Many people have heard of the disability called “cerebral palsy.” In the month of January of 1999, Mike and Renee Bennett had to hear of this disability in a very hard way. They received the news that their son, Brent, was diagnosed with this disability, actually the “official” diagnosis was periventruicular leukomalacia – in layman’s …
Living in my patient’s shoes Growing up, I never thought I would become a frequent visitor to the doctor or take more than 10 pills a day. Although every day comes with hardships, I feel blessed as I am able to walk in my patient’s shoes, since I have started my medical career. From kindergarten …
I was born with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, a rare genetic disorder that causes missing or malformed cilia. Cilia are microscopic hair-like structures that help clean and filter the inner surfaces of the respiratory system, sinuses, ears, and reproductive system. So basically, I have no filter for my respiratory system! From the moment I was born, …
Megan Zahneis is a student journalist at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. There, she is a managing editor at the weekly campus newspaper, The Miami Student, and editor of The Miami Student Magazine, which published its first print issue in fall 2017 and was named Best Student Magazine in the Society of Professional Journalists’ regional …
When I was sixteen, I was diagnosed with a “compression of the left renal vein,” Nutcracker Syndrome. I remember doctors looking at the CT scan and saying that it may or may not have been the cause of the pain that controlled my life for the next nine years. I was passed back and forth …
For other children with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, I would recommend that you keep a balance in life. I think you have to balance the unfun parts of being sick with some fun times. If life is a balance of good experiences and bad experiences, you can’t let the bad out weigh the good. You have …
I define creativity as making the seemingly impossible, possible. People with disabilities go through life with determination and strength, while other wonder if they could accomplish the same thing. Often times I have a goal in mind that may seem impossible but I find a way to make it happen. If there is an …
The Art of Becoming a Successful “Zebra” I never fully comprehended the phrase “You wear the dress; the dress does not wear you,” until I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, in December of 2014. When I was diagnosed with a disease that could affect every aspect of my life, I learned what it meant …
Hannah Demsien Katie Gross Katie Proietti Chelsea Reynolds Tori Hayes Sarah Schlink Lauren Lipsyc Patricia Bordonaro Macy Szucs Amber Igodan Holly Dwyer Matrice Iantorno Jeremy Razo Victoria Goodman Kathleen Downes Shelby Marler Garret Kawa Rachel Triay Megan Allen Victoria Dzorka Sarah Dudley Daniela Salinas Blanca Rocha Becerra Rachel Altman Nicolas Ryland Kate Pecora Julia LiPuma
“Goodbye Drew,” I exclaimed as I did every time I left his house after an action-packed hour of play therapy. Every Wednesday when I arrived, Drew would immediately pull me into an array of activities. First of course we would, or rather I would sing our weekly playlist of Drew’s favorite songs, which …