I get to keep my oncologist when he moves! For once, I get to cry happy tears about getting to keep a provider that I feel safe with that has the knowledge and experience to work with me as a rare 🦄. I know it seems like such a small thing but it’s huge.

Tomorrow afternoon I get fitted for my AFO! All those years of fighting for one and tomorrow is the day!

The best work sessions always end with a discussion about stellar jays and peanuts and penguins in knitted jumpers.

I finally got my AFO and I just about cried happy tears. The fight was so long and hard for something so simple that will make my life easier.

I have good friends.

I need to use this new version I saw from Dr. O (Feranmi Okanlami, MD MS) at the U Mich Diversity in Medicine conference today. This was such an amazing talk. Disability took center stage and it didn’t disappoint.

This is me. I’m so tired and I have nothing left. I just want to be a student and have a somewhat normal life instead of spending so much time doing medical things.

This. So much this. But shout out to amazing mentors like Sean Bruna, PhD who dig in and learn too, even if it’s not their specialty.

And if you bring up the fact that there aren’t stats about disabled people in academia there are always so many excuses as to why and never a “let’s figure out a solution.”

Every morning I wake up feeling like death (this is what happens when you don’t have adrenal glands) while I force myself to not choke on my own spit (because I don’t want to have to explain that to a hot EMT dude) as I try to take a handful of pills to feel human. Life is grand.

Not everyone has the ability or the resources to be able to boycott Amazon. My parents have not left their house in a year because of the pandemic. Everything must be delivered. This is how I get many things for myself that I can afford elsewhere and things shipped to them.

100% this. I spend on average 12-14 hours a week managing medical appointments, surgeries, prescriptions, etc.

Tip for those who want to have someone sit in on tele-med sessions that isn’t in the household and has 2 devices: Zoom on one device with friend/family, log into tele-med with another. This helped my bestie get better care this morning and I’m glad we tried it!

Confession: I kind of hate school breaks. It’s when I usually have to cram in medical procedures and I don’t see most of my favorite people, leaving me feeling more alone than usual. It’s always a relief to go back, even if I’m not always happy about the school work.

Van Gogh (the newish acoustic neuroma tumor in the left IAC) is being an absolute jerk today causing nausea and balance issues. Can’t I catch a break for one day?

I wish ever fiber of my being could forget being an ice hockey goalie. When I’m stressed every cell reminds me of my happy place, the feel of pucks hitting me, sliding across the ice, making saves which I can’t do anymore. It’s mental hell.

You might have adrenal insufficiency if you woke up feeling hung over after St. Patrick’s Day, except you didn’t drink any alcohol and all you did was go to the gym and not add in extra steroid replacement. 🤦🏻

Funny how there is always space for typical sport and then within that, there is always space for men’s sports to have the best equipment, the best areas, the best places. At some point equalize men’s/women’s sport so we can equalize abled vs adaptive sport.

This is so true, especially with anything mobility or daily life related. Assistance doesn’t mean we’re giving up or giving in, it means we can be a part of life again instead of on the sidelines.

#MedStudentTwitter don’t ever discount an adrenally insufficient patient asking for hydrocortisone during a procedure. I had a routine endoscopy today and the anesthesiologist thought he knew better than the guidelines, didn’t push it and now I’m spending the night in the ER.