College! - Muscular Dystrophy Message Board

hoosierKT · 08-28-2008, 11:47 AM

So I have made it to college. I am a history major with a minor in secondary education at Saint Joseph's College. The move in was very very smooth. I requested a room on the first floor with the laundry room on the first floor, so I am in a mostly upperclassmen dorm. The only problem I have with my dorm is the two little, but still evil, steps to get it. There is a ramp to get in the building but it is on the other side of the building and in the back. So for now I will have to just put up with the evil steps. There are only two different buildings that I have my classes in. I use the elevator in one building and I hope it never breaks because I have a class that is on the third floor. My classmates even come in and they have to catch their breath... I can't imagine what I would be like after I came up them, if I even made it! I assume the repair men would have to fix it right away because we have a profesor that is in a wheelchair...

There is only really one big problem I am trying to fix right now and that is parking. Right now I have to park far far away, which I can handle at the moment. But when winter comes along, I won't feel safe walking to and from my classes on ice. So i'm trying to get it set up that I can have handicap parking.. which there is one right outside my dorm and there are several right outside the buildings where my classes are. The parking guy just said I needed a note from my doctor, although they already have a note from my doctor because of my housing request. Oh well. My doctor will be pleased to hear from me. He was very excited about my choice to go away to college.

I have to go to class now but I have another thing to tell you.. shoot. Okay I'll make another post later

michigani · 08-28-2008, 12:32 PM

Hoosier, good for you! Sounds like you are getting along. In Michigan there is a form you can print out from our Secretary of State website (or Department of Motor vehicles in some states) for a HC Parking Permit....the tag that hangs from your mirror. You attach a doctors note stating you require HC parking to the filled in form and mail it in. In Michigan the tag is good for 5 years and it's free.

I was very stubborn about using it at first. It felt unnatural and I felt everyone was looking at me. But I got over it and realized it was my imagination. I have a REALLY hard time walking now, so I'm glad I have it. Have a great year at college!

Mark

Wallis86 · 08-28-2008, 01:12 PM

Congrats on college! I was thinking, since they really should have given you a room nearest the ramp, you might talk to the housing department and see if they can build a temporary ramp at those evil stairs for you. You have to be really persistent with housing, I know the horrors of campus housing well! When I transferred schools, my new on campus apartment had a step to get the front door! Being in a wheelchair now, it would have been impossible. Before I transferred was horrible! I lived on the 4th floor and the only elevator was the freight elevator. I had a key for it, but it someone left the gate open even an inch, the elevator wouldn't move.

If any elevators break around campus, be really forceful about getting them fixed. Healthy people don't understand the necessity of these things... elevators, door buttons, ramps. I don't have MD, but it's the same exact situation. I got locked out of the hallway where the elevator was once, and I threw a fit. Someone had to find a way into the hallway from another direction to open the door so I could just get out of the class. There's no need for things like that.

The other thing I BEG you to take advantage of is your school's Student Disability Center. PLEASE get some accommodations for school, even if you don't feel you need them. They will save you on days you don't feel well enough to work at your best level. Most schools inform the professors only that you need accommodations, not what your disability is, in case you are nervous about people knowing what's wrong. Good luck, go a little crazy, it's your first time in college!

hoosierKT · 09-03-2008, 07:29 PM

Hey Mark, I checked out the Indiana bmv website and it was kind of confusing. I looked around for the application to get a handicap decal and I just got frustrated. But I gave the parking guy a note from my doctor and they will be getting me a handicap decal shortly. I don't think I need an official sticker yet, but I'm sure in the future I will take advantage of that.

The evil stairs are usually only a big problem for me if I am carrying something and my hands are full. Otherwise I grab onto the wall or brace myself on my leg. I probably look silly, but who cares. Now the stairs going into one of my friends dorm... those are really the devil. There are four much bigger stairs and no hand railing. It really bugs me when there is no hand railing.

The other thing I wanted to share with you guys was about my Freshman advisor. He is a sweet old British man that is somewhat forgetful. He is very kind about my situation. One of the days for orientation we had a get together at a lake about a mile from campus, and he offered to drive me over there which was very nice of him. He says that he mentioned me at his church last Sunday and now they are all praying for me. A lot of people have said that to me from my hometown too. I just don't know how praying for me is going to get me up the stairs quicker. I don't go to church, but I do talk to God. Which kind of just started when I got diagnosed.

Oh and another thing that I really can't talk about anyone else yet is my fear of one day having to use a wheelchair. I was sitting on my friends porch with her the other night and we got to talking about being old ladies together. And that makes me instantly picture myself in a wheelchair. I know it's probably going to happen, but I still don't like it. There is much more I would like to say, but I know I've rambled on too much already. Once I get to talking there really is no stopping me. What is really stopping me right now is a 3 page paper I have to right for tomorrow. Yay college!!!

Katie

Wallis86 · 09-03-2008, 08:25 PM

It's a scary thought to think about needing to use a wheelchair one day. I never pictured myself needing a wheelchair as soon as I did, but if you think about it merely as a way to get around, it seems a lot less daunting. I made sure my chair has everything I need, and still looked young and cool. I tricked it out with skulls and pins and whatnot to make myself feel better about using it. And as sad as it is, you don't feel so bad about using the chair after a short time of using it. You will have to get used to the way people treat you differently when you use a chair, but if you take it with a grain of salt, its not such a big deal.