Which career would be best for chronic illness?

I’m 37F, a single mom, and I’ve been dealing with chronic illness for the past couple of years. I’m not “better,” but over the past month or so I’ve had a slight improvement, and for the first time in a while I’m starting to feel like maybe I can actually build some kind of future again.

I haven’t worked in over a year and a half. Right now I’m receiving state assistance for food, and I’ve also applied for rental assistance. That process is still ongoing, although I believe my paperwork has been approved.
Before I got sick, I was planning on becoming an attorney. I was also interested in data science/technology because I liked the idea of having a career where I could potentially work remotely and not have to spend all day dealing with customers or people in general. I’m neurodivergent, and while I’m capable of functioning independently and learning quickly, I can also get extremely overwhelmed and stressed.

My previous job was as a litigation paralegal at a personal injury firm. I actually had no legal experience when I started. I was hired as a legal secretary, and within less than a year I was promoted to litigation paralegal. I’ve always been a very fast learner, and I know I’m intelligent and capable when my brain is cooperating with me.
Unfortunately, the illness has affected my brain quite a bit. I’ve dealt with brain fog, concentration problems, difficulty learning and retaining new information, migraines, etc. I’ve actually tried starting school several times over the past year and a half, only to realize that my brain wasn’t cooperating and I couldn’t keep going. Sometimes studying itself would trigger migraines and then make the rest of my symptoms worse.

But recently I’ve started exposing myself to learning again, very gradually, and I feel like something has shifted a little. I’m still dealing with a lot, but I’m feeling more determined than I have in a long time. And honestly, I’m tired of being unemployed and sick and sitting at home watching my life go by.

I have a daughter, and I want to be able to give her a future. I don’t want my health problems to dictate what her life looks like. I also don’t want to just accept that this is all my life is going to be. I want to do something. I want to work. I want to learn. I want to have a career and feel like I’m actually living again. So I’m trying to figure out what direction makes the most sense.

Law/attorney path:
I’ve always been interested in becoming an attorney, and my experience as a litigation paralegal made me realize that I genuinely like legal work. I also see quite a few remote attorney positions now, which is encouraging because working from home would probably be much more sustainable for me.

Data science/technology path:
A few years ago I was also considering data science because I liked the idea of analytical work, less customer-facing interaction, and potentially being able to work remotely. But obviously the technology/AI landscape has changed dramatically in the past few years, and I have no idea how good or bad the job market is now for someone starting from scratch.

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who work in either field, especially people who entered these careers later in life or who have dealt with health limitations. What would you choose if you were in my position? How realistic is it to pursue law now, considering the time/cost involved and the current legal job market? And is data science still a reasonable career to pursue in 2026, or has AI changed the entry-level market enough that it would be a bad investment of several years of my life?

I’m also open to completely different suggestions. My biggest priorities would be:
Ability to work remotely, or at least have a strong remote/hybrid market
Not heavily customer-service based
Something intellectually challenging
A career with enough earning potential to eventually support myself and my daughter
Something that isn’t completely impossible to enter in my mid/late 30s
Ideally, some flexibility if my health fluctuates

I know going back to school is going to be difficult for me. I’m not pretending otherwise. I’ve already had to stop and start multiple times because of my health. But I’m feeling unusually determined right now, and I don’t want to waste that feeling. To be clear, I would be pursuing learning remotely as well.

(I’m not looking for someone to tell me that I should just accept my limitations or that school is too stressful. I know my limitations better than anyone. I’m trying to figure out what I can do within those limitations and build a life from there.)

If you were in my position, what career path would you seriously consider?