Damaged Veteran, need some advice

Okay, so I've posted a couple times on the forums here, but nothing major. So this post is a combination introduction and request for assistance as far as specific exercises go.

I am a 7 year veteran of the US Army. I was medically discharged in 2002 due to a broken back and wrist. Long story short, I'd taken a nasty fall during training and snapped the vertebrae L4 and L5. After recovering from this I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease in the L5/L6 disc. Additionally I had damaged my right TFCC (Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex, or the "wrist meniscus") severely in that fall by landing on it wrong. This required surgery.

Prior to joining the Army I weighed 145 lbs., I have been 5' 9" since my junior year in high school, and was a cross country runner throughout my high school career (I was a twig then). After I joined I bulked up to 185 during Basic and AIT due to the simple fact that the Army is the Army. At this point I was very proud of my physique. I was lean and cut and loved it. Around my second year in the Army I was introduced to Racquetball, and from that point forward I was hooked. I would spend 3 hours in the morning, an hour at lunch, and another 3-4 hours on the court every day except weekends. I lost about 15 pounds of bulk because I switched from weights and running to purely racquetball and running. I stayed at around 170-175 for the rest of my time in the army until I took the fall.

After the fall, the surgery on my wrist nullified my ability to continue playing racquetball for the rest of my life due to the strains that swinging the racquet puts on the TFCC. The fact that I was bed-ridden for a few months after the fall caused me to jump up to 220 lbs. At this point I was medically discharged for failure to be able to complete the Physical Training Test requirements because I could no longer run, nor perform a quality push-up.

Nutshell, I gave up worrying about my body at this point. I felt let down by it, I mean I put all that work into it and it caused me pain, heart-ache, and worst of all my job as a soldier. I stopped caring and focused on my new career as a civilian.

Skip ahead 11 years, as of January 2013, I weighed 294 lbs. I have a 50" gut, and a 19" neck. I wear 42" waist pants, so my belly hangs over very obviously. You see my profile picture. I'm not happy.

So I took a challenge from my 10 year old son, "Dad, fat guys die early. I don't want you to die until you're old and cranky, like Papa." (I love my son LOL). So I cut out drinking regular Mountain Dew. I switched to diet. I didn't touch the scale again until the end of June. I had dropped from 294 to 278 in 5 months by simply switching to diet Mt. Dew. Err?!

"I can do this." This is the thought I've had repeating in my head since then.

July 3rd, 2013 I went and purchased a mountain bike with a frame that could handle my weight. My wife gave me permission to splurge on a Specialized $1,200 rock-hopper full suspension frame if I can make it to 220 Lbs. July 4th, my independence day, I went for my first ride on a mountain bike since 1996.

I made it around the block.

This angered me.

So I got better, each day pushing just that much more.

It's been almost 2 months now. I've gone from 276 on July 6th to my current weight of 261.8 as of my last weigh-in on the 23rd. I ride an average of 7 miles a day. My longest ride so far was last Thursday at 17.4 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes. I've seen my doctor and dietitian multiple times during this, and I'm no longer ashamed of my body because I'm fixing it. I'm feeling great every day and no longer lethargic at work. My pants no longer fit properly (my belly hasn't shrunk yet, but oh well LOL), and have fallen off already once in the hospital where I work, to the enjoyment and mirth of my co-workers, but that mishap also garnered congratulations which embarrassed me more than showing my boxers to the world (I happened to be wearing my Fluttershy boxers at the time; those who know, you're awesome. Those who don't will google it I'm sure).

That's my introduction, now for my question. Concerning my aforementioned wrist injury, push-ups and pull-ups still hurt. Very much so. However, I would like to work more than my cardio and legs now that I'm getting better. Weights, resistance, etc I would love to do. However, I attempted push-ups last night, and my wrist screamed at me from the 90 degree angle it is placed in when doing a proper military push-up. I do not own a weight bench, nor am I willing to pay a gym membership just to be judged by someone who knows nothing of my situation. I'm a firm believer that the human body can get cut and lean using itself as the resistance. The problem is that mine can't handle the strain on my wrist.

That said, should I simply wait until I've gotten to a lighter self so as not to strain my wrist as much, or is there something I can use to straighten my hand into a more ergo-position and still do push-ups? If I can do the push-ups, I'll be happy. I cut and leaned myself with a regime of Push-ups, abdominals and running in the Army. I can do it with Push-ups, abdominals and riding as a civilian. But not if my wrist puts me in tears simply because I leaned on it ...

Can anyone help with some thoughts and/or suggestions?

Thank you!

-Papa Bear