College and Poor Health?

Student Lounge College Life
1

So, I have a whole slew of medical issues. Brittle T1 Diabetes since I was eleven months old, thyroid issues, blood pressure problems, the whole nine yards. I visit the ER at least once a month, though there are periods where everything goes wrong at once and I have three or four admissions in as many weeks. Just November and December this year alone, I had ten ER visits and eight admissions, three of which were to the PICU. We’ve pushed for new technologies to manage many issues better, but at the end of the day some things just can’t be avoided, like the idiopathic pancreatitis that shows up whenever it wants, landing me with an IV drip and a hefty dose of morphine.

In high school, my attendance was awful, but I managed to keep my grades up pretty well. I had a 504 plan in place that pretty much said I couldn’t be penalized for missing school provided I had a doctors note, and I still need to talk to my doctor about getting one for college. However, college is a lot different than high school, and I know missing labs or classes held once a week can cause a big issue. I’ve taken a gap year this year to try to focus on getting a handle on these issues, but there’s only so much I can do before it’s out of my hands and up to my body not to screw up.

Does anyone out there have any advice about being a chronically sick person trying to stay up on college classes? I know I’ll do doubt be in pretty close communication with professors, but any tips on approaching them before classes to warn them, advice on ways to stay caught up in class, recommendations on scheduling if possible (having longer once-a-week classes versus several of one class a week) or anything else?

I’ve applied to a few smaller colleges, but my top choice is a large state school, and I know some of the classes there are EXTREMELY large; in those classes, should I be talking to the TA’s about what I missed?

My hope is that, since there are some days where I might only have one or two classes, spending two hours in class might be more doable then a nine hour school day might have been, and I can simply visit doctors or ER’s after class.

Again, any advice would be helpful. I’m paying for and taking out student loans myself, without family help, so I’d like to be able to get out in four years instead of tacking on more money for more semesters.

2

You should contact the disabilities office at your college. If you provide written documentation of your health issues, they should be able to give you some accommodations. Typically, they will write up a letter for you that you will have to share with each professor. The two universities my son attended (one very large and one small) were really great. More than one instructor told him that they get quite a few accommodation requests each semester, so they’re used to it.

3

Yes, the disabilities office is the place to start.

4

You might also consider taking a portion of your classes online. You then could take class with you to the hospital and work on any online classes while sitting through IV drips and such.

5

You can get accomodations in college, but you still have to do the work.

  1. Can you get your health more under control? Like do you have an insulin pump and a Continuous Blood Glucose monitoring system? Are your doctors just fixing what is happening now but not looking at the big picture?

  2. I would consider staring at Community College. Perhaps don’t ’ take a full load the first semester. Also talk to disability office about getting accomodations/having note taker. In college it is up to you to get the notes you missed but if you have a disability the disability office may get you a note taker. By living at home you have someone watching over your health and supporting you.

  3. After finishing 60 credits consider transferring to your State U.

  4. I am not sure what you want to major in, but it might be good to figure out what kind of major would work with you. For example, something with science labs might not be good as those are very hard to make up.

  5. As mentioned see if some classes can be taken online or hybrid (some classroom, some online)for max flexibility.

6

What is your parents take on this? Obviously they have managed you up to this point. From a residential college perspective, you look like a horrible risk. Are you the same person as in your other posts, the camping kid with two jobs who faints a lot?