By Melanie Turner
My educational experience was quite untraditional given a rare disease that forced me to attend three different universities in order to earn my undergraduate degree.
I started off my higher education journey in 2011 at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Unfortunately, I became severely sick and transferred to Wingate University, where I could live at home and be closer to family. While at Wingate University, I visited doctor after doctor, trying to figure out why my health was so rapidly deteriorating. During this time, my body began to atrophy and I was unable to walk or eat, leaving me bedridden. After several inconclusive diagnoses and doctor’s visits across multiple states, I was ultimately diagnosed with a rare neurological disease called pure autonomic nervous system failure, otherwise known as Dysautonomia.
Unfortunately, due to the debilitating nature of this disease and the frequent medical appointments, I was forced to take a year off of school before transferring once again to the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. When I returned to school, I was unable to walk and had to get around by wheelchair while I attended physical therapy and learned to walk again. All the while, I was attempting to attend class full-time, juggling my health with my coursework, and largely unable to take advantage of resources like office hours or study groups due to my schedule.
One of my professors at UNC Charlotte knew I was struggling with time management and the severe financial burden of college coupled with my medical expenses and suggested I look into Chegg for help.
The platform allowed me to rent books for far less than my university bookstore — a godsend amid my accumulating medical bills. It also allowed me to study for exams on my own time and from the comfort of my home, which was critical while my mobility was severely limited. Several of my classes held review sessions that I often couldn’t attend because of time conflicts with doctor’s appointments, physical therapy, and surgery.
I also had difficulty regularly getting to the writing centers on campus to have my papers or exams proofread for different classes due to my physical health. Fortunately, Chegg offered resources and writing tools like proofreading and plagiarism scans that helped take the place of our on-campus writing center.
Thanks in large part to Chegg, I was finally able to graduate in 2017 with a bachelor of arts in political science.
Today, I work as a judicial assistant in North Carolina. Earning a college degree was critical to my long term success, in large part due to my health. I knew a political science degree would help me find a job with guaranteed health insurance so I could pay for my medical expenses. I also knew my degree would pave the way for an office position where I can move around at my own will, which is necessary for my condition given my tendency to pass out if I sit or move around for too long.
My degree, which I earned with substantial help and support from Chegg, has enabled me to live a comfortable, fulfilling life without most people even realizing I’m sick.
