hi jo sorry we have to meet under these circumstances...my name is lauren and i much like yourself prefer to think that my crps really isnt that big a deal. i am a bit of a doctor's nightmare, in 2005 i had my first spinal cord stimulator implant placed. 2 days before i went snowboarding, jumped a snow making machine and proceeded to land on my head. my surgeon was less than impressed when he asked in pre-op when was the last time you were in the er and i told him. he has learned over time to just smile and laugh when i justify my stupidity with answers like "well i knew after surgery it would be a while before i got back on the snow, the powder was great so i decided to get in one more day". both he and my pain doc like to remind me that my body just cant handle all of the things i used to do and they both shake their heads when i tell them that i just have to figure out how to make it work.
i too am currently a student, i had graduated from the police academy prior to a serious injury that resurected the rsd that began in 1993, i had to quit my job. so i went back to college to get a degree in public safety admin, not quite the same thing but it will have to do. i used to be a full time student but the longer i have struggled with crps the more involved my brain has become, at this point i carry 6 credits a semester and i actually find myself working twice as hard. it is a challenge but i think that all of us in our own ways find a path that makes it work.
it sounds like you have a good support system in place which is probably the biggest factor. i commend you for doing as much as you do.
welcome and good luck