A Broke Medical Student's Life: Surviving a Semester with £300

This chapter might be the hardest one to write. I am not sure how to begin. I guess because for almost anybody who you speak to and they find out that you're in medical school, they'd prolly immediately assume you're rich or well off. But as we all know that is entirely not the case for me.

Ever since the first semester in medical school, I believe that I probably am the poorest student in my school. And I still genuinely believe that. I didn't care what other people think though, all I care about is that I am one step closer to making my medical dream come true.

And so I went to embark on the most expensive and likely the hardest journey of my life - medical school with no money.

Let's lay it all down. I have just about £10k worth of savings in my bank when I started which is being used up to pay for the interest of the student loans that I take out per semester as well as the monthly costs of living (i.e. rent, food, groceries, transportation, school stuff, phone bill, etc). As I mentioned, 75% of the tuition fee is covered by the student loan and the remaining 25% I have to pay out of pocket which I get from my earnings by working as an occupational therapist (OT) in the UK during term breaks. Still - it's just about enough, so my family (mainly my parents and boyfriend) have been helping out by lending me money to fill the small gaps.

With this system, I made it through 3 semesters in medical school until I had to undergo this operation over the summer break and that's when my funds certainly won't be enough to cover the 25% TF plus monthly living costs.

The following are roughly the costs that I have while studying in AUA:

- Tuition Fee: ~$16 to 17k US

- Monthly repayment of loan interest: $75 US (per loan - now $225 US per month)

- Monthly bills (rent, phone bill): ~$800 US

- Transportation: $450 US

- Food and allowance (miscellaneous expenses): £300

For three semesters, all I ever use up in the island is £300.

Yes, you read that right - three hundred Great British pounds which is roughly 990 Eastern Carribean Dollars. How?

First of all, I don't spend anything almost everyday whilst on campus.

Chicken Adobo dinner with rice and tomato salad

I don't buy food or drinks. I have my water bottle which I fill for free from the school's drinking fountains. I bring my own yet cheap coffee at home and that sustains me for the whole day. Although I do bring sachets of 3-in-1 coffee which I use only on those rare occasions when I feel I need to top up my energy.

I meal prep. once or twice a fortnight and those 2-3 meals that I make (mostly Filipino dishes) last me at least a month. Yes, a month. I alternate the meals or sometimes, when it's my favourite dish, I even eat the same thing for at least a week.

Homemade Tuna Patties

For example, one Saturday or Sunday, I'd make chicken Adobo, Filipino style spaghetti and stir fry veggies (mainly cabbage) in the morning or at midday after going to the groceries earlier during the day. I'd probably finish cooking around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. After which, I'd rest or eat a late lunch, have a shower and then study for the rest of the day until midnight.

I don't usually have breakfast - just coffee. So I'd pack a small portion of the dish (normally with rice) in a container for lunch and dinner. Let's say, I'd have chicken adobo plus rice and spaghetti one day, and then spaghetti and stir fry veggies plus rice the following day. I'd just switch up the combinations of the three meals for one or two weeks or until I finish everything.

Stir fry noodles with veggies

I usually cook meals that have the least amount of ingredients, the least amount of time and complexity needed for cooking, and those meals that can last long in the fridge. Adobo is the best example of such meal - it is very easy to make, tastes fantastic (but more like home) and has very few and cheap ingredients!

Filipino style spaghetti (top) and Pork giniling (bottom)

Vegetables, fruits and seafood are a luxury in the island, as well as all other proteins apart from chicken. 

But to be honest basically everything is expensive!

My staples are chicken, rice, potatoes, cabbage and noodles/pasta. I hardly eat fruits apart from cucumber (and free mangoes during their season) and veggies apart from those I mentioned because I'd rather not spend ridiculous amount of money to buy items when they rot/spoil too easily and quickly even though they're in the fridge. The technique is to cook them as soon as possible, otherwise, you close the fridge and they'd have wilted the morning after.

Sinampalukang Chicken (in tamarind/sour base soup)

I love green mango!

We're not too sure why - but my best guess is because almost everything is imported by the island.

Every time I come back to the island, my 23kg of check in luggage is just filled with food that will help to sustain me the whole semester. I also bring school stuff and other student essentials with me because I'd rather not buy ridiculously overpriced but sub-standard items sold in the island. And since I don't get to eat much vegetables and fruits, I bring 2 types of vitamins/supplements with me, and so far for three semesters, with the grace of the Lord, I've never been sick whilst on the island.

Homemade pulled BBQ chicken bao (bun bought from UK M&S)

For most AUA students, every school gathering with free food and drinks is a totally complete bonus especially if we get to take home food with us - for example, just a simple general body meeting of a club with free pizza and you get to take home 3 slices, we're looking at hassle-free breakfast for 3 days - well, at least for me because I (i.e. my tummy) am not a fussy eater. Literally, I am not maarte (stagy/fussy).

Free food and drinks from a GB assembly

During the 3rd semester, I also started to go to the school pantry to get free food at least once a week during the latter part of the semester when my monies really did start to dwindle.

The school's food pantry is a huge blessing to be honest - I definitely see myself maximising this come MED4.

For transportation, during the 1st semester, I was automatically enrolled into the school bus so I used that daily for the whole term to take me between home and campus but only on a set bus schedule. And if you missed the bus - for example, you we're not on the bus stop by the time it passed, you'd have to walk 15 minutes to the campus under the sweltering heat of the sun. But most times, going home from campus, you'd be home late because the bus drivers would wait ~15 minutes for the students to come and then depending on where you live (i.e. where your housing is located in the bus route), they'd have to drop off students to other housing first before you. So during that time, it takes about 30 minutes for me to get home even though my apartment is only a 5 minute drive from campus. 

For the succeeding 2 semesters, I availed of a taxi service worth $450 US for the whole term and this takes me to/from school on my preferred time slots daily except Saturdays (2nd term) or Sundays (3rd term) and bank holidays. During such days, I walk to/from school if I don't get a friend or another student to kindly pick me up or drop me off from or to home.

During the 2nd and 3rd semesters, my service also gives me at least one grocery run so I didn't have to rely on a friend/classmate for a ride to such when they are going.

I don't go out for drinks or snacks or food like most of my classmates. When I do go out, I'd pick the cheapest but most sustainable item/s on the menu. I didn't really care or for me it didn't matter.

Tried the unlimited wings after a major exam

I'm more than happy to endure a basic and simple life for 4-5 months as long as I pass and finish the semester strong.

For fitness and exercise: either I jog/run around campus or within the vicinity of the campus/housing or I go to the school gym about 2-3x per week which is free for students - although the facilities aren't so great (i.e. they have basic equipment but it will do) so I don't have to pay for a membership fee.

For MED1 and MED2, I have to stay at school for as long as possible so I don't have to use up electricity at home which I'd have to pay on top of the rental fee. So I normally am at school from 8AM to 9 or 10PM. I didn't use the AC as much as like most of my classmates. I only turn it on for 15 to 20 minutes max at night before I sleep just to make the room cold enough. Luckily, I have been blessed with the gift of falling asleep quickly, so it was never a problem for me.

For MED3, electricity was already included in the rental fee - so I didn't have to suffer the heat that much anymore because I can use the AC whenever and for as long as I wanted to. I do my laundry for free over at a good friend's apartment who lives on the next street once a month (for MED3). During MED1, I had to pay $20 US once a month, and during MED2, it was included in the rent.

The miscellaneous fees were just club fees which were normally around $20-25 US, or on instances of needing to buy one or more household items. Rarely after a major examination, I'd treat myself to something small but worthwhile like maybe 3 pieces of fried chicken from Epicurean or an order of fries from the cafeteria. Most times, I have a few true friends who treat me.

Free Dinner!

Every semester in Antigua, I live as a medical student with the tightest budget one could ever imagine. I don't spend any penny unless I absolutely have or need to.

It is hard don't get me wrong. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine that I'd be living in the simplest and most basic way possible. It's a good thing I have already lived through financial struggles whilst growing up as a Southeast Asian kid in a developing country. It didn't bother me as much.

I am but ever grateful to Him that makes everything possible. At least once or twice a month, when I'm about to run out of food, He'd make a way (e.g. suddenly an event will happen at school and I'd end up with free food for the whole week).

And as I near my surgery, days are dwindling down. I only have roughly 2 weeks during which I can work as an OT and that won't even cover the rent for the whole semester. Each day that passes by makes me more and more anxious. And so everyday becomes a test of faith - it is so hard to believe when everything just feels like it's an uphill battle and with every move you make, you just can't seem to win.

Praying the Rosary with Catholic club members on Fridays

In my life, never have I been this close to God and been tightly held on to my faith. I honestly don't know how I'm going to pay for all the fees and expenses this coming MED4. But if there's anything I've learned (the hardest way) while in medical school, all I can ever do is have peace in knowing that He is in control and that He will make way.

He provides - all you need to do is believe.

Campus Pond

 

What A Broke Medical Student Looks Like: Time Management at its finest and God's Grace

The main purpose of this blog is to help paint a picture of my experience so far having been in medical school for three semesters. I can confirm that the major force that has gotten me throughout this is my faith in God. For every non-believer, I could actually attest that my whole life is a testimonial of God's greatness. He has carried me through every single hurdle. And I owe everything to Him.

I am here because of Him.

And for all honesty, as cliche as it sounds, the 2 reasons I originally had as to why I had this dream in the first place are no longer the main reasons why I am doing this. My experience as an occupational therapist both in the Philippines and more so in the UK has become the main fuel or drive to become a doctor.

I just feel it in my bones that I was born to become one; that I can help more and do more if I become one. 

I'm not doing it for the money or the fame - I could've gone to other professions to get those. I am doing this because I want to be an instrument of His healing ; so I can help other people. Trust me, I would never have put myself into this self-imposed grueling hardship if I didn't genuinely want this. I have put my entire life on hold because of this dream. I wouldn't even wish this kind of hardship on my worst enemies - also cause I don't think they'd be able to handle it. (wink wink) 

As a skint medical student in a foreign island, I have 3 main priorities on the top of my list: meeting my most basic physiological needs (includes being 'healthy'), efficient management of  money  (for paying the rent, food, basic essentials like toiletries, household items, school supplies, etc) and  time , and studying.

Cupcakes baked by my first med. friend

Those were the only things that greatly mattered while I was in Antigua and literally nothing else especially during my first semester. I decided that I would solely focus on studying and make sure I pass before I allowed myself to do anything else. It was also the time to test the waters - see how hard studying medicine is, the style of teaching of the professors, the 'school' environment, my fellow students, etc. I was still establishing my routine and was trying to get back to the full on 'student mode' and switch from a professional who's already worked a significant amount of time. Also - I feel I'm no longer in the 'top shape' for studying compared to when I was younger. So let's say everything else became 'sub-important' or got filed under the 'worry or think about it later.' And those were like my family/relatives/BF (plus all the drama attached), friendship, non-school-related/extra-curricular activities (eg clubs, school politics, etc), news, etc.

I was like a horse with blinders - always just looking forward towards the goal: finish medical school in one go and as quickly as possible. I literally cannot afford to fail - I told myself that if I fail in any form or way, then that's the end of the line for me.

And so for me, coming to Antigua to chase my medical career dream means FAILURE IS AND WILL NEVER BE AN OPTION .

Hence, I studied everyday of the week. You can only find me in four places when I'm in Antigua: my apartment, on school/campus daily (about 90% of the time in the level three library commons or in a classroom when attending live lecture), the grocery store ( at least once a month mostly to do food-shopping), and the Catholic church (on Sundays when I get a ride/transportation).

Holy Family Cathedral

I've established a routine that manages my time so well so it's balanced between meeting my most basic physiological needs and studying. I've stuck to this routine which has indeed changed a little bit over the three semesters. But medical school is really damn hard. There's always too much content that needs to be covered over the shortest amount of time. After just the first semester, I have acquired a deeper understanding and a different level of respect and admiration for all medical doctors in the world.

What follows is what a typical day of 'MED1 Me' looks like.

My day starts at 6AM. I get up, drink my anti-HTN medications and vitamins, and prepare my ' baon ' (coffee and food for lunch, snacks, and dinner) into my lunch bag while talking to my parents (or to my BF when he is on a late shift at work) in FB messenger. I have been automatically enrolled into the school bus service which has specific pick up times to/from the school housing which meant that if I missed the bus, then I'd have to walk to campus or back home. So for the following semesters, I availed of a taxi service for $450 US (same fee for the school bus) for the whole semester and that takes me to and from school everyday (except on Sundays) on times that I want and it includes one grocery run per week. I walk to and from school on Sundays if I don't get a ride home or sometimes, when I do get transportation to go to the 7AM Sunday mass, I get to have a ride to campus after that too.

AUA COM Main Building

I'm already on campus before 8AM. I refill my water bottle in the water fountain and then settle in my usual table in level 3 (L3) library commons. I found that I cannot study in the quiet rooms (where you're not allowed to talk let alone breathe) but I get to concentrate more in a loud environment like L3. In L3, I can also eat and video call my parents/siblings/BF on FB messenger. Most of the time, they just watch me or are just in the background while I study.

AUA Campus

I study in L3 until 8 in the evening. For me, a "break" means doing ANYTHING ELSE apart from studying. So I don't really have a lot of breaks. My only breaks are reserved only for 'verbs' that are for meeting physiological needs like eating (ie lunch sometime between 1-3PM and dinner sometime between 6-9PM), toileting/personal hygiene, etc or going to church/hearing online mass. I do have occasional 'snacks' but I don't take a break from studying. Also from time to time in the library, some people will come by and have a chat but I try to minimize this as much as possible.

As I also try to maintain 'being healthy' which for me equates to 'not getting sick while studying,' I make sure I have some exercise during the week. My goal has been to go to the free school gym for at least an hour 3x (MWF) a week. When I do manage to force myself to go, because sometimes laziness wins and I justify it further with 'I still have a lot of studying to do,' I go between 6-8PM. With God's mercy and grace, I have never been sick for the past 3 semesters - alleluia!

When I get home from school, I tidy up my bag (wash lunch box contents) and if I didn't have my dinner at school (usually on days I go to the gym), then I'll have dinner while talking to my parents and my younger brother in Canada on FB messenger. After that, I have a short break to shower and go back to studying usually from past 10 until 12 midnight. Then I go to sleep. And the cycle repeats after 6 hours.

At least one Saturday a month, I'd go with one of my classmates-turned-friend who has a car to the grocery store early in the morning and then I meal-prep by cooking 2-3 meals which will last me a good 3 weeks. Then on Sundays, if I get a ride with a friend, I go to the cathedral for mass. But most Sundays, I just have to resort to watching online mass in YouTube either by Manila Cathedral or Quiapo Church. I almost always end up crying after receiving the body of Christ and I pray for Him to grant me the strength and wisdom to make it through this journey.

That was my routine. I never missed a live lecture class - either online or in person. Always on a Friday night, during the 5-7 minute ride home, I imagine how I would relax and take a break by watching an episode of MasterChef, just simply playing Boggle or checking social media on my phone. But the minute I get home, I do my routine and all thoughts of 'relaxation' go out the window. I said I'd just reward myself after the work is done. And I just don't want things simply 'to be done', they'd have to be 'done well.'

There is no rest for the wicked.

And that routine paid off and keeps paying off because for the 1st two semesters, I'm proud to say that I was part of the Dean's Honor Roll which is the top percentage of the whole batch. I never cared what other students got on every exam or quiz or assessment - myself was my only competition. I strived to be better than myself from the day before as much as I could. For all those who can relate:

I was Taguro (from the anime Yu Yu Hakusho aka Ghost Fighter).

I'm giving it my 1000%. Like I said,  I absolutely cannot fail . 

First Semester in Medical School: It's a Hot Start

The night before my flight, I finished packing everything that I thought I'd need into one cabin trolley, a big backpack, and two large check-in luggages: one was mine and the other one - I borrowed the space of my BF's luggage while he put all of his stuff in his small cabin trolley and a big backpack.

January 23, 2023, 6:10AM

The morning of my flight, I awoke to the sound of my alarm at 3. My BF and I scrambled out of the sofa bed and began to get ready. Our flight was at 10 and so we have to get to Heathrow Airport by 8am the latest. Past 6AM before we left Clifton Road, I forgot my neck pillow so I went back to the apartment. My parents opened the flat door and I quickly went and fetched the pillow from the sofa bed. I then hugged them again and had to muster all of my strength not to cry.

And oh boy let me tell you, that was the first of many of "the hardest things I never imagined I would be doing" this year - and we're only just in January. 

I got to the car, and in my mind I thought: "when will I ever be able to hug them again?" I cried throughout our drive to Heathrow. 

I've always known myself to be very tough and independent. I'm proud to say how I know I've been through a lot of challenges through the years: I went to University away from home and had a gruelling 5 long years of studying a pre-medical BSc in OT while also being a 'working scholar'. After that, I've worked away from home too, in Manila to get hospital experience so I can apply for work abroad. In the Phils, if you're an OT working in the hospital, you don't earn significantly as much compared to those working in private clinics/rehabilitation centres. So while 'getting experience', I learned how to budget my very humble pay to be able to 'live within my means.' And man, it was easier said than done. It made me realise how easy I had it while I was just a student: I didn't technically have to worry about anything else but just focus on passing and getting through school. But school was simple and easy. I'd let the adults take care of the problems and everything else. So naturally, after graduating, I felt so out of my comfort zone because I've always been good at studying - and now that's done.

Going into adulthood and facing adult problems made me realise that although I was good at school, I did not feel ready to face life at all. I honestly don't think there was anything taught at school to help prepare for life outside of it. I was so anxious that I would make a mistake or mistakes, become a failure and live a miserable life. 

But with the grace and guidance of God, I pulled through and I moved to the UK; to another continent farther away from home. I started over with a clean slate and it was one of the best decisions of my life. I was in 'greener pastures'. In the UK, I was able to practice OT, save some money, give back to my parents, and travel around Europe. I was free and literally, can do anything I wanted. But it wasn't easy at the beginning. Being an OFW, you had to adjust to the climate, the culture, to an entirely new and different workplace and life, etc. But no matter how 'greener' it was in the UK, I still felt homesick.

Even now, I still believe in the PH slogan, "It's more fun in the Philippines."

To be perfectly honest, yes, it is indeed more fun in the Philippines and I don't care whether you believe it or not. It took me about 3 years before the UK started to 'feel like home.' Only when I got back to the UK from the first time I went home to the Philippines did it really start to feel like one.

You'd think that with all of these past 'moves' away from home I've gone through I would've been strong enough not to experience any homesickness this time around. Moving to Antigua temporarily to study for 2 years shouldn't be anything new to me, right? But when I got there - let me just say this:

Never have I ever felt the loneliest and terribly homesick in my entire life than when I was on that island.

Every morning when I wake up in Antigua, I had to remind myself over and over again my reasons 'why' I made that decision. That's how homesick I was; every day was a battle to keep fighting and going forward.

Last ICM Class Day

During the 1st three months, the only two good things I could think of while I was there in Antigua are that one: I get to eat chicken everyday because it's the cheapest protein available in the island and it's the only one my budget can actually afford. But I do love chicken - so it was literally "winner winner, chicken dinner" every day. The second good thing is that it's a beautiful island with 365 beaches. The only down side though is that I don't have time nor taxi money/transportation means to visit those beaches. But still, the temperature is way warmer all throughout the year compared to the UK, and it kind of eased the homesickness the tiniest bit. The warmer temperature also helped a little with controlling my high blood pressure - so, that's another win.

However, there are some days when temperatures rise up to 38 degC. In those days my feet would be so swollen at the end of the day that I can feel fluid waves whenever I take a step.

So, yeah. That's the start of my medical journey.

My Medical School Journey: The Roots of the Tree

This is a "tell-all" series regarding my medical journey. But I'm going to have to start this series of blogs with something very cliché.

"Since I was a kid, I've always dreamed of becoming a great medical doctor."

As an Asian kid, two main reasons drove me to have this dream. Firstly, I looked up to both my grandparents who were both medical doctors: one was a pediatrician and the other was an internist. Whenever we go into their house, they always have overflowing gifts from different people and medical agencies/companies/representatives, and even politicians. They were "rich" in my eyes; living abundantly and comfortably. I wanted to be like that too. I wanted to give my parents a really good life like what they have. And the second reason was that in the Philippines, doctors were regarded with the highest respect and medicine is seen as a very noble profession. These two reasons fueled my desire to strive to become one in the future.

Hence, all throughout schooling, I made sure that I will have a fighting chance to achieve my dream by building an outstanding academic resume. I applied to Universities for a pre-medical course and I was blessed enough to graduate from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor's Degree in Occupational Therapy (OT). My family and I were able to overcome the financial difficulties; I was a working scholar and that covered the tuition fees, and my parents and eldest sister covered the miscellaneous fees and living expenses. God carried our family through it for 5 long years. I studied hard, however, sometimes fate has a way of being funny, and so even though I wasn't able to graduate with cum laude by missing a mere point something, I still emerged as the most outstanding OT intern/student for our Batch of 2013.

UST CRS Commencement Exercise Batch 2013

It would have been ideal to go straight to medicine after graduating. But since our family does not have the financial capacity to fund it, after passing the OT licensure examinations, I worked as an occupational therapist. It was the only decision that made sense. I can get to practice the profession and earn to save up for medicine and at the same time try to give back to my parents or at least help out a wee bit with monthly expenses.

Occupational Therapist UK Registered/Licensed

I practiced OT for about 2 years in the Philippines until God led me to greener pastures, and got me a job in the United Kingdom in 2015. I worked for less than 7 years before starting this medical journey. I was an OFW who was able to bring over her parents, grandmother and younger brother to the UK for a 3-month vacation during my first year of transfer (in collaboration with my older sister and one of my aunts who are both British citizens) . Together with my older sister, we were able to have our house rebuilt into that which my parents dreamed of, and I helped with monthly expenses by sending remittance until my younger brother graduated from University with a Bachelor's Degree in Medical Technology (now known as Medical Laboratory Science).

When I was able to save up some money and after having 'given back' to my parents, I figured it was time for me to pursue my MD dream. I was naturalized as a British citizen, I then took the UCAT and applied but all three Universities declined me for several reasons. Some of the reasons being because my educational qualifications are from the Philippines plus I technically have been out of school for about 10 years - making me a 'mature' student - having to compete with thousands of fresh UK graduates with 'better looking' educational qualifications (eg A levels, etc) than what I've got. Imagine: the cycle that I applied for had nearly 29,000 applications for only about 9500 spots. 

It was next to impossible for someone like me to successfully get into a UK medical school - not to mention how discriminatory the admission procedures of the UK system are. It was shocking how easily you can be discriminated against.

After failing to get into any medical school, I did my research and found that in the whole of UK, University of Warwick (UW) has a tie-up with a Caribbean school, the American University of Antigua (AUA), wherein after successfully completing the preclinical sciences (ie passing all 4 semesters over a period of 2 years) in their campus, a student can apply to transfer to UW and join the clinical rotations in the 3rd year. 

What's even funny, is that UW is about 30-45 min. drive from boyfriend's house in Rugby. And so, you might have guessed what happened next. I applied to AUA thinking that it was absolutely and completely an absurd idea. I knew that it would never happen anyway. But lo and behold, I got a reply back from the UK admissions team, I was interviewed and boom, I was offered a position for Fall 2021. You can only imagine the shock I had after receiving the letter from AUA.

The problem I faced after that was the reality that I needed to self-fund (ie pay out of pocket for ALL of the expenses: school fees and living expenses) because the UK government would not give any financial assistance since the school is out of the country, and at the same time, I would have to temporarily live as a student in another continent.

Essentially, I would have to "drop everything and move to a Caribbean island which is about 7000 miles away from the UK, where I know completely nobody, and know nothing of their culture. I literally just have to be a student studying for 2 years ."

It felt as if God was testing me: to see whether or not I really want this dream or not. It seemed like the craziest and for sure, the biggest decision I would have to make especially during that time when I seemed to have found the perfect workplaces (ie I was working as the lead/band 7 OT in an in-patient rehabilitation unit in Teddington Memorial Hospital from Mondays thru Wednesdays, and with the Discharge to Assess Team in Wandsworth on Thursdays and Fridays). The teams were among the best people I've ever worked with, and I was earning so much more as a locum OT that I never had to work an extra shift over the weekend which I was doing when I was an acute hospital OT in Kingston Hospital for about 5 years. 

To be really honest, my life seemed "perfect."

I was perfectly content with all aspects - emotionally, spiritually, financially, socially... all except for my professional thirst and passion for medicine. I felt like my professional growth had been stagnant and I was no longer getting any job satisfaction no matter how well paid I was and even though I was surrounded with great people at work. "I was no longer happy." I couldn't see myself doing the same thing for the next 5 years. And I didn't want to feel that way everyday when I go to work. I felt like I needed to and that I owed it to myself to try to pursue my MD dream by hook or by crook. God gave me a sign and told me to go to Antigua.

And so I've decided to chase my MD dream, and off to the Caribbeans I went.

For three semesters now, I was taking out a Richland Loan offered by a private US-based lending company tied-up with AUA. The loan covers 75% of the tuition fee (TF) and the remaining 25% is paid out-of-pocket (OOP). I got my aunt, one of my dad's closest cousins, who is a retired nurse living in California as my co-signer. And then by working tirelessly every term break, I was able to secure funds to cover the 25% OOP TF plus the living expenses (ie monthly house rent/fee and food allowance) for the duration of the terms. God has been carrying us through this journey.

God's perfect timing...

This system seemed to have worked with a little help from my parents, some relatives and friends. However, for the 4th semester, I am faced with yet another financial challenge as I would not be able to work enough weeks because I am going to undergo surgery to remove my right adrenal gland. 

Life happened...

Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with Cushing's on my birthday this January 2024, which was like over a week before I go back to AUA for the 3rd semester. I didn't want to take a break or pause medical school so I decided to go ahead with the 3rd semester and aim to have the surgery over this summer break.

I had to go private and pay using the school's insurance because the NHS route is taking forever. Imagine, I was referred to the surgeon last January and up until now, I still haven't heard anything from them at all - thank you, NHS.  And now I am awaiting my surgery date this June.

We're praying that all goes well, and I can get to recover quickly so that I would still be able to work as much as I can to save up some money for MED4.

And thus, with a hopeful heart, I started GoFundMe.