College with a Chronic Illness

     If you’ve been following my Instagram for a while or are a close friend, you would know I have a few chronic illnesses (CI). The one that played the most significant part for me in college was Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS for short. CRPS is when the nerves overfire, causing extreme pain. My body constantly thinks that my legs are injured when they are not. It’s excruciating and left me in a wheelchair for nearly two years. Thankfully, I am much better now and haven’t used my chair in a little over a year, which is fantastic. I never thought it would happen, but it did. If there’s anything I’ve learned from that time, college with a chronic illness is not easy. So in this post, I’m going to cover my top tips for going to college with a chronic illness(es).

Get accommodations

I seriously cannot stress this one enough. It is, honestly, the one thing I deeply regret not doing in the beginning. Getting accommodations set will help you in more ways than I can explain. I truly wouldn’t have been able to get straight A’s if it wasn’t for my accommodations. Every college has a Students with Disabilities department. During the first week of classes (or before, if possible), set up a meeting and get accommodations set. You do have to provide doctors authorization to get accommodations, but that wasn’t hard for me. Accommodations can include things like extended due dates, the ability to use a laptop to take notes, having a scribe (some to take notes for you), the system Read&Write that will read your textbook to you and whatever you highlight will be turned into a word doc, ability to make up tests/quizzes etc. The accommodation I have and use the most was extended due dates because some days my pain is so bad that I can’t get out of bed, much less focus on my schoolwork. This doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but it has proven to be so helpful for me. I recommend getting accommodations and, if possible, make friends with whoever helps you at the SWD office. I made really great friends with Melinda and her assistant, Crystal. Both ladies supported me, and I owe so much to them (Melinda and Crystal, if you’re reading this, thank you both so much. Sending you a lot of love).

Take classes online if you can

This one is more challenging but one that has proven time and time again to be a lifesaver for me. I used to be on my university’s main campus, taking in-person classes. When my health issues got to be too much for me to handle while taking in-person classes, I switched to a fully online program. I don’t know if all universities have this, but do look into taking classes online. Online courses are great because you can do all your work in bed. A lot of self-motivation and time management is needed for online classes (links to my past blog posts on those subjects), but I promise you it’s worth it. I’ve been able to travel without missing classes, and when this COVID-19 thing started, I honestly didn’t miss a beat education-wise. 

Make sure your friends are aware of your illnesses 

I know that having illnesses is hard and that you might not want everyone to know your business, but letting your friends know can help so much. I, unfortunately, did not do that with the girls I was living with at the time of my diagnosis, which led to many disagreements between us. I highly recommend keeping friends in the loop. That doesn’t mean you tell them absolutely everything, but do keep them on a need-to-know basis. That’s what I do now, and it really has made a difference. If I’ve had to cancel/postpone plans, friends have offered to come to see me instead of me going to them, which is so wonderful. 

Know that people are going to question you

Not everyone will know what your condition is, and they will question you. I’ve had many friends and other people at my school challenge the validity of my illnesses. “Oh, you’re walking right now. Does that mean you’re cured?” No, Karen, it doesn’t. It just means that my pain is under control today. People who don’t understand your condition will question you, and that’s okay. You just need to know how to politely respond and then move on. I can’t even begin to explain the sheer embarrassment of my first few weeks of being in a wheelchair. I was the only mainstream student in a wheelchair, which was supremely difficult for me during the first few weeks. But after some time, people stopped staring at me so much, and life got back to normal. Looking back on it now, I totally understand why people were so shocked, and to be honest, I probably would have reacted the same way. Maybe not the “you’re cured because you’re walking” way but the “what happened to you” reaction. But after the person told me what was wrong, I would have accepted it and moved on. 

Be patient with yourself

College is hard, and living with a chronic illness is even harder. So be patient with yourself and with your health. You’ll have ups and downs; that’s just part of life. Remember to be gentle with yourself and rely on your friends during tough times. My DMs on Instagram are always open if you are struggling and need help. I will listen, I won’t judge, and I will only provide advice if you want it. Remember to engage in self-care and know that you are loved and worth all the good things in life.

~bonus~

Surviving and Thriving with Invisible Chronic Illnesses is a fantastic book resource for life with CI.

 And this concludes my post on CI in college. I hope this helped you and that you enjoyed this post. As always don’t forget to like this post, share it with all your CI friends and leave me a comment below if this post helped you. Also follow me on all social media (links below) and I’ll see you next week. Sending you all the love and light in the world.