A System: What Would the Emails Look Like?

 

The psychologist and I have a system set up so that when I return home we can communicate with each other through myhealth (a channel unique to Stanford) for small things, just to keep in touch. I figure that if it’s possible with one team member, maybe it could be possible for another. Maybe I could send Dr. IP emails while I’m on the outside, so to speak. James thinks this is ludicrous. I say it’s sexist for me to be able to talk to a female team member after discharge, but not a male. James says it doesn’t matter. I figure maybe it’s worth asking. I tried to get up the courage to ask on Friday, but found myself lacking. I’m gripped by terrible anxiety whenever around Dr. IP, and I doubt that’s soon going to change.

 

What would these emails look like? The psychologist and I set some ground rules, like I don’t write if I’m in distress because she’s no longer part of my treatment team. We just give life updates.

 

I’ve been investigating what it would take to become a Stanford student, med school, Ph.D. programs. The odds are not in your favor (one Ph.D. program had a 7% acceptance rate). But I fantasize, wondering about a doctor and a graduate student having coffee together in downtown Palo Alto, maybe it would be rather innocent. I wouldn’t go to Stanford solely to someday connect with Dr. IP, but because I’m fascinating by the science behind medicine, and let’s face it, Stanford’s pretty cool. I would just need three to six letters of recommendation, my statement of purpose, and a killer GRE. I have no doubts I could write an outstanding statement of purpose, even by Stanford standards, but the GPA, thanks to my illness, is not the best. I will have to bolster other areas of my application.