Do I have what it takes with my limitations?

[dropkicklife]

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Hello Everyone.
This is my first post to the SDN.

I've been having a hard time and am wondering if I have what it takes to get into med school.
For starters I am 25 and really just starting college.
I was in college for a year when I was 21 but dropped out due to financial reasons.
From that experience I have a GPA that is in the toilet but I plan to work extremely hard to remedy that.
I have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, the only way people can tell that there is anything wrong with me is I have Drop Foot so I have a limp.
My father has always been dead set against me doing anything. He thinks my wanting to be an emergency room physician is a joke and has told me so on several occasions.
He believes I should settle for being a CNA and be happy. But encourages my 'normal' siblings to follow their dreams so why can't I have mine?

What do you guys think
Thanks.

 

[dsoz]

Research DO grade replacement. It is the cure for a bad freshman GPA. you just need to re-take the class and the grade is replaced (not averaged) with the new grade. This could really save you on your GPA.

As for the health issues, I can't say. There is a list of "technical standards" on almost every medical school website. If you can do all those things, then I don't think your CP should get in the way. If you can learn, communicate, and act like any other physician, then the only thing stopping you is your own doubt. Maybe call up a few schools and ask the admissions counselor his/her opinion.

dsoz

BTW- why do you not consider yourself "normal?" Just because you have CP does not make you anything less than normal. You are not WEIRD just because you have a disease. One of the best people that I know has CP and is wheelchair bound and can barely communicate. She still is going to college and is successful at it.

 

[Goro]

Being a dad, I suspect he's being overprotective....he doesn't want to see you fail. So, show him wrong.

I've had a student with a significant limp from CP, and that didn't stop her. If you can physically do the "doing" of medicine, your CP won't be an issue.

As for your GPA repair, ace everything from here on in, and do well on the MCAT. Keep in mind that DO programs have a grade forgiveness policy...so only the retaken and higher grades count. Does wonders for GPA.

Hello Everyone.
This is my first post to the SDN.

I've been having a hard time and am wondering if I have what it takes to get into med school.
For starters I am 25 and really just starting college.
I was in college for a year when I was 21 but dropped out due to financial reasons.
From that experience I have a GPA that is in the toilet but I plan to work extremely hard to remedy that.
I have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, the only way people can tell that there is anything wrong with me is I have Drop Foot so I have a limp.
My father has always been dead set against me doing anything. He thinks my wanting to be an emergency room physician is a joke and has told me so on several occasions.
He believes I should settle for being a CNA and be happy. But encourages my 'normal' siblings to follow their dreams so why can't I have mine?

What do you guys think
Thanks.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello Everyone.
This is my first post to the SDN.

I've been having a hard time and am wondering if I have what it takes to get into med school.
For starters I am 25 and really just starting college.
I was in college for a year when I was 21 but dropped out due to financial reasons.
From that experience I have a GPA that is in the toilet but I plan to work extremely hard to remedy that.
I have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, the only way people can tell that there is anything wrong with me is I have Drop Foot so I have a limp.
My father has always been dead set against me doing anything. He thinks my wanting to be an emergency room physician is a joke and has told me so on several occasions.
He believes I should settle for being a CNA and be happy. But encourages my 'normal' siblings to follow their dreams so why can't I have mine?

What do you guys think
Thanks.

The AACOMAS (DO med schools outside Texas) grade forgiveness policy requires that the repeated class have the same credit hours or more. Classes need not be at the same school, nor have the same course title, so long as the course content is very similar per the course catalog description.

During my residency training, I had an attending physician with severe mobility and speech issues due to CP, who was successful as a teacher and physician. A limp will not hold you back. Stop defining yourself the way your father seems to. There's no reason you can't succeed if you can get great grades and engage in the usual and customary extracurriculars.

 

[deleted480308]

I have a friend with a reasonably pronounced limp from a stroke who is working on his PhD dissertation in a psych field...you can determine your limits, don't let other people do it for you