Sullivan had beaten the fracture for a second time and was ready to reenroll in Seton Hall.
Like many students at the university, Sullivan was on a hefty scholarship. But by the time she recovered, she was told by the financial aid officer that her award had been distributed to other students. Sullivan couldn't afford the $23,000 tuition.
To make matters worse, her dad's company was uprooting the family to Stow, Ohio. She couldn't get her old life back.
Fresh Start
Because Ohio law permits people to become instant residents if they move here for work, Sullivan could attend Kent State or Akron University for the in-state price. Either place would be a dramatic change from Seton Hall.
When she and her father toured Kent State, they were in shock, she says.
Although is was a big change, Sullivan says, the amount of resources for disabled students makes it worthwhile.
"I was taken aback by how encouraging the professors are," she says. "Having to explain my situation always made me nervous, but I know it'll be accepted. It's refreshing to let that go."
Although Sullivan doesn't need much more than other students right now, she doesn't know what will happen. She has recently begun to experience a tremor in her hand that inhibits her ability to write.
Through all this, she remains optimistic. But Sullivan says she felt disconnected last semester. Only this time, it's because of her age and commute.
"I feel like Blue in Old School," she says, laughing.
She's taking it day-to-day, adding that she has felt so healthy, she's had perfect attendance for the first time since middle school.
Sullivan says she's also more focused and disciplined than she was at 18. Now, she has returned to the residence halls as an RA and was placed in a handicapped accessible room.
She's thrilled to get her old job back, and she was initially unsure if it could happen.
On her first day at the university, she met Hallsky and Laura Logan, also an integrated health studies major.
Logan, a senior resident assistant, had overcome a condition nearly as challenging as Sullivan's, but she is thriving at Kent State.
In her sophomore year of high school, a cheerleading accident left Logan with an excruciating pain in her hip. It was soon clear that the injury was more than a pulled muscle. Eventually, she was unable to walk and missed much of 10th and 11th grade.
Doctors were unable to locate the source of the pain, even questioning whether it was all in the teenager's head.
"It got to the point where I didn't care what it was, as long as I knew," Logan says.
Finally, they uncovered a benign tumor hidden in Logan's hip. An experimental surgery removed the tumor, but like Sullivan, Logan still experiences pain.
"It built character," Logan laughs.
Sullivan agrees.
She's finally accomplished her goals of walking, getting back in school and becoming involved on campus. Now she's looking for a new challenge.
Now What
Nurses had been such a huge part of Sullivan's life that she wanted to pursue the career. To her, they were the ones who interpreted the jargon and told her what was really going on.
But, she cannot be a nurse.
"What do I find that helps me maximize what I'm good at that doesn't involve my spine?" she asks.
There's the challenge.
Sullivan thinks she has found her niche in Kent State's integrated health studies program, which combines nursing education with brand-new areas like business and public relations.
"You get to a cross-roads where you can throw your hands up or you can find something else. At least I'm not standing still," she says.
Learning to work within her shortcomings is a maturity thing, she says. Eventually, she wants to work with adolescents living with disabilities and chronic pain.
"Everyone has needs and shortcomings," she says. "Sometimes you don't succeed by leaps and bounds. It's baby steps."
But Hallsky worries that, even though Sullivan gets around now, she has to deal with the prospect of sudden immobility.
"I'm scared for her," she says. "Not because she would have to be in a chair, but because it could happen without warning."
Sullivan concedes that she will be lucky to go 10 years before having to have another surgery. But she says support is the most important thing, whether it's professors who realize she might be late or friends who force her to go to yoga.
"Finding people like that is a lucky break."
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