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Both of my doctors, my endocrinologist and the doctor in charge of my bio-identical treatment, have sent disability status letters for me. It actually took very little effort, despite the initial feedback from the nurses in the beginning. I'm happy to get these out of the way and go forward with the process. I'll also be writing my own letter to support my case with a personal note.

In case you don't recall, I'm pursuing disability status at my college in order to get a little help with my diabetes and other conditions. The main services I need are early course registration and online textbooks. I have gotten varied responses on stating that I'm going forward with disability services. Some not so encouraging and others very enthusiastic.

I understand past definitions of disability have limited the disabled to those who are mentally or physically handicapped. I completely understand that definition. Fortunately, legal definitions have greatly changed to include any person who has a substantially limiting issue in their life. Something that limits them from typical, daily life events, like eating, learning, walking, etc.

My first response to learning the definitions of the law was that it didn't apply to me. I can eat and learn and walk without a problem. I'm not in a wheelchair. I'm not fed by a tube or with the assistance of someone else. So certainly, that definition isn't me.

But when I sat and thought about it and people began making points to me, I realized that it did fit my life. My diabetes and my other health conditions certainly limit my eating and learning and walking sometimes. They limit a multitude of things.

My eating patterns can be limiting. Even with modern diabetic technology, it's difficult (and unwise) to live on a varied daily schedule. My body likes to eat lunch at the same time every day, even when I'm in the middle of class. If I don't eat, I get low. I can lower my insulin (which I've tried this semester) and eat snacks, but I still get low.

When I get low, my learning and walking and breathing and entire life can be effected. I certainly can't be expected to take a test when my blood sugar has been low for hours because I haven't eaten lunch. I am limited.

My campus spreads across 10,000+ acres, many of which I have to walk every day. With bus schedules that are not always so predictable, I often bike or walk to campus. Granted, it's a great way to burn calories by walking a mile to class, but it also can wreak havoc on my blood sugars.

I would never ask for special treatment or excuses for any of my conditions. I've barely passed classes because of being in the emergency room during major exams (it's very rare for me to do poorly in a class). I've missed weeks at a time and lost points on my final grade because of it. I never asked for special treatment.

But disability services gives me a few more resources. The key term here is resources. They are available to anyone who goes through the process to prove that their issue is substantially limiting. They are a little added help to make everything a little easier on those of us who can't get the right schedule that doesn't interfere with our blood sugar control.

Early course registration puts me ahead of 45,000+ students so that I can obtain the best schedule for me. Those 45,000+ students fill up most of the necessary classes within two weeks of registration, long before my registration schedule opens up. The 600+ students listed with disability services are allowed to register before the rest of the students so that we can prevent walking miles across campus in 20 minutes, going to class through lunch, or working through afternoon fatigue.

Students who work over 20 hours a week in a job outside of school can also obtain early course registration. It's not special treatment; it's simply an added resource for those who need to partner with the university in order to make our college careers as successful as possible.