I loved my job very much and I loved being part of a school community.
Laura
Living with Colitis
When I was first diagnosed in 2011, my illness didn't have a huge impact on my day-to-day life. I could carry on with most things and there was very little noticeable impact to others. I was embarrassed to discuss it with people and therefore didn't. I think I thought that with the right medication it would just 'go away'.
Over the years I missed medical appointments and tried various medications that didn't really work for me. I took steroids for quite a while and as a result of that I put on quite a lot of weight. I still would just tell people "oh it's the medication" but not really say what it was for.
I found it tricky not being able to ‘nip to the loo’ when I needed to (I couldn’t just abandon my class!) and it was often difficult attending appointments. I felt, possibly wrongly, that my illness was a bit of an annoyance to some senior colleagues. Why couldn’t I have my appointments in school holidays, for example.
When I was hospitalised with Colitis in October 2017, it forced me to reconsider my work/life balance.
I realised that teaching no longer worked for me but the timing was awful!
I'd recently taken on an amazing job as Head of Computing in a wonderful school and I really resented being ill. But I had no choice and had to stop. Everyone was so concerned and when I was a bit more open about having Colitis people were really very kind.
I found that by educating people about my illness, it helped them understand my situation better. Invisible illnesses are so hard to explain sometimes. I always looked smart for work, I always wore make-up. To someone who didn't know, I didn't 'look' ill.
One of my lovely students also had Colitis and eventually we reached a point where we discussed our illness with each other and I helped to educate other staff about our shared condition. I now feel more confident talking about my diagnosis - it's unhelpful to both me and those around me if I don't.
I eventually left teaching to focus on getting better.
The majority of treatments weren't working for me and were making me feel worse, so it was a frustrating time of not getting better, not doing the job I loved, not earning much and generally not feeling well. I knew that I needed something that allowed a bit more flexibility. So, I now work for CITY Community Trust, the charitable side of Exeter City Football Club. We are a health and wellbeing charity delivering sport, social inclusion, education, and disability projects across the South West of England.
My illness has far less impact in my new role.
When I started here, I made sure that I addressed that gap on my CV. I was open about my illness and explained that I'd had time off to concentrate on treatment. My new role was part-time, so that also gave me more flexibility with attending appointments. With teaching there were so many day-to-day practical things that just weren't working for me and I've been very fortunate to be able to make such a big change.
I do miss teaching a great deal - not just the teaching but all aspects of being part of a school community, but I know it's the right decision for my health.
I am a Projects Officer so my job covers a range of things.
At CITY, my colleagues and managers are lovely and I have also moved to a far more flexible role. I do a fair amount of admin, I deliver an Employability programme called Positive Prospects which includes an ICT course, and I coordinate work experience placements for students coming to us from local secondary schools.
Before working from home, if I needed to stop on the way to work it wasn’t a problem and I wasn’t anxious about time. I worked in a very relaxed office and most of the practical issues I had with Colitis and my job disappeared. I can attend appointments whenever I need and it’s accepted as normal.
A typical day at the moment is at home, in the kitchen.
We are very lucky to have views reaching over Exmoor, so it’s a nice place to sit! I love working from home. I miss going into schools to run personal development sessions, but that also brings issues such as long journeys and finding childcare, so again it works well for me to do these online. It also means I can take my daughter to and from school, walk the dog, put the washing on whilst working. And, importantly, I can go to the loo without feeling self-conscious!
If I’m not feeling great, I can still do my work without the anxiety of getting to and from the office. I am able to swim before work which is still a real treat and I feel I am equally, if not more, productive than in the office.
My health and wellbeing (both physical and mental) definitely benefit.
I have worked from home previously, as an Education Consultant, but that was pre-diagnosis and involved a fair amount of travel. This time is all a bit different. I started working from home in my current role in March 2020 and I’m still here! When all this is over, I would very much like to continue working from home. I will need to go in occasionally and I shall look forward to seeing people, but the thought of commuting again doesn’t fill me with joy!
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