Welcome to the Forum! :waving:
Sorry to hear about the troubles you've been through - hopefully things are on the way back up. :thumbsup:
There seem to be a lot of guys who take up engraving after getting knocked out of more active careers so you should be in good company.
One thing you coudl do for now to give yourself a head start would be to start drawing.
Ron Smith's books on Scroll Design are pretty much required reading - especially if you want to do gun engraving where traditional scrolls are big. James Meek's
The Art of Engraving is the 'bible' of engraving, even if it pre-dates air-assist (well, he did get a chance to check out a very early unit). It gives you a sense of where the art has come from and an appreciation for where it's going today.
Reading through the forums will give you a lot of good info. Beginners like me post our work in part so we can all feel better about where we are compared to the Masters who share their work with us - they show us where we might be, someday.
