In my first year of university, I have had many challenges. I struggled to see an end to some of the more punishing health battles I went through, but I persevered.
At the start of university, I had a pain flare, which led to me attending university doped up on morphine. My energy levels depleted quickly, so I was always pretty drained.
The new year brought problems with my mental health, as I was put on an antidepressant I did not agree with. As you can imagine, having chronic pain and not feeling yourself mentally is challenging to say the least.
Following this, I needed surgery, which left me out of classes for three weeks in February.
In March, I started to have seizures for which I was hospitalised frequently.
Throughout this, I kept going, with the end goal in sight. I did not for one second want my health to prevent me from doing well in my studies. With the help of amazing, incredibly understanding lecturers, I managed to only have one extension throughout my assignments. They were caring and sympathetic in regards to me needing to have time off, and my personal tutor even phoned me when I was absent due to seizures. I dropped into her office several times throughout the year for chats about university work, my health and anything else that was particularly challenging at the time.
I also received free weekly counselling during my first year at university, which was a great help. It was important to be able to verbally process my thoughts and challenges but to also recognise my triumphs in these sessions, both big and small. I feel that they were very productive in aiding me to be able to cope with my studies in first year.
I also received support from many friendly faces in STAART, which I have talked about in my previous blog post: https://louisefrancescablog.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/my-first-term-at-greenwich-university-london-as-a-disabled-student/
It has really helped seeing other students with health struggles achieve what they set out to do, reassuring me that health should not be a barrier when it comes to thriving at university. Through STAART, I have made very close friends, with whom I can vent and laugh about the struggles we go through.
Being an AccessAbility Ambassador at the University of Greenwich has also boosted my self confidence. I have worked shifts with fellow ambassadors, reigniting the part of me that loves to work and making me feel comfortable doing so despite my challenges. At the University of Greenwich, everyone understands if I need to take breaks during my shifts due to my conditions. I feel that it’s a great transition from not being able to work to hopefully having the career I am studying for upon graduating in a couple of years. I am incredibly grateful to the university for providing me with this opportunity.
Because of all of these elements of university life, I felt capable of ploughing through my first year despite the difficulties I faced. I worked as hard as I could, when I could. My last exam was two days after I’d spent the night in hospital, but I wasn’t going to miss it. I had reassurance from the university that if I didn’t get the result I wanted in my exams, I could resit them in the summer. This was reassuring, but I wasn’t willing to quit just yet. I managed to complete both exams. one being two days after I’d spent the night in hospital.
When I saw grades in the summer, at first I was in disbelief, it felt surreal. I finished my first year with a 1:1
If I can do it, I’m sure you can too. If you are considering doing a degree that is offered by the University of Greenwich (especially if it is Sociology!), I would recommend coming to an open day or enquiring via email. The contacts for STAART are on my last blog post that I linked previously.
It’s not so bad being a spoonie in uni!
Louise Francesca Blogs 