Should I forego this cycle?

[coquito2]

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I have already applied to my schools and submitted their secondaries in early September. Unfortunately, I've had health issues that started around mid-September that lead to me being in the hospital (MICU) for a while and then a regular floor for a couple more weeks until I was discharged the 12th of Oct. I went into PEA arrest at home and was rescued by one of my professors whom I had told her I wasn't feeling right (I owe her my life, literally). I don't remember anything for about the first half of October and am having trouble with my short-term memory. They told me my downtime was around 35 minutes. They told me I also coded 5 more times that night. Although my memory is much better than 3 weeks ago, where they told me I would "loop" every 5 minutes, I still have trouble remembering conversations and can't repeat a lot of things that someone has just told me. Needless to say, this has been very frustrating for me as my memory was one of the things I honestly loved about myself- my recollection was excellent. Yet now, I even struggle to repeat something that has just been said to me.

School wise, I have been offered Incomplete for all my courses. I decided to just do an Incomplete for Biochem and finish up the rest of my courses regularly. Although I do feel small improvements daily, I am sincerely struggling. I wish I could go back to the way I was, but I can't. I am seriously doubting my abilities to finish this semester successfully and to be able to tackle next semester head on, especially when I know I'll be taking harder classes (Med Phys II, Biochem, and two more classes). The med schools I have applied to obviously don't know what's been going on with my life, and so I don't even know how an Incomplete for Biochem will look. My professor has asked me if I have reconsidered my career/academic plans, if I should just apply next cycle. I still don't know the answer to that. There's no pause button to life and I feel as though I'm in between decisions right now, especially because the doctors have told me that my risk for another SCA is high.

It's pretty hard to let go of a timeline I had in my mind- but I guess life has other plans. I really need advise on what to do. I have felt frustrated with my own intellectually ability (or lack thereof) these past 2 weeks and just want to go back to the way I was...back on track with my plans. But is continuing this cycle the wisest thing to do?

 

[freedoctor17]

I think you know the answer already. Focus on your health first. Even if you get accepted this cycle, will you be able to succeed in medical school like this? You should take the time off and make sure you're getting better first before risking hurting yourself more.

 

[coquito2]

I think you know the answer already. Focus on your health first. Even if you get accepted this cycle, will you be able to succeed in medical school like this? You should take the time off and make sure you're getting better first before risking hurting yourself more.

I feel as though I'm as though I'm in this grey area where I could push towards succeeding academically this semester and year and maybe get in and go on to med school next fall- but I hadn't thought about my life after that, which would actually be in med school and trying to succeed there. So thank you. It's just definitely hard to let go when everything was going fine a month ago and all my ducks were in a row.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I had a neurological injury similar to yours. Even though age and neuro plasticity are on your side, I would take the time to heal ,count my blessings and apply next cycle. Be the best med student you can be, after you are done healing

 

[coquito2]

I had a neurological injury similar to yours. Even though age and neuro plasticity are on your side, I would take the time to heal ,count my blessings and apply next cycle. Be the best med student you can be, after you are done healing

Thank you. I've been so focused on just getting into med school and doing this in my own timeline that it's been hard to readjust my long-term plans. I still feel doubtful about not continuing this cycle just because I feel like I'm so close, but definitely being the best med student I can be is the ultimate goal here.

So if I do get II do I just give them up?

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Give up II? Tough call. You said you were struggling, but showing improvement. I think any school would understand if you explained your withdrawl and applied next cycle. Concussions can take months to heal, and you had a bigger insult. Also, you can withdraw early from Med school by the schools cutoff date for a tuition refund if you find yourself unable to keep up. It's hard to know how you will be doing 9 months from now when med school starts. Are you in cognitive rehab now? If not, look into it and discuss with your therapist. Hope this helps a little. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Speech pathologists usually handle the memory aspects of cognitive rehab. Psychologists and occupational therapists are usually part of the team also.

 

[LizzyM]

Did you have any interviews yet this cycle?

You should certainly withdraw from your classes this semester. This is exactly the circumstance where an adcom is not shocked to see a semester of Ws and it shows that you have good judgement to withdraw under the circumstances.

Given the circumstances, you should withdraw your applications and send an email to each school explaining that you are withdrawing due to some cardiac issues that required an extended hospitalization that resulted in your withdrawal from college this semester.

You can't change the past. While it is disappointing that your plans due to an event that took just a matter of minutes, it may make you more empathetic toward patients who experience similar situations in their lives due to injuries or sudden illnesses. Stay hopeful but know that you are going to be on a different timeline going forward. As with every experience, it can make you stronger or it can make you bitter. Strive toward being stronger despite the adversity.

 

[coquito2]

Give up II? Tough call. You said you were struggling, but showing improvement. I think any school would understand if you explained your withdrawl and applied next cycle. Concussions can take months to heal, and you had a bigger insult. Also, you can withdraw early from Med school by the schools cutoff date for a tuition refund if you find yourself unable to keep up. It's hard to know how you will be doing 9 months from now when med school starts. Are you in cognitive rehab now? If not, look into it and discuss with your therapist. Hope this helps a little. Good luck and best wishes.

Internal and Nephrology had both mentioned sending me to a rehab facility after getting discharged. However, they decided not to about 4 days before discharge. I'm pretty sure the rehab was also mostly mentioned because of my right arm-I can't yet fully extend it because in the ICU, a lot of vasopressors had leaked out out of my 3 peripheral IV's (so I'm told) and my arm also got a DVT, for which I'm on Apixaban for. Speech pathologist had signed off soon after extubation, and PT had worked with me up to 3 days before discharge. I think I definitely want to look into cognitive rehab. Do I have to ask my family doctor about that?

I really, really cannot recommend going to med school without having all your ducks in a row, especially if you have a health issue that's going to affect your academic performance. You really have no conception of how hard it is until you get there - your first two years are going to require a TON of memorization that you need to retain not only until your next exam but until your first round of board exams at the end of your second year. I really cannot see someone being successful who is struggling with memory loss the way you are.

I think the best thing to do would be to withdraw/take an incomplete for all your classes and withdraw your medical school applications. Take some time off - work with a neurologist and a therapist of some sort, keep up with some intellectually stimulating activities like reading, art, or music, maybe audit some easier classes you enjoy so they don't affect your GPA if you struggle. In the meantime, find some volunteering or something to do so you're continuing to contribute to the strength of your application. When you're ready, finish up your classes and THEN reapply to med school once you get good grades in those upper level courses. Having a major health issue like this affect your timeline/application is absolutely workable as long as you can show adcoms that it's not affecting your academic performance - so having strong grades in those upper level courses to show come application time will give adcoms (and you!) the confidence that you can handle med school.

I would not, as an above poster suggested, start med school banking on the idea that you can always take a leave of absence if it's not working out. That will raise some red flags on your residency application, much more so than having an extra gap year prior to med school.

I know it's super frustrating to have to adjust your expectations of what your life is going to be like because of something out of your control. But you seem to recognize that it's important not to start med school until you're ready.

Thank you for your input- although definitely a hard to swallow pill. But yes- I definitely don't want any red flags during my med school years.
I also did think about finding something to do- volunteering or working- if I were to withdraw from school and my application this cycle.
And it definitely is very frustrating- it's like I'm fighting with an inner me that wanted everything to be perfect and yet still make sound judgement calls.

Did you have any interviews yet this cycle?

You should certainly withdraw from your classes this semester. This is exactly the circumstance where an adcom is not shocked to see a semester of Ws and it shows that you have good judgement to withdraw under the circumstances.

Given the circumstances, you should withdraw your applications and send an email to each school explaining that you are withdrawing due to some cardiac issues that required an extended hospitalization that resulted in your withdrawal from college this semester.

You can't change the past. While it is disappointing that your plans due to an event that took just a matter of minutes, it may make you more empathetic toward patients who experience similar situations in their lives due to injuries or sudden illnesses. Stay hopeful but know that you are going to be on a different timeline going forward. As with every experience, it can make you stronger or it can make you bitter. Strive toward being stronger despite the adversity.

Okay- I'd have to speak with registrar then since the final drop date was this Friday. As for that email, do I just email the admissions officer?

This was definitely not in my plans- I feel as though a month of life is gone and I just have snippets of it. I'm trying to be strong- to my sudden change of plans, my lack of good memory, etc.- but it for sure will take time to heal.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Your PCP or neurologist can help you get plugged in to cognitive rehab locally. It takes a while to regain all the memory function. Try to be patient.

 

[LizzyM]

Okay- I'd have to speak with registrar then since the final drop date was this Friday. As for that email, do I just email the admissions officer?

This was definitely not in my plans- I feel as though a month of life is gone and I just have snippets of it. I'm trying to be strong- to my sudden change of plans, my lack of good memory, etc.- but it for sure will take time to heal.

Yes, contact the registrar to get a medical leave of absence retroactive to when you went to the hospital. Given that you were unable to communicate during that hospitalization period, the school should cut you some slack with regard to dropping. Sometimes there is a more liberal drop date if you withdraw entirely than if you were to drop just one class.

Email each medical school admissions office. Most should have a "contact us" email address on their website. Be sure to include your AMCAS ID # in the message. You aren't the first person to withdraw due to unfortunate circumstances and the schools will understand.

 

[stayathomemom]

No advice, except that I encourage you to take care of yourself and take the time to truly heal. While premeds (and especially SDN premeds) are so often balls-to-the-wall workaholics, remember what's truly a priority: yourself and your health.

 

[coquito2]

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and are making the right decisions. This is so, so frustrating - I've had to deal with a medical setback in med school, and I know from experience that having to re-evaluate everything about your life because of something like this really sucks. Just remember that tons of applicants take gap years - probably more often than not these days. This is a chance for you to put together the best application you can, to make sure you're as ready as you can be for med school, and being a patient yourself will give you a really unique perspective on medicine that will help you better care for your patients in the future. I really do wish you the best.

Yes, I definitely want to be back to 100% me for med school because I know I can do it, but jut not right now I suppose. Taking a step back is definitely huge and sometimes I even try to pretend that this didn't happen and that my memory is completely intact. Thank you so so much.
I just really hope this doesn't happen again- for myself, for my career, and for my friends, who probably went through so much more emotionally than I did.

Yes, contact the registrar to get a medical leave of absence retroactive to when you went to the hospital. Given that you were unable to communicate during that hospitalization period, the school should cut you some slack with regard to dropping. Sometimes there is a more liberal drop date if you withdraw entirely than if you were to drop just one class.

Email each medical school admissions office. Most should have a "contact us" email address on their website. Be sure to include your AMCAS ID # in the message. You aren't the first person to withdraw due to unfortunate circumstances and the schools will understand.

Okay, thank you! I really hope I can come back stronger, as both a person and applicant, next year.