I recently had to go on a leave of absence due to health issues, including an eye problem (I can't do heavy reading anymore). When I was an active student, I was part of a very close knit group, and we used to spend a lot of time together. Since I'm not physically there anymore, nobody asks me how I'm doing, and I'm excluded from social events. I understand that I'm not a part of that world anymore, but I guess I'm just disappointed because I really thought we were friends regardless of my student status. Anyone else been through this before? Any insight about this?

I was isolated throughout my whole 6-year PhD, as a part-time student off campus. I felt incredibly isolated. I also thought that my department wasn't doing enough to support its students at a distance. I'd have a good moan at them about it every year in my Thesis Monitoring Committee!

The only suggestion I can make is to stay in touch by other means, for example email. I had very good email contact with a fellow part-timer, and that helped a lot. As did this forum.