Ive been diagnosed with ms for just over 2 years now, I have still been able to work full time but it is in a factory and I really hate it at times. Just lately a lot of people have been suggesting that I go to uni, I have the qualifications to its just ms came along and put my life on hold has such at such a young age. My life is pretty comfortable at the moment, I still live with my parents, have saved ££ up but at times I really do get down just like a lot of people with ms do. At the age of 21 I think I should start making some late but key decisions. I know that my ms is likely to get worse in the future so maybe I should just count myself greatful to have a job and stick it out, I really don’t know!
I’m the same age as you and have just started the open university so I get to study and keep my job, they’re really good and helpful you could try that? x
I’m the same age as you and have just started the open university so I get to study and keep my job, they’re really good and helpful you could try that? x
NO… don’t you dare settle for second best… go to university!!!
At only 21 you will definitely be around when the cure is found… and even if that’s years off… go and do what you want to do now. Don’t let MS stop you. Go for it!!!
Take it from me who’s 60 next year… if you don’t do this you will live to regret it. Remember, life is not a dress rehearsal. This is IT!
Yes absolutely go for it! Why don’t you arrange a meeting with the university or careers advisor and explain that you have ms and they will be able to guide you towards future careers that are less likely to be affected by your ms. Btw, I had my first attack at 19 when I was at university although I wasn’t diagnosed until 6 years later. I’m just telling you that it is possible, even with ms. Good luck! Cheryl:-)
I completely agree with your other replies-if you want to go to uni go for it. You will get support if you need it there and I am quite sure you will have a great time.Yes MS can be a real drag but you don’t know how your illness could turn out. I was dx at 30 just after I had my 2nd child. I am now 46 and still relatively active and unless I tell people nobody would know I had it. So your MS could follow a similar pattern. Don’t turn opportunities down-follow your dreams. Good luck.
Pat is right. Go for it. Your ms may never get any worse than it is now and you will have all the regrets of the things you didn’t try. Like Pat I will be sixty next year. Too late now for me to do the things I would like but you have your whole life ahead of you. Follow your dreams.
Yes go to university as it will give you more options than you have now. I was diagnosed at a younger age than you, but it didn’t stop me travelling the world and going to university. I’ve lectured for years full time at university and I’m nearing retirement age now. Why settle - when you can fly. Okay we might not be able to physically fly as our shared disease impacts (sometimes mildly, sometimes harshly) - but you can always fly in your mind and use your mind when you can’t use your body to escape. I used to work for the OU as well as still working in a traditonal university’s and both are good at dealing with people with disabilities.
So fly my lovely fly and get that application in as its not just about the academic lifestyle, its about gaining a life and making friends and enjoying your youth and blossoming into who you really are. Because if you weren’t that person you wouldn’t be asking the questions you are - you need a challenge over and above MS and this is one way to attain it.
What areas are you interested in studying? PM me if you’d like help with your personal statement.
Thank you all for the responces some great points was made! It’s the fact that I have never known what I want to do/be that has put me off uni. I don’t want to go and do something that gets me no were. I know quite a few people that have got their degrees and are finding it really difficult to find a job.
There’s not enough room to list the things I’ve done since my dx . (And I was 40, not a spring chicken) Including living in Amerca for a while. Maybe sometimes I made concessions to my MS but this meant I changed the way I did things not that I didn’t do them.
I’m in a wheelchair now and am constrained by factors outside my control (like accessibility and transport problems) but I still do lots of things. I am happy to look back on the last 18 years and feel that they were not wasted.
Maybe your MS will get worse – but maybe it won’t. You can deal with the future when it comes but you can’t reach back and put the past right if you’ve languished it away by being too safe.
If you want to go to university you should go for it. Decide what you want to study and see where you get. It’s an experience in meeting new people, seeing new things and widening your options as much as studying. Visit as many universities as you can and get in contact with their disability support offices. I work in one and we want to support students to be able to study.
You will be able to get Disabled Student Allowance which will help with the cost of computer equipment, software and or personal assistant support depending on your specific needs. Type Disabled Student Allowance into a web engine and you’ll get lots of information about it.
If you want to go to university you should go for it. Decide what you want to study and see where you get. It’s an experience in meeting new people, seeing new things and widening your options as much as studying. Visit as many universities as you can and get in contact with their disability support offices. I work in one and we want to support students to be able to study.
You will be able to get Disabled Student Allowance which will help with the cost of computer equipment, software and or personal assistant support depending on your specific needs. Type Disabled Student Allowance into a web engine and you’ll get lots of information about it.
“languished it away by being too safe” a great point really made me think about life is too safe but im not sure if thats exactly a bad thing. I have just got used to being safe and comfortable I guess, I just really need to decide whether I want to go to university, and what course to do there because that is the biggest worry to me, doing something I don’t enjoy. I know thats what im doing now but at least Im being paid for it.
Live in the moment. Do what you can do now, and do it with 10 times more effort and happiness encase a time comes when you can’t do so much. Sometimes I think I’m so tired that I could lie in bed all day but I push myself to get up and have fun with my kids because when/if MS does effect me badly later I want to know Ive filled my life with as much fun as possible. Take your diagnosis as an enhancement to your life and let it make you appreciate every waking second! Ps my family think I’m nuts and should slow down but just do what ever will make you happy in the here and now. I know someone who is 62 and their MS is still mild after 30 years! Sort answer: go for it!!!
you could try that? x