Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Support Group
This community is a place where members can discuss current events and weigh in on what's going on in the world.
I will be graduating in April with a BSc in Neuroscience. Before I was diagnosed I had dreamed of getting my PhD in neuroscience. I love the implications of it.
Since being diagnosed I have changed my mind, I want to be in the position where I can say I get it. I know what you're going through sucks because I have been there as well (drug/alcohol addictions in my family, my dad had a major stroke when I was younger and I had to help teach him how to talk, I have been in a very abusive relationship, and I have witnessed my mom going through an abusive relationship, a good family friend was schizophrenic, after my parents were divorced we lived in poverty for several years and depression runs in my family plus I have had several surgeries for Crohn's disease and now MS).
I first looked at being a physiotherapist because the ones my dad had after his stroke spoke to him like he was a baby, not a 35 year old man who was mentally aware and when I went to physiotherapy after my diagnosis, the physiotherapists spoke around me, not to me, and used baby voices. Unfortunately... I am a liability because of MS so that's a no go.
After that I considered being a dietitian, but that wouldn't be much help if you didn't work in a nursing home or hospital.
So finally I have decided on being a social worker. First because I knew being a social worker got you a drug plan and you could get flexible hours, but now because I can actually help make a difference in someone's life because I have been there. I will be returning to school in the fall to get my Bachelor of Social Work degree and maybe or maybe not a masters degree in social work.
How has getting MS directly influenced your career path/goals?
Since being diagnosed I have changed my mind, I want to be in the position where I can say I get it. I know what you're going through sucks because I have been there as well (drug/alcohol addictions in my family, my dad had a major stroke when I was younger and I had to help teach him how to talk, I have been in a very abusive relationship, and I have witnessed my mom going through an abusive relationship, a good family friend was schizophrenic, after my parents were divorced we lived in poverty for several years and depression runs in my family plus I have had several surgeries for Crohn's disease and now MS).
I first looked at being a physiotherapist because the ones my dad had after his stroke spoke to him like he was a baby, not a 35 year old man who was mentally aware and when I went to physiotherapy after my diagnosis, the physiotherapists spoke around me, not to me, and used baby voices. Unfortunately... I am a liability because of MS so that's a no go.
After that I considered being a dietitian, but that wouldn't be much help if you didn't work in a nursing home or hospital.
So finally I have decided on being a social worker. First because I knew being a social worker got you a drug plan and you could get flexible hours, but now because I can actually help make a difference in someone's life because I have been there. I will be returning to school in the fall to get my Bachelor of Social Work degree and maybe or maybe not a masters degree in social work.
How has getting MS directly influenced your career path/goals?
I understand about the reading part. I too have to go far slower and can't read as quickly as I really need to. Also the meaning of what I have read will fade over a day and I need to remind myself where I am up to in a book.
It's challenging, but so far I am holding on.