable in this journey.

Tom
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No, thank you for being here. I wish you the best of luck in your future and my best of wishes to your son. Believe me, in your shoes, I would have made the same decision in a heart beat.
 
QofQuimica said:
I'm not sure you should count yourself out just yet. Have you tried actually talking to the school about your situation? Even though they have a policy of no deferrals, rules often have exceptions. It's worth a try if you haven't already. And if the school refuses, well, as others have said, there will be a new opportunity when the situation is right. Best of luck.
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I agree with this wholeheartedly. I know that if I were in the position to make such decisions, your dedication to your family would certainly make me want to make an exception for you. I completely respect your decision and I am sure that if, in the future, you decide you want to give it another shot, you will have nothing but success.
 
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Sorry about your situation, man, and best of luck. I second what Q said. There are exceptions to rules, you should talk to the school and see what happens. Maybe one the two waitlisted schools will take you off the waitlist and is willing to offer you a deferral, don't count them out yet.
 
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Tom, we have actually met along this interview trail and so I wanted to say that I have been impressed by your story of success on this massive endeavor which is becoming accepted to med school. I can think of no other thing that is more difficult and yet noble and respectable than putting someone else before oneself and for that reason I know you will make a great doctor full of compassion and strength. No one can predict what tomorrow brings but whether that is a career in medicine or not, at the end of the day it is just a job, albeit a dream for many but still just a job and there is always another job but you can't replace family especially if that family is what makes you truly happy.

Best of luck to you and your family.
 
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Tom-
Best of luck. Congrats on achieving medical school admission. Im 30 with three kids and a wife that has a heart condition and lupus so I can relate to the struggle that you have endured. I salute your decision to put your dreams aside for your family. If all men in America were willing to put themselves aside for their family, this would be a different place.
Godspeed-
Cel
 
hi tom, i remember getting some feedback from you on a couple issues i had a while back, and i'm glad to have gotten it from you especially because of your story. its tough, but for what its worth, you're a hero in my book. your family is lucky to have a guy like you. good luck and godspeed sir.
 
As a fellow non-traditional, I thank you for all your inputs on SDN. When I come on here, both before and after I joined SDN, I always looked to you, Q, Frky, and other non-trads for good comments and advice. I hope whatever path you take next, it is all for the better for both you and your family. Take it easy, and don't be a stranger, Tom.
 
Nothing is more important then family.

You will always have the vindication that you had the ability, you had the choice, and ultimatly you made the decision. That says a lot.

I wish your family the best
 
I'm a lurker and don't really know you through your posts. But I just wanted to echo the sentiments here. Sacrifice is what defines parenting and I think your setting one of the best examples. I hope life's circumstances improve for you, for your sake and your little one's.
 
Tom: Very sorry to hear this. Best wishes to you and your family.
 
tom,
i can only begin to imagine how incredibly much this decision broke your heart and i know it weighed on your heavily.
i am so sorry to hear of your son's medical issues and that he has been struggling with his health. my prayers will be with him and you as you face the journey of what lies ahead together.
 
Sorry, man. Best of luck.
 
Sorry to hear about your son's illness. I definitely agree with the suggestion to make sure that the school fully understands the situation because this does seem like the kind of situation where an exception might possibly be made. Even if it is true that you can't defer, I think that in the future adcoms will understand why you made this decision and you probably will be able to get another chance later if you do want to continue this path later.
You're doing the right thing by being there for your family. All the best to your son.
 
You are needed at home -- good for you for recognizing that. I don't know your situation, but I hope that on the days that you regret giving up your medical school slot, you remember the much worse regret you could be feeling for making the other choice. As the spouse of a non-trad currently in residency, I can tell you that even with no sick kids, the trade-off is finely balanced, and I'm still not sure my husband did the right thing going to medical school. I hope you take heart in the good you are doing for your family. Warmest wishes to you all.
 
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