I know having a chronic illness/disability makes the thought of going to uni impossible but it can be done. Yes , there is a chance that your health will get worse and you have to drop out but there is also a chance that it wont and you'll graduate. It's also makes the tough journey a lot easier with the right support.

I've always loved science and it was the only subject I was ever good at at school. Everyone told me I was mad for doing chemistry, biology and physics for A level but they were the only subjects I could get my head around (although physics maybe not so much). I knew that if I wanted a science based job a degree would help a lot but the idea of going to uni when I had to fight to keep up at school was terrifying.

I'm now 3/4 of the way through my 2nd year and I would be lying if I told you that it hadn't been hard. The first semester of 2nd year was the hardest time of my life. I even considered dropping out but with my support team I managed to get through it and I'm now back to having the time of my life. I know everyone tells you that high school is supposed to be the best years of your life. DO NOT believe them. High school were some of the worst years of my life but Uni is definitely the best years so far. I have met some amazing friends and made some amazing memories.

So anyway back to the point of this post if you really want to go to uni but are worried you cant because of an illness  here's some things that could help you decide if its right for you.

There is DSA, the disabled students allowance, which assesses your needs and does not take into account whether you get DLA or not. This can provide you with a laptop, printer, Dictaphone, speech recognition software, adapted desk/chair for your room and loads more to make it as easy as possible for you to do work. They also provide money for a note taker who can also go to your lectures if you are not well enough to attend and for me a lab assistant. My note taker also helps me get my chair out of the car and walks with me to my lectures so that they can hold doors open for me etc. I also get an allowance for text books and ink so that I don't have to trek to the library all the time and an allowance to get extended time to hand in assignments.

The part of uni life I was most worried about was not living at home and having my mum look after me when I was ill. Social services solved this problem for me.They came out and assessed how much my mum had to do for me & what I struggled with. I was then provided with a direct payment system for hiring Personal Assistants (PA's), carers or whatever you want to call them. This means I have someone to cook and make sure I eat, clean, do my washing and shopping so that I don't waste energy on that or injure myself which tends to happen. They also do my personal care when I'm really ill. I would not be at uni if I didn't have my PAs. Luckily I made some really good friends in the first few weeks and they agreed to do the job and they do an amazing job of looking after me and making sure I'm alive and take my meds etc.

For living arrangements my university have said that I can stay in halls for the whole time as housing around here is not very accessible. They have also allowed my PAs/friends to stay as well. I get a bigger room for the same price as a small room because its necessary. I have a wet room with grab rails everywhere you could possibly need them and a raised toilet. There are also emergency pull cords which go through to the 24hr security for if I'm ill and need someone getting or if I fall. I haven't needed it yet but it went off accidentley and they were very quick. The university also arranged for my bed to be raised because it was too low to get up from and they provided a shower chair for me. They also had the built in desk removed so that my height adjustable desk could be fitted. Our kitchen is also all accessible. We have a lower counter with hob and sink as well as the normal height one so that it can be used with a wheelchair. There is also an emergency pull cord in the kitchen. There is a car park right outside the flat and I get a free parking permit as my car is essential.

University's tend to be a lot better than schools with providing support. My head of course is amazing and always asks if there's anything he can help with. There is also a disability support team who make sure that you are getting as much help as possible and provide me with a pass to park in all university car parks including a swipe key to park in lecturer car parks. They also had an extra disabled space painted up for me because the other 2 were already used. In my time at uni I have found that the people here are beyond helpful and do as much as possible to make sure I am able to stay.

In October/November last year I was really ill and fell really behind. I was struggling to get out of bed let alone go to lectures. I ended up going to see  my head of course and telling him that there was no way I was going to catch up and that I was thinking of dropping out. He managed to talk me into staying and arranged it so that I could hand in all my late assignments after Christmas so that I could concentrate on my exams instead. I have now caught up and am very glad I was able to stay. I've also decided to do my third year part time so it will take me 2yrs instead of 1 but wont be as stressful and hard on  me. So there are ways around things.

I'm not saying uni is for everyone but if you do want to go your illness/disability doesn't need to be the only reason you can't go. There are lots of things out there in order to support you and try and make your time at uni as easy and stress free as possible so that you can enjoy the social life and make amazing friends and memories as well as get a degree. If anyone has any questions about uni leave a comment and I'll get back to you.