Higher Education

The first difficulties I faced in higher education was in the application process itself, although I filled out the UCAS form on time my guidance teacher didn’t think I would cope with syncope and university so refused to fill in the reference needed to complete the form. Instead I applied to an FE College and completed an HNC in biomedical sciences. While I was at college I wasn’t aware I should have spoken to a disability contact about syncope and although I stated on the application that I suffered black outs no one ever brought the subject up, fortunately I never had an episode while studying there.

After college I applied for 6 university places, this time with a good reference behind me and a years experience with working in labs and with children as part of placement work. I was accepted to 5 of the 6 courses I applied for though one university wouldn’t allow me to take a joint teaching degree. I went visiting the other universities, most of them some distance from my home in Glasgow and asked all the questions I could. I found that although some had given me thumbs up on my application they weren’t too happy when I elaborated on the box ticked in the disability section; this took my list of possible universities down to two. I chose to go to Napier because they were quite loose about the issue, they were willing to provide support but they weren’t throwing it at me or suggesting things like reclining wheelchairs and crash helmets like some other institutions did, they were also happy for me to take part in labs with a few restrictions, I’m not allowed to handle anything too dangerous and I’m supposed to sit down during demonstrations while the rest of the class usually stands.

When I arrived in Edinburgh and got set up in halls I had to start talking to others about syncope as it’s not really the easiest condition to keep secret. When I went out I was being sent to hospital in ambulances when I was just trying to shop so I decided to get onto medic alert, something I’d rebelled against at home as I didn’t like being labelled but with the chain on my neck people usually gave me time to get conscious and explain before getting the emergency services involved. When I was out drinking I learned it was easier to make sure the club knew I could collapse unexpectedly and because I found my favourite clubs and went to the same few establishments regularly it got to the stage where the management knew me and allowed for me to grab a quiet corner or even provided us with a seated area for the night.

University was a whole different game, people in the class reacted differently to what was happening. When I collapsed on a field trip in week 1 lecturers panicked as my record hadn’t been circulated yet and although it turned out ok student support services decided something needed to be done, they arranged for a risk assessment to take place and passed select parts of my file along to every member of staff that would be in contact with me, my year tutor also told the lecturers taking lab classes what would happen as they decided these were the riskiest classes for me. At the start of the year I had to face with some discrimination, someone in the class decided that I was attention seeking and passed about that I was faking it because I never had a fit; I guess she thought I was epileptic. I also had a member of staff tell me that if I had such a problem with collapsing in corridors I shouldn’t be at uni. I made a formal complaint about the staff member and talked to the girls spreading the lies, I realised if I didn’t speak out right at the start it had the potential to go on all year. It also helped that I was on a life science course and one of the lecturers slipped in a reference to syncope early on in a biology lecture, I think that made people realise it was a real condition that I was living with and not the effect of living away from home.

Now that I’m in second year everyone’s used to me disappearing mid way through classes, my best friends have first aid qualifications so can fill out the university paper work and hand them in when I’m better. I have an arrangement with my tutor that I don’t have to have great attendance as long as I can catch up what I miss and I never get penalised for missing afternoon labs if I’ve collapsed in the morning one. I can request later deadlines if I’m having a really horrible time and student support make up new risk assessments every semester, changing things that need tweaked from the semester before.

Having syncope and sitting exams can be a nightmare, last year I collapsed in my biochemistry exam and although I passed it I’ve arranged to sit the exam in a quiet room so that I don’t distract so many people should it happen again.