The Medical Dorm

** If you want to watch the show The Good Place, do not read this blog post as there are spoilers throughout the post.** We have been watching The Good Place on Netflix and have realized that you really don’t need to die to experience the phenomenon in this show, it is all around us.  Everyone has heard the saying that college is the best 4 years of your life.  Let’s just say that we don’t agree with this statement. The person that came up with college is the best four years of your life was not trying to get through an accelerated medical program while managing multiple disabilities. When you tour a college and look at a school they talk about the opportunities found on campus. There are many degrees, beautiful buildings, and organizations for students to engage in and become well rounded leaders. Similarly, the brochure is diverse and always shows students studying on a sunny lawn. I have never once seen a student studying on the lawn at this school (I have seen peop...

              I am officially back at school and so is secret agent puppy. He has taken to college life like a pro, although he was raised on a college campus so he really is a pro. Aside from everybody loving him because he is cute, fun loving, and a dog, he does a lot everyday to earn his spot. While people think  am taking my dog because I felt like getting a pet, the truth is, he is the reason I got to come back from medical leave and can go to class.  He has always proven how valuable he is and this week has been no different, in fact he has even stepped it up a notch. I think he knows without my mom I will try to break the rules (he is having none of it).              When I drop something he picks them up because I can't. He braces when my heart rate spikes and I could pass out. He lays across me when my joints hurt to provide warmth and pressure. He tells me when I forget my pills which is good unle...

Both Nemo and I are college students.  While Nemo is nearing the end of her medical leave, I (Tremors) have been attending college classes.  Now, most would think that being chronically ill, and having a variety of medical problems would greatly limit our abilities.  You might even be thinking why are you two even in college? Even if you don’t think that, somebody does. To answer that, we are both stubborn, and decided that we wanted to be able to prove everyone who said we could not do this wrong.  Now, our classmates have figured out that something is up with each of us.  (Our professors have to be given notices about our accommodations so there are not many secrets) We are not exactly discreet.  For example, Nemo has a service dog, and I show up around campus bald under a beanie.  We have both had to take medications during class, and have both had to miss classes to take a quick trip to the hospital.  Most would think that we would be bar...

No one goes out like this--certainly not us We have to admit that one of our professors gave the idea for this week’s post.   Let’s be honest here, no one walks around holding giant signs with their conditions listed.   Your diagnosis is not your label.   The question is why do some people believe that it is.   The answers to that are endless, but basically some people are just awful.   Why must our diagnosis be the only thing that we are?   Why can’t we be known as something that is positive?   We are both daughters, sisters, students and so much more than our diagnoses.   We love watching random movies and TV shows.   We love to relax and go out with friends.   Though we might not be able to do absolutely everything, we still try.   There are days where we just need to take a break, and others where we can act fairly normal.   We do not go out where we go and start giving out our diagnoses.   If necessary, or if...

First, we would like to apologize/acknowledge our absence over summer.  Simply put, our summers were full of hospitalizations, appointments, medication changes, vacations, and more.  Now, with colleges starting back up again I (Tremors) decided that it was time for another survival tip: how to survive the back to school rush. Back to school is something that everyone dreads in some way, shape, or form.  It means the end of the freedom of summer time, and back to the grind at school.  Which is frankly isn't something I look forward to since I really like relaxing over summer.  When you go back to school as a spoonie there is a lot that you have to do.  You need to make sure you have your housing set, that you have your accommodations in place, you need to talk to your professors, and you have to get your body use to a new schedule.  None of this is something that people truly enjoy doing. To survive back to school as a spoonie: 1.) Do not try to d...

I don’t know about you, but we certainly have noticed quite a few books / movies that are about individuals with some sort of illness.  Now, if you look at these books / movies closer there is something pretty obvious about them.  They are pretty much all romances, and let’s just say the two of our life experiences do not match up (at all).  Today we decided to examine a little deeper how little our lives relate to these stories that are beloved by many.  We aren’t saying don’t read these books, we are just saying from the point of view of someone with a chronic illness, there is not a lot of things in common.   Chronic Illnesses aren’t glamorous: Chronic illness is more than a label.  It is something that takes over your life, and the lives of everyone around you.  It is days of feeling too sick to get out of bed.  Days of taking a crazy amount of medications, and some including some not so fun side effects.  There are countless a...