I had missed a lot of school during the semester before I
was diagnosed with RA and my grades suffered greatly. I’m almost surprised I didn’t fail that
semester. I think I just barely scraped by. I had a couple of scholarships
my first year that weren’t renewed for the next year. I got laid off from my construction job and
had a really hard time finding another job. I was now receiving medical bills with no
way to pay them. I didn’t want to stop
going to school, but I was extremely concerned with how I was going to pay for
it with no job and no more scholarships.
My dad told me about someone he knew that worked at the
State Office of Rehabilitation. They
specialize in working with people with disabilities receive education,
training, etc. so that individuals can gain employment and independence. Because of my RA diagnosis and my lack of
education, I was able to qualify for assistance in paying for college. They helped pay for my tuition and books and
gave me career counseling. They even
helped pay for medications at times.
Now, my big job was to find a job, haha, and go to my
classes. After a few semesters, I
decided to change my major from criminal justice to nutrition. I hadn’t really considered nutrition until
after I took a basic nutrition class for general credit. I found it fun, fascinating, and I surprised myself
that I was kind of good at it. I was also able to find some part-time jobs that were great to work around my class schedules.
I tried to get my classes close together so I could get them
done and not have to worry about filling time on campus during breaks. Plus, it gave me time to go home and rest
after a long day. The university I went
to is fairly small, and it wasn’t uncommon to have my next class on the
opposite end of campus. With no campus transportation available, I walked all
over that school to get to my classes.
It was fun, but it was also really good for my joints. I think it really helped to slow down the
damage from RA. It didn’t stop it
completely, though.
I married my main squeeze after 2 years of college and we
moved to a basement apartment close to the university. It was so great to be within walking distance
of school. I would pack my backpack with
a couple of books, some paper and pens, and snacks, and I was off to school for
4-5 hours a day for the next 3 years. I was able to get on full time with one of the jobs I was working after
graduating. It was mostly a desk
job. My body had been used to moving
while I was walking to and from home and classes, it really took a toll on
me when I stopped walking so much.
Within a few short months of graduation, I was walking with crutches
full time.
 |
| College Grad! |
College is hard enough as it is, but to go through it when
your body is tired, stiff, and aching, and your mind gets jumbled from stress,
worry, and the lovely brain fog that can accompany RA, is all the more
difficult, as you may imagine. Difficult
as it was, I felt that receiving a bachelor’s degree was one of the most
important things I could do for myself and my family.
It took a lot of effort for me to stay positive during my
college years. My grades remained ok,
but not amazing. I still missed quite a bit of class because I was sore and couldn’t get enough energy to get
there.
My relationships also suffered. I went from hanging out with friends several
nights a week until all hours of the morning, to being exhausted at 8pm and wanting
nothing more than to take a warm bath and go to bed. I became an undependable study partner, an inconsistent
friend, and an unstable roommate.
For some reason, I held a lot back from my new friends and roommates. I think I was nervous to lean on them because we still didn't know each other that well. I relied a lot on my parents and brother and sister who lived nearby. I wish I would have opened up more to them. I could have used the emotional support. There was a lot of drama going on in my head that needed to be calmed.
And I thought the biggest drama in college was going to be
dating…
Riley
No comments:
Post a Comment