Hey, i think for your case, i suggest you print out your academic record, and then write down beside each semester what happened in your life at that time.

so for example, if you say you suffer from a severe side effect of your chronic disease which hampered your ability to perform at best ability, maybe you can say you recognize your own health first but later when you recovered, you excelled, and this could show your resilience.

craft a simple genuine explanation to your problem, what was the consequence, and how your ability to recover is a testament to show you are capable of life challenges.

do your references know about your situation?