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“Last year I did not obtain the required points during the school year, but fortunately the program gave me a deferment of the binding study advice (BSA). It is a busy course of forty hours a week, so I am now repeating my first year. I just don’t want the pain to affect my studies, so I’m discussing this with a rheumatologist. Together we look at what works for me and what doesn’t. The goal is for me to live as freely as possible.”
“After my studies, I would prefer to become an internist: then you work with internal organs, which is quite a general specialty. Surgery, for example, would not be for me, because that is a finicky specialty that requires you to stand for a very long time. That is not convenient for me anyway,” says Kylie.
Student life
“After a long day everything hurts, that’s why I sleep so badly.” Still, Kylie tries to get around eight to nine hours of sleep per night. “I try to get a good night’s sleep, especially on Fridays and weekends.”
“Fortunately, my friends take my situation into account. For example, if we go out and do something together, they make sure that we don’t walk too much and that we walk enough breaks to take. I know many of them from their training, so they also understand struggles of the study.”
Living with pain
There are a few ways for Kylie to reduce the pain, such as stretching and exercise. Unfortunately, the latter is no longer possible these days. “It does help to stretch every morning and throughout the day. I also try to wake up on time, because even if I sleep too much I feel more pain. In general, I just don’t want to be tired because my body feels tired.”
“I’m really waiting for a diagnosis, or at least something that will reduce the pain. Because I am now discussing all options with a doctor, I hope this will happen soon.”
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2023-10-27 13:49:32
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