Virginia Bostock finds a new beginning in health challenges

 

Most people find university a challenge, even when they are working under ideal conditions. For Virginia Bostock, “ideal conditions” were a matter of perspective.

“There were a few bumps along the way,” says Bostock, who will graduate this spring with a Certificate in Community Service.

Bostock had been out of school for 30 years when she decided to return in 2002. Twelve years earlier, she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She was confined to a wheelchair in 1998 and forced to abandon her chocolaterie in 2000. Her daughter suggested she consider university after noticing an office for disabled students on campus.

Her first day at school was anything but ideal. It was Sept. 9, 2002, the day that Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to speak.

After her first two classes, someone recommended that she head to the Office for Students with Disabilities. There she and the staff waited out the clamour, and were eventually escorted out the side of the building by the RCMP.

While the rest of her studies weren’t as dramatic, Bostock faced challenges. She had never taken post-secondary-level classes and was not very skilled on a computer. She struggled during her first year. In 2003 she had three surgeries, including two that were only six weeks apart. During the winter break there was another medical emergency requiring more surgery, but she returned to school in January and completed her coursework.

Bostock says she originally wanted a BA in Human Relations, but the certificate was more attainable and it gives her everything she needs to help others with the mobility disabilities. “It’s been such an enlightening experience,” she says.

She’s considering working as a therapist to help others with MS, and will join Toastmasters to work on her public speaking.

“I’m very positive and I’d like to share that with other people so that they don’t slip into depression or develop a defeated attitude.”

“What they are going through is not the end. It’s a new beginning."

- Robert Carver