Hi y'all!
Ok. Yeah. I haven't posted in... 5 months? Oops. Sorry about that. Life happens, ya know? Let's skip the me-making-excuses part and get to the post.
One of the things that happened during my extended hiatus was that I committed to Yale! Yay! I'm so excited that I'll be pursuing my dream field at my dream school. Of course, T1D adds a lovely layer of extra planning and worrying to any venture, and college is no exception. So this post will be a glimpse into what it's like getting ready for college while dealing with a chronic condition like T1.
Obviously, in high school, my 504 plan took care of most of the accommodations I needed. Now, that's not to say that getting that plan was easy, or that all of my teachers respected my needs all the time. But overall, it was pretty much a one-and-done kind of situation. In college, it's... not quite that simple. The fact that our student body is so much bigger than Niles North, combined with the fact that every professor runs their classroom a bit differently, makes it hard to account for all of the possibilities. I've been working with my endo to come up with a comprehensive list of everything that needs to be considered; using my phone in class for Dex is the biggest one, obviously, but there's also things like rearranging my class schedule to make sure I have time to walk across campus without my blood sugar plummeting, and getting permission to reschedule exams as needed. In total, I've got a list of more than 10 accommodations that the university is legally required to provide.
Now, all that might sound a bit overwhelming to any non-PWD. But it's easily overshadowed, at least in my mind, by the biggest issue: for the first time in my life, I'll be living without my parents.
Y'all know I'm seriously thrilled about getting some more independence and having the chance to make my own decisions. But the fact remains that no matter how frustrating it can be to live at home, I've got two people in the house who know exactly what to do if I have a hypoglycemic episode. If I feel like I'm going into DKA or feeling sick after a rebound, I can rely on the people around me to know what I need and help me get through it. And now... now I'm going to be over 800 miles away from home, surrounded by a bunch of people who may not have ever heard of Type 1 Diabetes.
I've never been ashamed of my condition. Ever. If you went to elementary or middle school with me, you know that even when I was a kid, I was always happy to answer questions or teach people about what it means to have T1D. The result of that was that by the time I got to high school, the majority of my friends already knew at least the basics of Type 1. Sure, I had to explain it to the new friends that I met along the way, but at any given time, I could usually count on at least one person to know what I meant if I said I was high or low.
But there's something about the idea of having to explain T1D to a whole new group of people, that makes me wonder if it would be easier to just... not. To do my insulin in the bathroom instead of the dining hall, to wear my CGM on my stomach instead of my leg. But the truth is, that's not an option for me. Because in the event that I do need help, I won't have my old classmates there to get me what I need. That's the reality of having a chronic illness: at any given time, your survival could literally depend on the people around you.
So yes, at some point I'll tell my friends about the weird little machine on my leg. At some point, I'll apologize to my roommate for the inevitable low blood glucose alarms that will wake both of us up during the night. I'll show my suitemates how to use a Glucagon and tell my professors not to yell at me for eating during class.
And then I'll do college. Just like anyone else. It'll be busy and confusing and so, so, so much fun. I'll learn new things and make new friends and figure out how to store a whole bunch of needles in my dorm room without making it look like I'm doing something illegal. (Ok, so maybe not exactly like everyone else. But close enough.)
Oh, and to any Yalies who are reading this: Hi! I'm Abby. I'm a MCDB/psych major, aspiring surgeon, tennis player, musician, and bookworm. And I happen to have Type 1 Diabetes, which is probably not as scary as you think it is. Come chat with me! You know how to reach me, and I'm always looking for new friends.
Stay safe y'all! I promise I'll write again soon. Sending love to all of you!
