Advice Needed: Crohn's Disease and Law School
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Anonymous
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We need your advice. My husband, an almost 30-year old Crohn's patient, just finished his third semester of law school. After a rough year or so of several flare-ups, his GI and surgeon have recommended he undergo surgery in the next few months. Obviously wanting to finish law school on time and in good health, we are battling the question of him taking the spring semester off to have the surgery and starting back up in the fall, or delaying the surgery until the summer and completing the spring semester. While the GI is offering to go "full court press" with meds to help my husband get through the semester, we are stuck.
What do you think? Should we take the risk and try to complete the semester, or is it smarter to take this semester off? Thank you! |
Anonymous
| I don't know anything about Crohn's, but I went to law school. The most important thing is the level of discomfort your husband is in combined with the risk of waiting it out. That said, all things being equal, I'd try and complete the degree while your DH still has the momentum going. Once I graduated and passed the bar, you couldn't pay me to go back to school FOR A LONG TIME. Does your DH have a job lined up after graduation? |
Anonymous
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Thank you! Very helpful. He has a MPP and has worked in that intersecting world of law and policy, and is continuing on this path.
Does taking a semester off (graduating in December, rather than May) make it harder to pursue a purely legal job? |
Anonymous
| 20:35 here- frankly, in this market it's just hard to find a job, period. If your DH goes strait through, it may be easier for him to take advantage of the resources the school offers in getting a job. Then, once he has started the process and maybe even has some opportunities, he can negotiate delaying his start date so that he can have the surgery. On the flip side, he may have to pass on opportunities where they need someone to start working immediately. Has your DH talked to the school about whether it's to take two or three weeks off for the surgery? How long is the expected recovery? My third year was nothing like my first with regard to intensity. He might be able to take some paper classes where attendance isn't too strict or find a professor who would give credit for research or help on an article. |
Anonymous
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December. The bar exam in winter tends to be easier because a lot of the people taking are those who failed the summer bar. Plus, there can always be complications (not to be a negative nelly), which you dont want him to have to stress over.
Side note: When I clerked, I worked with a man with Crohn's. He was able to get accomodations during the bar to be near a restroom. Just an FYI. |
Anonymous
| It might be worth a candid conversation with his career services office (although admittedly those places are often not worthwhile). I am thinking if his grades are going to suffer during next semester while he waits for summer that might be an argument for doing it sooner. Also, as I recall second year summer was a big time for getting experience/job leads for post-graduation. Does he have any plans yet for the summer? |
Anonymous
| Get a product called Virastop 2X by Enzymedica. It is a therapeudic enzyme that, when taken on an empty stomach, will help breakdown the microfilm layer of any viruses/disease that exists in the gut. We were able to completely rid my son's bowl disease after 10 months of consistent treatment. It is natural and there are zero side-effects of taking therapeudic enzymes. |
Anonymous
honestly, the legal market sucks so much now that it won't make a difference. my husband had 3 knee surgeries while in law school and graduated on time. i think your situation can be do-able, i just don't know how long the surgery would put your husband "out." |