Hello everyone! - Looking for some input

I am 29 years just beginning my freshman year of college. Rewinding a bit, back to my 2nd year of high school I did well however, the last couple of years were not so great due to my father’s death (homicide). My overall GPA ended up being 2.3-2.5 mainly because I had to take on so much responsibility around the house, and the difficulties of dealing with his death. Needless to say I had to grow up quickly.

When I turned 19 I hired on with the Sheriff’s Department in the 911 Center. I started college while working full time at the age of 22. I ended up going for a semester; and just before I finished I was diagnosed with a mass on the pituitary gland. The mass was an abscess, which destroyed the pituitary gland. I am now living with a condition called pan-hypopituitarism. It took a few years to finally feel somewhat normal; and to get my meds adjusted and my life back on track. I have to take numerous HRT’s.
I have always wanted to become a physician, but for some reason after my father’s death I was turned off by the idea of becoming one. During high school I took a health occupations class and received my C.N.A., and did a lot of job shadowing, so I do have some background in healthcare. While In high school I was an explorer scout, I put in thousands of volunteer hours at the Sheriff’s Office, which got my foot in the door at the sheriff’s office. I currently work in the 911 Center (taking 911 calls for police, fire, and medical). It has always been challenging and very stressful; often working long hours, and so far I have been handling it well over the last 5 years. I am currently in school part time and will be going full time this fall (taking 4 classes and working full time).
I know that ultimately it’s up to me if I want to pursue medicine. One of my main concerns is if I do make it into medical school, am I able to get decent health care coverage through the school (mainly for prescription coverage, since I am on several meds)? My next question is if you were in my shoes (living with hypopituitarism) how many of you would try and become a physician, or would you just go another route such as a PA or NP? I have done plenty of research on PA’s and NP’s, but I just feel they are substandard and it wouldn’t be worthwhile to me.
I have a meeting next week with a professional academic advisor and I am worried they will say your better off just going into nursing or try the PA route. I feel my high school GPA is not acceptable, and they’ll look down on that. I have been out of school for almost 10 years; and I have to get back into swing of things, studying and reviewing some of the basic high school material so I can perform well this fall. I feel I am way behind the 8 ball and I am very discouraged.
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

First off, welcome to old premeds! As the name implies, you don’t have to be 22 years old to go to medical school. I’m going to be 28 and am starting med school this fall and I’m one of the youngsters. I wouldn’t worry at all about your high school grades. Once you get into college, no one cares what you got in high school. Now, the areas that you’re weak in from not being able to focus in high school are what you need to work on. I would suggest easing into college. Don’t take too many classes at once and take advantage of any tutoring the school offers. Maybe you need to take some prep classes, like an intro to chemistry before you take chem 1. That’s perfectly okay, as long as you understand the material.
As for deciding whether you want to be a doctor or a PA, I would suggesting shadowing both. Get a good idea of how each of their days usually run. See what tasks each of them does on a regular basis. I made my decision based on my love of knowledge and what I saw while volunteering. The nurses in the SICU where I volunteered had a lot of knowledge and experience, and yet, they were taking orders from young interns who were very inexperienced. There were times when they disagreed with a treatment plan, but had no choice but to follow orders. I don’t ever want to be in that situation. I’d rather be making the decisions and be responsible for my own actions, not someone else’s. Oh yeah, and don’t freak out if some people tell you that you should be a PA and you don’t agree. My first year back at college, my premed advisor told me I should be a nurse because I was having trouble handling a full course load and working full time. About a year later, after I had been in his anatomy class, he completely changed his tune and was rooting for me to get into med school. Only you can decide if medicine is right for you.
I wouldn’t make a decision to go to med school based on any physical condition. If you want to be a doctor, do it. There’s always a way around the hurdles you’ll encounter. Not too long ago, I read about a blind girl who became a doctor. If that’s possible, so is becoming a doctor with other disabilities. I’m not sure about the medical insurance in med school, since I’m going to the military med school where I’ll have complete coverage because I’m active duty.
Good luck on your decision making. Just remember, if you decide you really want to be a doctor, don’t let anything get in your way.
Gina