Going to University with Chronical Illnesses | Planning #1

This is not a how-to post and I unfortunately don’t have much advice to give. I would actually love to hear some advice if you got it. But I still want to make a post during this start of university where I just discuss my worries surrounding starting this new, stressful-for-normal-people every day.

To say something about how I got here; I really fought for an education. I think a lot of people with chronic illnesses and other disabilities have to, to a degree, no matter where they come from. Even though I live in Norway with protected rights to education, there was so much working against me to get here. But that is its own story. The thing is; I got here. I’m surprised and relieved.

I love the people surrounding me and how smart they are. I love taking it all it and hanging out with people and barely grasping what is happening in math lectures. I’m on a roll, about to be caught up mostly in different aspects of my life. A balance is reachable! And then my body will shut down. It did this week, for multiple reasons. And while I’ve been able to take a break from thinking about illness until now, even though I’ve had a base-level of pain with me every day (some days worse than other), now I have to call doctors and switch one of the many medicines I’m on and keep this part of my life going with filling out forms and sending letters and … it’s a lot.

Some of my fellow physics students are the cliches of having their head so deep in a book that they forget about the world around them until someone brings them coffee/food/calls and asks them why the hell they’re not meeting them as planned. I can do that as well … for a couple hours. But if I was that person I would probably not survive long, or at minimum – in the short run – suffer greatly. I’m forced to have at least this part of my life, the medical, organized. And it’s something you never can plan for.

How to plan if you’re chronically ill:

• Don’t. Or at least that’s what I’ve landed on after many years. I will have plans, and if other people are involved, sometimes you got to attach dates to those plans. But always have a way out, depending on how important that thing is for you. And for the less important things, keep the plan an idea as long as possible (this only works if you communicate well with those around you, and evaluate the possibilities of the individual situation). And depending on that week or day’s energy/pain level, set or change those plans. To sum up; no plans are set in stone.
• Know that there will be x amount of days/weeks of school work lost due to illness, try not to be angry or stressed out at yourself when it happens, roll with the punches. It’s so difficult. I’m not doing great at it right now. You’re at least learning efficiency when you get back.
• Try to get as much help as possible. To learn things, to get notes. From anyone. Like be honest and reach out and know that you have a good reason. Try to be that person to others when you have better periods and they got issues, if possible.
• Always book those hospital/doctor appointments as soon as possible. It’s easier now that I’ve actually got free time sometime during the day, mostly, instead of in high school sneaking out of class and sitting on the bathroom floor of the handicap stall (one of many, I wasn’t in anyone’s way) for twenty minutes while waiting to get through on the phone. It’s still easy to avoid. But it doesn’t get better.