A Thank You Letter To My School

You’re probably wondering why, at the age of 30, I’m only just realising how much my school did for me. I’ve always known that my school were amazingly supportive with my health difficulties. What I didn’t realise was the impact this had on my life. That is, until I got a taste of what things would have been like had my school not been so supportive. It’s never too late to say thank you, so I thought I would write a thank you letter to my school.

There’s a long explanation about how I came to this realisation, feel free to skip straight down to the thank you letter to my school if you’re not interested in the how or why.

You might be wondering what prompted this thank you letter to my school. Why is it only now that I’ve realised just how much they did for me?

I’ve spoken about my neurology pre-pregnancy counselling appointment here on my blog. For those of you who want the short version, I was incorrectly told that my Basilar type migraine was actually non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD). This felt like reliving a nightmare. In the early years of me being ill, I was told countless times by doctors that I was “making it up” “doing it for attention” and that I had NEAD. But it wasn’t until a year later that I realised how my life would’ve been so different had I not had the support of my school.

After my neurology pre-pregnancy counselling appointment, I phoned Dan. He had a half day at school, as it was the last day of term. We were going to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens that evening and I was due to meet him later, but I couldn’t bear to be by myself. I was a bit of a mess.

Followed the same routine this year, going to see Rogue One on the last day of term. Minus the distressing hospital appointment. I can’t remember what he said, but Dan made reference to this and I burst into tears at the memory of that appointment. That’s when I realised. All those years ago, my school saved me from feeling that. Both then and a an adult.

A Thank You Letter To My School

Dear Belfairs Academy,

I wanted to write and thank you. Along with my parents, friends and family, you supported me despite what many doctors said. You never questioned whether they might actually be right, or if you did, you never let it show.

Along with my parents, you allowed me to have a normal childhood. At least as normal as is possible when you have a chronic illness. You allowed me to be a child.

I’ve known the above since I was a student. What I’ve realised only recently is the great job you did in protecting me from doctors’ harmful judgments. This thank you letter probably should’ve come sooner, but I think it’s a testament to how well you protected me that it hasn’t.

You didn’t just shield me from disbelieving doctors though. Along with my parents, you taught me how to cope with them – through perseverance. You taught me to question those who are supposed experts in their field. As a result, adult me has known just what to do when I’m told that yet another medical condition I have developed is “all in your head.”

Because of your unwavering belief in me, I know that I’m right to keep pushing. That something is physical is wrong. If this hadn’t been instilled into me, I wouldn’t have my EDS or PoTS diagnoses and wouldn’t have received adequate help for my various chronic illnesses.

I can’t bear to think of what my life would have been like if I hadn’t had this support from you. I am sure I would be living in constant doubt. Too scared to mention a new symptom to doctors, but terrified of it’s cause. In a constant battle with my own thoughts, blaming myself for something that I have no control over.

I wouldn’t have achieved half of what I have if your support had not been so strong and unwavering. I wouldn’t have the confidence that I do now. You taught me that determination pays off.

In all honesty, I feel quite unworthy of your constant belief in me. You chose to support me over the word of multiple doctors. I don’t now why, but I’m very glad that you did.

Thank you so much for everything that you did for me. I hope that every school takes the care of their students, particularly those with chronic illnesses, as seriously as you did with me.

Yours sincerely,

Tania D.

(student from 1997-2004)

Find me on:

Bloglovin’ | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Snapchat | Google+ | YouTube

You can also sign up for my newsletter!