Going to University with Chronic Illness can be complicated. It's not always about the courses or course-material themselves, but getting to the courses that becomes the issue. Parking is always problematic, taking public transit, and even walking the length of the university to get from one class to another might be second-nature to healthy individuals - but it can cause awful problems for those with serious illness.
For half of my university years, I had no issue with walking, really. I could walk (or even run) the length of the uni or up the hills or back and forth from one end to the other with no issue. My biggest concern for most of that time was access to a bathroom. For me, that was a big consideration when choosing courses to take. I would have to know exactly where the class was expected to be held in order to decide whether or not I could feasibly take the course. That... and time. Mornings have always been especially difficult. Morning courses were the classes I often had to miss. I did my best to get there (I am one of those nerds who truly LOVED school), but sometimes I just could not physically get there.
Halfway through my degree though, I began having heart issues. The highest documented heartrate I had was 230bpm... walking on a treadmill (2.0mph). Safe to say, I vomited and kiiiinda passed out. Suddenly my resting heartrate was sitting always above 100bpm (up from ~58bpm average), and I became increasingly weak and short of breath. While we were trying to figure out what the issue was, I was instructed to avoid the stairs, avoid excess physical activity, and avoid walking too far (like the length of the school). I was assigned a handicap placard (for the heart issue and the incontinence issue) for the city.
Well, then there came a bigger problem. The university had a general guideline that suggested that handicap parking permits for the university could only be sold to those with visible disabilities - and I did not have a wheelchair.
I would have completely understood if there was a large demand for handicap parking permits, but they were rarely used. Every day there would be 20 or more stalls left unused. So a patient with a potential heart condition (who had a city handicap placard) was refused.
Unfortunately for me, that meant that I had to leave extra early to give myself time to drive around for an hour trying to find parking close enough to the door. I often got lucky, but just as often, if I could not find parking, I could not attend class.
This was a huge piss-off for me.
Then, to add icing onto the cake, parking services monitored the lots at all times. Apparently, when your meter runs out, you had to move your vehicle to a different parking stall. You couldn't just put money back into the meter. (I received more than one ticket and they began towing people for this particular infraction). So even if the lots are full, even if you leave in the middle of class to go replug your meter, you can still get ticketed and towed.
AND you got in trouble for leaving class. Lol.
I loved school. I loved nearly every single course I took (apart from Statistics class and a couple others I can barely remember). University was where I really hit my stride. It was also the time I worked on releasing my first cd, where I found volleyball leagues I could really compete in, and where I spent all of my time. I even took courses throughout the summer because I wanted to.
Now I am so glad that invisible diseases are being better understood. Perhaps those with internal disabilities who are attending university now are having an easier time working around some of these issues.
I know that, for me, it was never about using my illnesses as an excuse not to be there. In fact, I would suffer severe anxiety for missing class. I wanted so very badly to be there all the time. But illness and the misunderstanding of illness can cause limitations that are difficult to overcome - especially if you have to rely on the help of people who are unwilling to help.
Thank goodness I had some incredible professors, an eternally supportive family, and a few great friends to keep my sanity.
To all of you choosing to continue schooling through severe chronic illness: I applaud you. I know that every single day is a struggle and you are doing amazingly well!!
