Job group: PhD student
Work: Full Time
Caring responsibilities: Informal caring responsibilities
Theme: Living with a partner with a chronic illness, Mature student at Undergraduate

I am a PhD student in the Centre for Cellular Microenvironment, and I’m studying Magnetic Hydrogels for Bone Tissue Engineering. I completed my undergraduate degree in Anatomy at the University of Glasgow. I started my undergraduate at 26, after working full time as a Store and Post Office Manager for the Co-operative Food. Going from full time work to full time education was a big adjustment, but I was not happy in my career, and I knew I wanted to pursue a career in research. I turned 30, a month before starting my PhD.

My husband has Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a condition that causes damage to his lungs and can lead to frequent chest infections. It also affects his digestive system, making it hard for him to gain weight and keep it on, and this is complicated by the fact he has type 1 Diabetes. For the most part, my partner keeps well and can work and care for himself but living with a chronic illness like CF is exhausting, so I often do most of the housework and errands by myself. Sometimes my partner gets unwell and it’s quite worrying how unwell someone with CF can get and how quickly it can happen. Even catching a cold is a lot worse if you have a chronic illness like CF. When he is unwell, it’s hard to keep up working full time and caring for my partner and our pets.

The pandemic was particularly worrisome for us, my partner was shielding and was no longer able to work, which caused us a lot of emotional and financial stress. When new strains of covid were spreading quickly, being able to work and study from home was a big help, as it reduced the stress of bringing covid home, and let me focus on work.

When I am working in the office or the lab, I commute a little over 30 miles into Glasgow each day. This means I need to be very organised with our energetic dog. If I’m going to be out a long time, I need to make sure he gets a long walk or run before and after each workday.

While I focus on completing my PhD, I am also prioritising spending time with my partner. I’ve always been aware he has a lower life expectancy due CF, and I try very hard ensure I spend quality time with him. I rarely work at the weekend, instead I ensure to spend a day at the weekend with my partner, doing something we enjoy.

First published: 23 August 2021

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