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HELP!! Career Path or Start a family?
Tue, 11/07/2017 - 22:45Topic: Women With Epilepsy
Hello,
I am new to the new website but I have posted on the old epilepsy website, it has been a while, but I have had epilepsy almost all of my life since I was 8 years old and I am now 36 I have had 2 brain surgeries and I am much better now than I was in the past. After my long struggle with Epilepsy I was put on disability after the brain surgery and I went back to school to become a nurse, I had tried to go to college in the past but the seizures always got in the way. Now that I was on disability I was able to focus on school and I graduated with honors with my bachelors degree in nursing. My dilemma is that now that I am 36 I would really like to have children before I get too old and although I did go to school for 4 years I think having children and working at the same time would be too difficult for me with the seizures. If I hold off returning to work to have children does that sound like a waste of my education? I am afraid with the high risk pregnancy and working that could be too much for me to handle because I still have seizures when I get stressed out. I was thinking to have children then start my career as a nurse but some nurses I talk to say I will never get hired being out of work that long. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Comments
Hi, I think this is a
Submitted by Believer_59cd4d81a99cf on Wed, 2017-11-29 - 11:35
Hi, I think this is a question a lot of women have, epilepsy or not! Choosing between priorities is hard when you have to decide whether to put family or career first. Think about why you went for nursing, and why you want to have children: Is it fulfillment? Passion? Purpose? Leaving an impact on the world? This is about what you want most in life. And no education is ever "wasted;" whether you work or not you already accomplished something amazing, and have gained immense knowledge. You mentioned you are worried about being told you can't get a job after having children, but what about being told you can't have children after getting a job? Spend some time with yourself (and your partner) and decide what is the most important thing in your life. Best of luck with your decision!
First of all, congratulations
Submitted by just.a. on Sat, 2017-12-16 - 13:49
First of all, congratulations! It is an amazing achievement and nursing is an incredibly challenging/rewarding field so just want to start off with letting you know that you're awesome!Have you considered freezing a few eggs? Give yourself the time to work on your career and have a child when it is convenient. There is nothing wrong/ bad about that :) there is also adoption / fostering if you decide that freezing wouldn't work out and kids work out better in the future. Plenty of wonderful children who need a happy home. Be well!
Hi, I am new to this website
Submitted by darajulia on Thu, 2017-11-23 - 01:56
Hi, I am new to this website as well. I have had epilepsy since I was 10 months old and I am currently a nursing student in my final and fourth year. I am 28 and I have similar questions about how life will look for me when I decide to have children in a few years. Have you thought about going part time or casual to start off with and see how the pregnancy goes from there? Where I live as a nurse you have to have a certain amount of hours within a 5 year time frame to keep your nursing license. I think it is around 1300 hours- manageable over the time frame. Is your work environment quite stressful? Do you work in the hospital, public health... etc? Overall, I would say do what is best for YOU. So easy for someone on the outside to say, not as easy to do. But everyone is different and you will know how your body is feeling and what you need for yourself and your growing family. It is so great to hear that there are other nurses with Epilepsy out there! I have had so many people question my decision to become a nurse, but I am determined to accomplish my goal and dream career path. I too look forward to hearing others experience with pregnancy and work balance.Take care! Wish you all the best with your decision.