Fight the good Fight

Hi I am Ronnie I am 27 years old and a cancer survivor and this is my story...

  In 2008 I was 15 years old it would have been my first year of high school I was living in Israel and one night I spiked a high fever. So I went to the hospital and my labs showed cancer activity.  Specifically a form of Leukemia known as AML(Acute Myeloid Leukemia) at first my parents didn't tell me but about a week later they told me.So the consequences of that were I lost alot of friends because they weren't sure how to help me but my brothers dropped everything and flew to Israel to be there with me and my parents were there through the whole process they were my rocks at times like when I was put inside a bubble for a year.Honestly they are the reason I am alive.Since I had not been able to attend a high school I entered a GED diploma program graduating with honors. They tried to treat me with chemo,stem cell transplant and radiation which somehow to this day doctors don't know why but I became paralyzed it took 3 years until I was able to do it again with practice and physical therapy. Chemotherepy although it never really worked for me they said in April 2009 that I was in remission.After beating that cancer a few years later January 2017 I thought I saw something so I had a doctor in Slone Keagen hospital center,the doctor thought it was a birthmark at first but after a biopsy ,they found I had caught the cancer specifically Melanoma "skin cancer" which was easily fixed with surgery. My friends both before and after cancer would describe me as strong with a good heart trying to help everyone get rid of the bad in the world. Life get tough but I am proud of myself for staying alive even when things get difficult when I am stuck at home when other people my age would be out or how I get tired easily or the surgries I experienced.The big difference between when I was sick and after I went into remission or beat cancer is I feel more connection to the world and i feel more mature especially with the ability to understand others better and empathize with them. There is so much I will accomplish I am about to graduate from college with the honor of Comlaude with honors with my BA in psychology minor in criminal justice to become a therapist and help others.My message for those out there is life gets tough but there are others out there I just hope you never feel alone  

CP=Cinema Princess

Interview :

Name:Margot Cole from new York in her early 20's 

Q1:What is your disability? 

1: My disability is Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy.

 Q2:What is it? 

2: Cerebral Palsy is is a brain injury that happens before, during, or shortly after birth. It can be caused by lack of oxygen to the brain or conditions such as a fetal brain hemorrhage which is similar to a stroke, but in most cases the reason for the brain damage is unknown. Cerebral Palsy affects the motor areas of the brain in a vast amount of ways depending on where the damage in the brain occurs. It usually causes the muscles to be too tight (spastic) or too loose because the brain signals are constantly being misfired throughout the person's entire life. The misfiring can lead to issues with balancing, coordination, speech, proprioception, and body alignment. In my case it mainly effects my walking.

 Q3: What age they received diagnosis? Story behind it.

3: I was initially diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy around 8 months old. The specific type of Cerebral Palsy called “Spastic Diplegia”  was confirmed when I was about 1 year old through an evaluation by a doctor and physical therapist.

Q4: What is the treatment plan? how does it help?

4: I have had surgery and physical therapy as a treatment. I had two surgeries for the treatment of my Cerebral Palsy where doctors lengthened tendons near my knees and ankles to relieve spasticity and allow me to stand up and walk. I could not walk at all until after my first surgery at three years old. I have had many types of physical therapy throughout my life such as aqua therapy and horse back riding as physical therapy.  I also dance and do martial arts.

 Q5:Were you ever hospitalized for it?

5: I was hospitalized overnight for both of my surgeries. The experience of being in a hospital made me fascinated with medical shows but I’m still terrified of medical procedures when they are done to my own body.

 Q6:How does it effect your everyday life?what type of therapy?

 6: My Cerebral Palsy effects me physically. In daily life, I use gray forearm crutches to walk in most situations. If I have to walk a longer distance I use a scooter. Having to use crutches and/or a scooter on a daily basis means that it is better for me to plan events with friends a few days ahead of time so I can plan out how much walking or standing might be involved in the activity and how long it could take me to walk there. In college I have my classes moved closer together to shorten the walking distance required. My CP sometimes makes my handwriting look wavy and hard to read so I type my writing exams. 

 Q7:Have you ever felt discrmanated and How so?

7: I felt truly discriminated against when the only high school where I was living had no elevator so I was forced to home school for high school. Luckily I ended up really liking home schooling. I have also surprisingly experienced ableism from other disabled people who only focus on my Cerebral Palsy instead of getting to know other aspects of my interests, and expect me to prove that I fit their definition of what an independent person with CP should be like, instead of letting me make my own choices. I was disappointed to find out how ableist some of the disabled community was.

 Q8:Is it something you try to hide?

8: I have never felt the need to hide my disability. I feel that by sharing my life experiences as someone with Cerebral Palsy it gives me agency and by sharing I can help others with disabilities embrace their disability. Even if I wanted to hide my disability it is impossible for me to hide my CP because it is very visible. My body discloses my condition for me whether I want to or not.

 Q9:Did it ever effect your self-esteem? 

9: I have always felt that I had high self esteem. I have supportive family and many friends. I feel my life with CP is a very wonderful, full life. If I have certain positive or negative emotions about my disability come up in my mind, I write about them in my films which can be viewed online for free here http://cripvideoproductions.com   as a way to process what I feel in a healthy way.  The films I’v written so far are titled “Drama Sighted” “Only Those Who Limp Allowed”, “Crips Not Creeps” and “A Stroke Of Endurance”.

Q10:What is your future plan? 

10: My future plans are to get a BA in Biology and to continue writing about my experiences

Do you believe in miracles

       My name is Metal Man age 115 living in the mist of the middle earth but believe I once lived in Lord of the Rings... I was diagnosed with Spina bifida at birth . Spina bifida is a condition that affects the spine and is usually and apparent at birth. It is a type of neural tube defect (NTD). Spina Bifida can happen anywhere along the spine if the neural tube does not close all the way. When the neural tube doesn’t close all the way, the backbone that protects the spinal cord doesn’t form and close as it should. This often results in damage to the spinal cord and nerves. Spina bifida might cause physical and intellectual disabilities that range from mild to severe. The severity depends on and the size and location of the opening in the spine Whether part of the spinal cord and nerves are affected. Spina Bifida is when their is a hole in the spine bifta incomplete spine keeping things simple! I met my twin who has a disability in a place that was to me at a point special to many, Kids of Courage. 

Spina Bifida has effected my ability to do any activity from the waist down so I am in a wheelchair but has effected my life drastically because I have seen people who get upset about their disability and I wanted to and did become a life coach to show others. Their is a whole other side to being disabled and Metal Man Life Coaching is dedicated to showing the happiness and they have such a great life ahead. My main challenges are the sores I get on various parts of my body, dating,trying to take steps (but not impossible). Spina Bifida has more advantages then disadvantages "Power to the chair" as he says. For example I get to skip lines and makes life an adventure. 

DOUBTS...they are both advantages and disadvantages, the advantages are when others doubt and your able to do it the sense of accomplishment feels unimaginably amazing and getting doubts in the first place. One story is people are mislead by my diagnoses and assume I am not as smart I actually am I have even been rejected by school for their judgments of being called "mentally retarded". Yet, I have mastered so much in my schooling life despite the challenges involved I achieved receiving my Bachelor's, academic achievements and even started my own small company Metal Man Life Coaching with a Life Coaching degree. Due to my past and helping others in Chai Lifeline,Kids of Courage and Yalla I have helped others.Out of  experience and happiness and joy in helping others to pursue my career. 

I have psudoseizures diagnosed at a time I am unsure regarding the timeline.Psudo Seizures are psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), or pseudoseizures are paroxysmal episodes that resemble and are often misdiagnosed as epileptic seizures; however, PNES are psychological, emotional, stress-related in origin. Paroxysmal non epileptic episodes can be either organic or psychogenic.  In college I got my first seizure after a stressful event. I need to be cautious person yet I found an ability in me that I am able to stop them.My doctor gave me adavan for emergencies and used to be on lexepro daily but I have gotten better and am no longer on medication. I have experienced a lot of surgeries some of which I shouldn't have survived and I got many miracles.        

Welcome!

Hi my name is Molly or Malka Tomsky, this is not a bunch of complaining on the internet it is teaching people,raising awareness and through my own stories and others(some chose a name others use their real one)  that choose to write and share and teach via this blog for those who feel they have no voice,feel unheard or people who may not be aware.This is an outlet to show people we are more then meets the eye and show others how they can handle our situations instead of being frightened,speak in a baby voice,pretend we don't exist,give us special treatment etc. You are probably wondering how I know anything on this and why I do this?My 3 siblings and myself were diagnosed young.I am 19 years and 6 months old but at 7yrs old I was diagnosed with epilepsy later on ADD, a hernia and major anxiety. My 17yr old sister with autism was diagnosed and voice was stolen at 3yrs old and 2 yrs ago epilepsy, 15yr old sister was diagnosed with  autism but a mistake was made and at 3yrs old asbergers ADD and when she was 12 gain rhomatory arthritis,depression and anxiety.Finally the youngest my 12yr old brother was only 2 when diagnosed with autism and anxiety. So I know quite a bit any questions do not be shy and if you want to partake in this feel free to contact me!!! 

I can't feel my blank when i'm with you

 Hey my name in Anna I live in San Francisco and in case your curious I have a few disabilities the may take a bit. So What do I have? Well...How much time do you have? I have more chronic illness than I can count including asthma which is A condition in which a person's airways become inflamed, narrow and swell, and produce extra mucus, which makes it difficult to breathe. Plus, hypothyroidism is,a condition in which the thyroid glands doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone.more notable ones however are   Autonomic dysfunction can affect a small part of the ANS or the entire ANS. Some symptoms that may indicate the presence of an autonomic nerve disorder include: dizziness and fainting upon standing up, or orthostatic hypotension. an inability to alter heart rate with exercise, or exercise intolerance.   Endometriosis which is wwhenA disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uter. I also have a rare condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)which is Chronic arm or leg pain developing after injury, surgery, stroke, or heart attack. low cerebral blood flow which is hypotensive neonatal distress. Mast­Cell Activation which is mediated by the high-affinity receptor for IgE (Fc epsilon RI) is considered to be a key event in the allergic inflammatory response. So The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls unconscious thought. This includes heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, tearing, etc. All that fun stuff we take for granted.
Endometriosis is when cells from cells (from the uterus) travel out of the uterus and basically cause patches of skin to form where they shouldn't. Some patches are different colors ranging from clear to red with clear being the most painful and red being barely felt. Red is also the most dangerous since it can often go undiagnosed and lead to infertility. I believe I have white.
RSD is the misfiring of nerves. This causes pain when there shouldn't be and intensified pain. Mast­ cells control histamine release. It's almost like have severe allergies. The body releases an overabundance of unnecessary histamines. Some of the systems include hives, severe itching that I didn't even notice until after I was diagnosed, severe discomfort, and many other symptoms that I forget about until my medicine wears off after a successful treatment day.I received the diagnosis of hypothyroidism when I was in first grade. We didn't find out about the Endometriosis until I was thirteen and was lucky they found it so early. Shortly after came the asthma diagnosis. The autonomic dysfunction came a year later with the RSD (a suspected cause is the shock to the development of my nervous system from the Endo, but we'll get to that). We only found out about the Mast­cell Activation about two months ago. I'm 19 now.Story behind it.
Oh gosh where to begin. I guess I'll try to keep it short but I'm not sure that's possible. I had had abdominal issues for years. As they got worse and we got more desperate for an answer doctors started suspecting a psychological cause more than a physiological. They even a used my mom of having munchausen's. This included a nine day hospital stay where five days were just psychological evaluations. I guess it was partially my fault since I was a) a kid and didn't know what was a normal feeling and what was not and b) because I had become so used to hiding it. I don't blame myself at all, of course I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if the process had gone more smoothly but I am in part who I am today because of my experiences. This is one of the reasons I strongly believe doctors should be trained to be able to spot things, such as when a kid makes a face when a doctor pushes on their abdomen but doesn't say anything. At the time I was going to a very religious school that did not, what's the word, I guess believe me, even after the surgery. Even with the picture proof in front of them. This all resulted in me having to make up the seventh grade. They were the epitome of making a bad situation worse. After pain rehab and a new school I was finally on the right track.Then, one day I was walking between school buildings and I kind of just looked down at my feet. In that moment I knew something wasn't right again. I just kinda knew. I can't really explain it. It was like my legs were heavy and far away. I think I had been feeling it for months but after the trauma of one medical diagnosis I just couldn't see telling my mom I was sick again and that we had to go to more doCtors and face more scrutiny and disappointment.
After a couple more month I finally had to tell her. I remember to this day. We were in our van driving home from school I guess, and my legs were uncomfortable so I had my feet up on the dash. I don't remember if I was able to hold back my tears but I did get it out. G­d i was so uncomfortable. I told her "I think I'm sick again." She said "I know."I think my heart stopped for a second. As I mentioned earlier, I had become very good at hiding my pain. This was of course something completely different though. More discomfort than pain. Discomforts sometimes worse. They’re is things you can do for pain. Take pain medicine rub where it hurts to distract the nerves use a tens unit. For discomfort all you can do is sit through it and wait for it to pass.I got lucky. We were immediately referred to CHOP Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and in a few hours we had a diagnosis. For a while I muddled through. Drank a lot of Powerade (120 oz a day) went on the treadmill three time a week for an hour and a half. Then I ended up back in pain rehab, had to go to physical therapy three times a week and eventually couldn't go to school during my freshman and sophomore years of high school. Right before my junior year, by right before I mean two days into, we started to get some answers. You have to understand, I never had really tested positive for anything before. We had a party when I tested positive for a strep test. At least it meant there was something we could do. So when the doctor starts giving the results and what I thought was the famous let down easy there's nothing we can do for you speech I start to zone out. Then she starts talking about how all my reading were normal blood pressure on my arm, heart rate, but the my cerebral blood flow dropped by 10%. I had to ask her to repeat herself she also said that I don't sweat over 40% of my body which is why I over heat like a computer hard drive.I only missed nine days of school that year. I bet I can still tell you exactly for what. Two were for the original appointment, three were for a marathon that I completed on my own two feet, one was for a yearly appointment, two were a cold that my teacher had to send me home and order me to stay home, and one because I threw up one day and stayed home to be safe. My senior year I was a little more lax. I don't even want to see my attendance record  only two days were actually full on ditch days. A lot was doctors appointments and tests in preparation for my gap year in Israel. At the end of the last school year, the euphoria kind of wore off and I started to feel "not right" again. "not right" is how I used to describe the low blood pressure wife it was indescribable. My mom used to get frustrated with me that I couldn't describe it. Side note: one day after the diagnosis, my mom started "why didn't you just say something wasn't ri.... Oh". It was one of those moments when your like "see I was telling you all along. We just didn't know what I was saying." Eventually, my pulmonologist (for asthma) referred me to a neurologist friend of his to try and get to the root of my discomfort. He was very helpful and I actually was just at him today for a follow up. He referred us to a specialist on mast­ cells and a connective tissue thing they think i have, after being able to draw on my arm with a paper clip. Apparently that's not supposed to cause your arm to light up like a Christmas tree. The mast cell specialist said that the specimen they sampled had so much histamine in it it couldn't be measured. She said because we didn't refrigerate it, the sample would have beeneven more saturated than they thought. She said this could be everything or it could be nothing. Well it certainly was a huge part of it. No more heavy lung feeling (at least not when I take my nebulizer on time. I know there's still a long way to go. It's been a domino effect ever since we found out about the low blood pressure. Now because of that I get to go to Israel next year! I think it is important to note something. If it had not been for the Endometriosis, I wouldn't have gotten to my pulmonologist or CHOP. Had it not been for CHOP I wouldn't have been prescribed pain medication for my RSD. Had I not have had the pain medication I would not have gotten a long term overdose. Without the long­term overdose no one would have thought I had a genetic issue that was causing my brain to not transmit the signal for me to breath (hyperventilation). Had it not been for this suspected condition I wouldn't have been referred by my pulmonologist to the specialist who agreed to see me. Had it not been for seeing this specialist I wouldn't have gotten a tilt test with an experimental blood pressure sticker on the forehead sticker that had only previously been used in the NICU. Had it not been for this special sticker, I wouldn't have found out about the low blood pressure. Had I not found out about the low blood pressure I would not have been able to recover my academic career. Had I not recovered my academic career I wouldn't have gotten into or waitlIsted to all ten colleges I applied to. Including two Ivy league grade programs and would not be going to an amazing Israel program next year. When do so many domino effect coincidences stop being coincidences. Treatment plan(what does it do for you)?
Well, every three and a half waking hours I take medication to raise my blood pressure. I don't let that stop me. I have a watch on my wrist that vibrates to remind me. Initially it was a problem because I was forgetting when to take it and if I had taken it or not.
I also take a bunch of antihistamines three times a day. In addition to that I take a medication specialised for my disorder four time a day by two different forms. One an oral one I dilute in water, and a nebulized solution. It's kind of inconvenient at times because it's every five and a half hour and I haven't started setting an alarm for it. Sometimes I sit down at a meal eat some challa and then "dang it" moment because I can't take it anymore. It must be taken on an empty stomach. It's annoying
because then I get a bloated and uncomfortable stomach.Hospitalized ever?
Yes, before the Endometriosis discovery. Never have been since that experience. It's become a problem before. When I was getting sick a lot due to a lowered immune system I got a horrible stomach flu that lasted for days. This resulted in serious dehydration. You could make a martini on my chest my heart was beating so hard. My mom got really upset a few days later when I told her.Affects everyday life?I try my best not to let and do crazy things anyway. Every once in awhile if I get too little sleep, I can't function. Literally I can feel my body trying to shut down. I try to go home from school orrest when that happens. Also, the thing that probably affects me the most is, occasionally, I get these awful, unbearable headaches. Really can't function with those. I'm usually incapacitated on the couch with a blanket and iPad for hours on end (usually until I can get to bed). Regardless, my friends at school know I have medical stuff but they've got no clue how bad. They have no idea that whenever I'm a little edgy it because I'm waiting for important test results, or that when I'm snippy it's because I'm feeling so sick that they couldn't be in school if they felt that way. If you're having trouble picturing it, it's kind of like having the flu every day. Temperature out of whack full body discomfort and, even though I'm used to feeling like this, sometime a feeling of literally wanting to crawl out of your skin it's so unbearable. No matter what I feel physically I push through. I climb the mountains and jump those hurdles I get there no matter what. Even when it requires a rerouting or detor. We all have challenged every day of our lives. Mine are just a little different. Ever felt discrimination cause of disability?
Not recently. Unless you count teenage friends who aren't really mature enough to handle it Also did it affect your self esteem and is it something you try to hide?
Doesn't affect my self esteem. I don't really try to hide it as much as not tell people I don't really think need to know.Do you struggle with it? Nah, now that we know more of what makes me feel so sick my family's pretty good with it and so am I. I don't talk to my friends about it, only my best friend. This stuff barely phases her any more and after I tell her what's bugging me we usually move on to the next topic like its a normal discussion. Then someone around us usually points out how it's not and we start laughing.One more thing, I have this awesome, crazyenthusiastic friend who had a setback earlier in the year. She's got a lot of struggles in her personal life as well. And you know what? She's friggin awesome! She's there for everyone all the time and everyone who meets her loves her! She's one of those amazing people who you look at and say “that girl, she's going places.”

I am hyper to hear your story

Hi my name is Chloe I am forty nine living in Louisiana and here is my story I was diagnosed with what I thought was a relatively mild hypoparathyroid  condition when I was  a newlywed. I felt very guilty that even before we'd been married for a year, my husband had a wife with a medical issue. After about twenty years a number of things happened: bones in my feet started breaking ; and I'd end up in the hospital with other infections. Following one hospital stay I had to quit a full time retail management position because I wasn't recuperating. When I'd end up in the hospital it was up to my husband to manage the young lively children. He was always very worried about me then. It took me a number of years before I was able to collect disability. It took three appeals.Miraculously my husband was speaking about my breaking bones with a neighbor who's a very sharp Doctor. She suggested a world famous bone specialist. Turns out that years of living with my hypoparathyroid condition can cause bones to break. I was so relieved when the doctor told me he knew what I had! He told me I was one in a 100,000 people with this condition and because there are so few people with it there are no medicines for it yet. He asked if I wanted to be part of a study where in exchange for getting X-rays bloodwork bone scans etc a couple times a year and allowing them to use the data, I'd receive $6,000 a year in medication at no cost to me! They were trying to get the new medicine approved by the FDA.  I signed up. Over the past ten years I've had to give myself injections of the trial medicine. It started off as every other day but now it's every day. The medicine was just approved by the FDA and my insurance plan would pay for it but the doctor  asked if I'd help them out and continue in the study so that they could get more data, so many participants did. It's a pain to do the injections. Not actual pain-that's fairly minor-but I usually remember late at night when all I want to do is go to sleep. I also take about fifteen pills every day for related medical issues which annoy me.
When my bones were breaking I used a scooter to get around. My kids were really embarrassed to be seen with me in the supermarket. I was pretty proud of how fast I could zoom down the aisles.
I've been hospitalized with infections or pneumonia about four times. I think the average stay is about five days. I noticed that a couple times it was in the spring so this year I'm very relieved that I'm feeling good at this time.
I am constantly thinking about how I'm feeling and aware that friends are much healthier than I am. My body is just sensitive. I really struggle every day-I rarely push myself physically because I'm convinced that I won't just be exhausted or achy fora couple days but will end up in the hospital.
People have so many worse illnesses than I do. I'm happy this is all I have. 

I live for risk

hi I am Sara Stanomior and here is my story,I had symptoms that something was wrong from age ten, including horrible headaches which the doctor's diagnosed as migraines without looking further or running any test.  It was only in 2001 when I was seventeen, in the beginning of 12th grade, that I was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  I lived in Richmond Virginia, and the doctors said I would lose my vision if they did not do surgery immediately.  Do to the location of the tumor, they decided it was too risky to remove the tumor, and instead drained it, which collapsed it. 
 Unfortunately, the tumor was aggressive, and grew in only a few months’ time, as they had diagnosed it incorrectly.  I went to a different surgeon in NYU, who told me that I needed to remove the tumor fully, or it would otherwise cause me to die, but said that there would be many ramifications, including: taking many medications for the rest of my life, due to the surgery destroying my pituitary gland; and that I would get diabetes insipidus, a urinary complication, for which I would have to take medication.  The doctor additionally told me that I would have excessive weight gain, due to the surgery destroying the hypothalamus.  I had struggled with an eating disorder throughout high school, and due to seeing a nutritionist weekly at that point I had reached a stable weight and was no longer starving myself.  Hearing that I would gain weight was the most difficult part of the surgery I could comprehend.
    I went into surgery three weeks later, and in that time the tumor moved and wrapped around my optic chiasm, which necessitated the surgeon to scrape it down in order to completely remove the tumor, and as a result I woke up blind.  The doctor told my parents that I would regain vision as I healed, and over the next 2 years I regained a small ‘pinhole’ field of vision in my left eye.  I am still very much visionally impaired, and learning to navigate the world like this has been a great challenge.  I initially was trained to use a seeing cane, but refused to do so due to the stigma involved.  It was only after I got hit by a car that I realized that I had no other choice but to use the stick.
    Another unexpected ramification from the surgery is that as a result of damage to the frontal lobe I had changes in my personality, executive functioning, and I lost my short term memory.  The personality changes were the most difficult for my friends and family; I went from a happy go lucky person to one who was not as happy.  This healed over time, although it is something I still struggle with.  The executive functioning loss effected the way I planned and thought things through, and this effected the choices I made and how I planned my day.  My short term memory loss was devastating; initially, I repeated questions every 5 minutes, but began to retain more as I healed.  My surgery was right before graduating high school, and I had a memory that had allowed me to be at the top of my class with minimal studying.  Entering into college a year after my surgery was a nightmare; as many times as I studied, I could not remember the material on the tests.  It also took me a few years of failing to realize that I could not go my intended medical school path, and had to take a detour and change my goals.  I ended up pursing a Bachelor’s in psychology, but due to the initial failures I left college feeling dejected just short of 12 credits from graduating.
    I spent the next few years working as a para professional in a school, and with intellectually disabled individuals in a home.  I had a friend who mentioned art therapy as a career path, suggesting the combination of psychology and art.  Although I was not sure it was a real profession, I looked into it and realized it combined my passions, and most importantly working with people.  At that point I went back to Brooklyn College, both to complete the credits I needed to obtain my Bachelor’s, as well as to complete the other classes needed to apply for a Master’s in art therapy.  I applied to graduate school, and got in.  
Attending graduate school was another hurdle and tremendously affected my self-esteem.  I received no accommodations from the school for my disabilities, and at one point the school asked me to leave due to discriminatory causes.  At that point I felt so low that I wanted to take my own life.  I appealed and was able to complete my Master’s.
    I am now working as an art therapist/ psychotherapist at a mental health clinic, in which I see children, adults, and families for a variety of issues.  I did not present myself with disabilities when applying to the job, due to the assumptions and discriminations that I have experienced; however, after several months I realized that it was necessary to get special programming to better see the computer screen, and therefore told my supervisors.
Although I can say that I have been able to overcome and have not allowed my disabilities to define me, I still face challenges from the repercussions daily, from my medication, weight gain, or visual impairment.  I often experience discrimination due to being overweight, and many people have perceptions that overweight people are lazy or overeat, while for me the opposite is true.  I eat very little and exercise often, and even underwent an experimental gastric bypass surgery in order to replicate the effect of the hypothalamus, which was destroyed in the surgery.  There are also many perceptions about being  visually impaired, I have learned that people do not comprehend the many different kinds of visual impairment, and expect me to be fully blind when using my cane, which initially made me feel pressured to put on a show.