Thread by @DisabledAcadem

This year is a good reminder that some students don't return to spring semester "refreshed" or ready to go. For students with complex chronic illnesses and disabilities, winter break is often a time to play catch up with their medical team or a time to try to secure a dx. 1/9

Students need those dx to get accommodations, but it's incredibly hard to get them. The costs for testing and appts can be excessive, specialists may be far away, and getting the right Dr is hard. These extended hospital closures are creating new barriers as well. 2/9

Over break so far I have 1. Fainted during bloodwork 2. Found I have double the inflammatory markers of an average person (Drs still not totally sure why) 3. Been dx with small fiber neuropathy 4. Undergone a punch biopsy 5. Been given a preliminary RA dx. 3/9

6. Continued immunotherapy 7. Seen neurologist, allergist, and GI.

And this is on top of already managing Ehlers Danlos, Mast Cell Activation, POTS, Arnold Chiari, and gastroparesis. All of which I have formal dx for, but pretty bad management of. 4/9

Over the rest of break I still have to trial two new medicines and go for a GI motility test to trace how much worse my gastroparesis has gotten since my last test. And all of these things are normal for me. I have spent winter break like this for all of undergrad and grad 5/9

Going home for winter break was like a medical pilgrimage from my uni. Back home to MA, back to Boston for tests, appts, follow ups. Back with my parents to be monitored as I trialled new meds, diets, and therapeutics. It's not a time of healing or rest or relaxation. 6/9

Winter break gave me the time to secure care so that I could make it through the spring semester, but it was never a vacation. And this year my care is being put off because of hospital closures. My specialists are not seeing me in office and I'm not getting the care I need. 7/9

Please don't assume that winter break is actually a break for your students. I think that's obvious this year, but in reality it's never been a break for me. And it was always painful to return to campus to questions of "what did you do over break? Did your family travel?" 8/9

It was never a holiday. And it would be nice if profs assumed that it wasn't solely a time of joy and relaxation. 9/9 #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #DisabilityTwitter