Roomate?

<p>So, I'll be going to college next year and I'm nervous about roommates. I've struggled with some medical conditions all my life and some of them require hospitalization-and often 2 or more times per year, at least-one of my conditions is cyclic vomiting. Which means that once I get sick to my stomach and start to vomit, my body/brain doesn't have the capacity to stop it. There's just no switch in my brain that turns it off. This requires me to go to the hospital for medical intervention. So I'm worried that my potential future roommate will be disgusted by this and things will go badly. What should I do? Tell the housing staff at the school I choose? Will they be able to somehow match me to someone who won't be bothered? My parents and I will be able to cover medical costs, but I will need someone to help get me to the hospital.</p>

<p>Also, I'm nervous about living in close quarters with girls, I am a girl, but I have four brothers and I've grown up in that sort of environment. so I'm super worried about that too. </p>

<p>It sounds like a medical single with a close emergency contact would be ideal. Probably an RA who you can call if anything happens. That would be terrible for a roommate and there’s usually not a way to address that in the roommate survey. Are you against a single?</p>

<p>I know that my school at least has a service provided for the university health service and public safety that provides free transportation for students to the hospital. (My roommate got kidney stones one year, called, and they took her to the ER immediately.) I’m guessing that this is a common service, but check with the school to see what is available. It might be good to get in contact with university housing and see if they have any suggestions about what to do for your housing situation.</p>

<p>The problem is that although I can do it by myself, it’s much easier with someone to assist me to the hospital and help get things in order. The condition gets really debilitating the longer it goes on, if I can catch it early, I’m good on my own. But if I can’t…</p>

<p>Get in touch with your school (office of disability services to at least see if they know who you should talk to and housing office). See what they can do and what options you have. If you’re still choosing between schools, the services they would be able to provide you may be an important factor to consider.</p>

<p>I would definitely NOT depend on a roommate (especially if you’re rooming with a stranger) to help you get to the hospital. You need to work with your school, physicians, and probably parents to come up with a plan on what you’re going to do when you have an episode and need to get to the hospital. Figure out all of your options and what to do. You’re roommate getting you to the hospital should NOT be something you’re counting on, for a number of reasons. Sure, they will likely help you if they can, but it’s not a dependable thing and it’s an incredibly inappropriate burden to put on an 18-year-old (or 17-year-old) stranger. Your roommate might not be there, they might not know what to do, they might not have the ability to get you to the hospital, etc. Letting them know that you have a medical condition (if you are comfortable with that) is fine and the types of signs to look out for. But they should not be your plan for who can help you and how you’re going to get to the hospital.</p>

<p>Letting your RA know when you move in will also be a good idea. Consider what you will do if you move off campus.</p>

<p>You can also try to talk to your doctor to see if they’ve had a patient in this situation before and what they recommend. What do your parents think?</p>

Sorry it took so long to respond-I committed to UMW and found a roommate on the Facebook group page. She knows about everything and said she’s willing to look past it. Thank you so much for helping!

Also tell your roommate that is okay if they get the RA and the RA calls an ambulance for you. Speak with the RA about this and what to do. Also have something to vomit into at the ready.

Of course-I’ve had action plans like this for years-thank you!