Holes were drilled into my skull. In the nicest way, it seems because I wasn't bothered. I slept on. Sleeping is essential to heal and I harmed my body so severely that my brain would need to sleep for a month. The incident occurred one morning on an icy bridge. The time since has been a journey of discovery. However, my largest education has been the journey is different to all involved but if you're studying in college and choose the right one, college is always an option when you choose a school that treats you like a partner.
However, before we proceed, let me explain the holes. Apparently, when harm has occurred to any organ in the body, lots of the body's water rushes to that exact location on the body. Since the damage occurred inside my skull, instead of watching my brain try to expand and burst in my skull, they brought in the drill. Happily, it was 1992 and humans had learned of this probability. Hence, the holes. Science is incredible.
There are a million legitimate realities at play and leaving your parents' home and living on your own, independently might be laughable when traumatically injured. The usual result is that most college students with disabilities live with their family while attending a local college or perhaps, a nearby state school. The point of this piece is to "argue" against the statement or suggestion that college-options be limited. After thirty days of being comatose, I graduated from Wellesley College.
It seems pretty curious, but I had not even heard of the Seven Sister's existence until I was on the Wellesley college's campus, as a visitor in high school. According to Wikipedia, the seven-sisters' colleges are located in the Northeast and were created to "provide women the educational equivalent to the historically all-male Ivy League." The name Seven Sisters came from the Greek myth of Pleiades as there were seven daughters of the Titan, Atlas and the sea nymph, Pleione. Most of the pairings are historically triggered by location. For example, Barnard & Columbia are neighbors in NYC.,The other colleges on the "female side" of this plan are: Smith, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Radcliffe, and Vassar, although it's a little messed up as Harvard absorbed Radcliffe and the remainder of the colleges are historically mainly female. I use the word "mainly" because Wellesley in involved in several exchange leagues and male students are happily in attendance. Not only does Wellesley offer cross registration with other top-tier institutions like local colleges like, Brandeis, Tufts and Babson but it is also involved in aa twelve college exchange program with Vassar, Wheaton, Smith, Trinity, Spelman, Connecticut College, Wesleyan, and Wheaton. Additionally, Wellesley also offers classes at the MFA (Museum of Art) in Boston and offers enrollment at the National Theater Institute in Connecticut. On top of everything, a dual-degree program has been established between Wellesley and MIT. Prior to being an alumna, I had no idea of what women who got a diploma from Wellesley College did for and in the world. It's pretty staggering.
Yes, although it's technically "unaffiliated" with any college, it's strongest relationship is with MIT. As I would never choose to be enrolled in any classes revolving math or science, I'm pretty unaware of the details of or number of students involved but...so it is. Two friends of mine had older sisters at Harvard, so we visited that campus lots and partied there a little my first few years, our strongest a association was with MIT. In fact, the Seven-sisters' relationships are that way. Traditionally, Barnard is hooked up with Colombia, Radcliff (my step grandma's alma mater) was so linked with Harvard that it just finally became part of that school, Mount Holyoke was paired with Dartmouth, Bryn Mawr is linked with Princeton and Vassar with Yale (although it became coed in the 1960's) and the women of Bryn Mawr may attend classes at Haverford, Swarthmore, or Penn. The remaining sisters are more "independent" but at the end of the day, just realize that the Wellesley Student Senate a bus which escorts it's passengers several times a day on the Harvard and MIT campuses. A good friend, Tina married an MIT alum and posts often about the activities of her beautiful and brilliant (I assume) family.
During my final overnight hospital stay, Mom, Dad and I met with my primary Doctor. We learned some truths that everyone with whom meets me should know. When an individual has sheered their brain enough to cause them to sleep for a month, one intelligence automatically and intrinsically decreases. That was and will probably always be my largest sadness when it comes down to it but as the brain controls almost every other organ in the body, there is a long list of competing deficits; my double vision - diplopia (caused by the destruction of the optical nerve), my constant shaking - ataxia, my vocal feedback (dysarthria), my lack of balance and reliance upon another mechanism or individual to ambulate. My parents have heavily bestowed their trust in me but, understandably, couldn't send me halfway across the nation in an airplane for months.
Luckily, after a year of rehabilitation, they allowed me to attend a nearby, state school, the University of Iowa. The University of Iowa is huge and impersonal, with a fifty percent acceptance rate, but offers a solid education and much of my family received their degrees there. About ninety minutes from my family's home in Maquoketa, Iowa, the University of Iowa was challenging because I was very newly injured. My family and I had so much to learn.
About a year following my wreck, months before I enrolled anywhere, Dad and Mom gave in to my pleas of returning to Wellesley College to visit friends/classmates. During that trip, not only did I see old-friends and neighbors, I also met with my class dean. She assured me that if I were to return, I would continue to be a member of the class of '93. That trip underscored my quest to return. I learned a few things, including that if I were to be readmitted to Wellesley and registered for a class taught in an inaccessible classroom, the class would simply be relocated. So "Wellesley". Plus, Wellesley is a small school. If I had registered to be in a lecture with hundreds of others, that ease would have been impossible. As most of my peers were seniors who would be in different parts of the globe the following year, the opportunity to reconnect was timely and, naturally, encouraged my return.
However, the college was built years before the Americans with Disabilities Act and Wellesley is incredibly academically challenging. I was in a coma for a MONTH. my traumatic brain injury automatically, intrinsically lowered my IQ. Even now I am incredulous. We made it happen. The faculty and administration at Wellesley were not only intent on following the law, they were intensely understanding, loyal and compassionate and invested. My diploma was a common goal. Since that time, I have wanted but have yet to find a true companion, someone who understands and works alongside to make what most would think was "impossible" into a tangible endeavor. Anyway, there were a few students with disabilities at Wellesley College before my injury. Naturally, they did not have COGNITIVE issues, but a few were in a chair, had a sensory issue, etc. Trusting the students and the professor to work together to accommodate was an expectation, there really was not much intervention. It was pretty much up to the individual students to deal directly with each teacher for each class. Thankfully, at Wellesley, every educator had gotten his or her doctorate and professorship whereas at the University of Iowa the idea of strictly being taught by a real PhD is pretty random. There are plenty of courses offered which are "supervised" by a professor but are actually instructed by someone who had simply obtained her or his masters degree. Compassion, patience, and understanding do not automatically come with advanced degrees or age, but they often help.
While by no means imperative, it might be easier to attend a smaller college. Issues are often dealt with on a more personal, individual basis. The US News.com says that in the Fall of 2021, the undergraduate enrollment at the University of Iowa was over 21,000. On top of that, it is a public university, where procedures are established. Naturally, students and professors were not "on their own" in deciding standards and acceptable procedures. I was introduced to an entire department of professionals who were there to intervene and provide assistance in dealing with the professors to make educations accessible. They were intent on providing climates to allow all disabled students to be educated using the standards of other students. This office is called the Office of Special Needs or something similar and the Americans with Disabilities Act ensures that every university has one.
The University of Iowa was established in a fairly large town, Iowa City. Like most college-towns, it is politically progressive and fairly open-minded. Many challenging, open-minded and intelligent citizens stem from that state. However, most folks are conservative and have old fashioned ideas when it comes to housing, support, options, and the exact definition of equality. The public transportation system may or may not exist. Services, opportunity, and the potential of almost anyone with any sort of disability are underfunded. The price tag after tuition and fees at that school is not as cheap as many other public universities, at about $19,443 per year.
According to Wikipedia, in 1870, a businessman named IfHenry Durant established Wellesley College. he town of Wellesley, Massachusetts was set-up about a decade later. Establishing a town considering a college makes it simpler for the college to manipulate customs and rules to favor students needing accommodation. However, like many colleges in the northeast, it is incredibly old, Gothic and nearly impossible to reconstruct. if it were to be made my blanketly accessible to accommodate the thousands of types of disabilities that exist. However, the endowment of Wellesley College is over three billion dollars and the cost is over $60,000 to attend yearly. This staff and professors and staff are extremely willing to accommodate the needs of students.
The magnitude of the cost to attend this college played directly into reason why I took a break from my attendance at Wellesley. While not a poor family by any means, my folks had lefta] situation which would have resultedairly fridge in a generous and had many children any means ex-hippiesmy parentother children to support while I was away at college. Mom was a lay-midwifefoomfortr about thirty years and was responsible for helping about three hundred women birth in the privacy and c
The town of Wellesley is full of wealthy citizens and the parents were able to pay much more for their babysitters than they did in Iowa. During my initial years, I made effort to ride spent time in Boston and Cambridge
As my college was small and only female, some students choose to semester or their junior year at another college-often abroad. Because I had extremely stuck on this guy since I was very young and he transferred from a college in Vegas to the University of Iowa. I wanted to be with him. Therefore, I made the life-changing decision to return to Iowa for a bit. Therefore, at the time of the injury, I was living in eastern Iowa, which is halfway across the country from Wellesley College, which is located in a suburb of Boston. Don't worry if you get confused.
As difficult as it was for me to enter this institution, my family knew of the importance of a diploma from Wellesley. Acceptance is a ridiculously hard endeavor; the acceptance rate is sixteen percent. With alums like; Diane Sawyer, Cokie Roberts and Hilary Clinton, it is really only logical to help your daughter get her degree there. Says the New York Times, "Wellesley College proudly proclaims itself as a place for 'women who will make a difference in the world" and the characteristics of many of its alumni are so daunting, that any cognitive deficiency normally excludes all but the top students. Regardless, I was in my third year and had never received less than a B-. I don't have low standards and neither does Wellesley. Being admitted in the first place could easily be an entire essay by itself. The bottom line is that I am the oldest of five siblings, am a legacy, and was raised in Iowa. When combined with good grades, participation in an excessive amount of activities, the power of being a legacy, and graduating from high school in rural Iowa with a class of thirty-one definitely set me apart and helped me to think of myself as an alum.
As I had dated a guy at sixteen and was sixteen and he had tranferred to the University of Iowa, my journey took me there for a semester. Although this decision was not supported by my parents at all, they usually support their children and help us to make it work. They knew that I deserved to hear stories and thoughts out of exquisite minds, told in a variety of accents. The memories of the incredible 500-acre campus, the massive Lake Waban, the amount of the parties and excitement around the time of the Boston marathon (Wellesley College is the halfway-marker), entering tranquil but gorgeous Houghton Chapel, laughing and rolling down luxurious Severance Green while the weather is still warm, chomping on Smartfood at all dorm meetings, participating in or hearing about one of their numerous traditions. However, I was foolishly devoted to him and am from a state which supports young love.
Because my accident was so jarring and traumatic to all of those who loved me, some extra warmth was welcome. It is an imperative sign of a return to this environment and life. My father had just nearly lost his eldest child. His deceased mother had gone to Wellesley. He loved having a daughter in attendance. He needed reassurance. He got it. Weeks after my wreck, Dad phoned the administration at Wellesley to cancel something or whatever. During my sophomore year, I had been VPA (vice-president of something in my dorm), and because my name is odd, hearing it caught the attention of the person on the line and after inquiring about me, she and Dad had a long talk about things. Totally personal. He really needed it and appreciated it. It would never have happened at a large college or university.
After one year of classes along with what I had earned at the University of Iowa, I had enough credits to stroll across the Wellesley graduation stage to a standing ovation. I probably wore a grin the entire day and I am fairly certain that my parents were awed. Another alum, Madeleine Albright, was the secretary of state at the time so drew some of secret service to campus and although most visitors were in suits and gowns, I'm sure that there were a few saris in the mix. Although that was about thirty years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act has been made national law and every large college provides an office of Disability or Accessibility or something similar. In a large college, this department is the center for assistance. At a smaller college, the national law mandates that each university receiving federal funds accommodate students with disabilities too and I would hope that these departments begin to exist everywhere, but dealing directly with a professor usually comes to a positive outcome.
I was the first Traumatically Brain Injured person to attend Wellesley College. The place is incredibly difficult to enter and the odds of acceptance after shearing your brain, while almost impossible, are still possible. Being the first at endeavoring on some enterprise has become a common event in my life and it probably seems courageous and inspirational. That always amuses me. It was extremely challenging and messy. I had no mentor whatsoever. Every brain and injury is exclusive unto each individual, so this blind journey makes sense in general and simply navigating the basics may well be too intense, but it can be done. Sixteen percent. After a four-week coma. We were all kinda charting our own route.
I cannot recommend returning to everyone, but I'm incredibly stubborn and driven. I had already put so much work into my education! Naturally, there are realistic reasons for students in need of medical or family-support to attend a nearby school, so there is absolute understanding when that happens. My disability just came at a very odd time. Prior to Wellesley, I had attended a tiny high school surrounded by farmland where only six people from my graduating class even attended a four-year college. Most classmates stayed in the area and farmed or went to work in factories. My journey and education had always been different. I was accustomed to it.
Wellesley College's motto is "Not to be ministered to but to minister." Mission accomplished. In the end, it would have looked callous and entirely cruel not to readmit me. An acquaintance from Stanford agreed that the appropriate thing for either of our schools to do would be to readmit a junior and help her to graduate. Happily, I worked hard and spent much of my time reading (remember the diplopia?). I never got the feeling that my diploma was a gift. It felt like I had an invested-partner who was willing to give me more than the benefit of the doubt. I was admitted to both of the graduate programs to which I applied.
That's pretty much my long story of obtaining my degree after my injury. It can be done...even when the acceptance rate is sixteen percent. However, that experience happened about thirty years ago. I am writing about it now because I was just notified that the students at my alma mater just voted to accept transgender students. I am so proud and thrilled, yet unsurprised. The New York Times interviewed the student body president, Alexandra Brooks, and she responded "...(that) such a change reflected today's reality" and added that "It's still and always will be, a school to educate people of marginalized genders." The administration and students never fail in making just and appropriate decisions. I define "marginalized."
