Paralysis is difficult to explain to a 12 year old. Not the basic concept of paralysis, but rather the idea of that becoming your future, of paralysis becoming your life. Telling your child he is paralyzed is what my family was almost forced to discuss with me 10 years ago.
I suffer from Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis (HKPP), an autosomal-dominant disorder affecting 1 in every 100,000 people, making me one of only roughly 3,070 people affected in the US (and my family a disproportionate number of the cases). It causes paralysis in major muscle groups due to a mutation in the sodium-potassium pumps in these muscles. It is triggered by excessive carbohydrates and sodium and serious physical exertion and exercise (all characteristics of my lifestyle in middle school when I was first diagnosed). I had my first attack when I was 12 and have dealt with the disease ever since. Although it is under control now and I live a normal life, it has become a part of who I am. Learning I have a rare illness was the life changing event that drew me to medicine. I wanted to learn every minute fact I could about my disease which led me further …show more content…
Health Care System. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country and yet U.S. performances on numerous healthcare quality measures are lower than other industrialized nations. I think about my hospital visits, where I felt like a test subject, paralyzed on the bed watching anonymous doctors and nurses rush around me with tests and charts in hand. Though the paralysis visits were stressful, they opened my eyes to the medical profession. Those visits made me want to become a physician, but a physician that is more personal with their patients and takes the time to clearly explain their conditions, a physician that makes a difference improving the health of my patients and the health of our
I suffer from Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis (HKPP), an autosomal-dominant disorder affecting 1 in every 100,000 people, making me one of only roughly 3,070 people affected in the US (and my family a disproportionate number of the cases). It causes paralysis in major muscle groups due to a mutation in the sodium-potassium pumps in these muscles. It is triggered by excessive carbohydrates and sodium and serious physical exertion and exercise (all characteristics of my lifestyle in middle school when I was first diagnosed). I had my first attack when I was 12 and have dealt with the disease ever since. Although it is under control now and I live a normal life, it has become a part of who I am. Learning I have a rare illness was the life changing event that drew me to medicine. I wanted to learn every minute fact I could about my disease which led me further …show more content…
Health Care System. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country and yet U.S. performances on numerous healthcare quality measures are lower than other industrialized nations. I think about my hospital visits, where I felt like a test subject, paralyzed on the bed watching anonymous doctors and nurses rush around me with tests and charts in hand. Though the paralysis visits were stressful, they opened my eyes to the medical profession. Those visits made me want to become a physician, but a physician that is more personal with their patients and takes the time to clearly explain their conditions, a physician that makes a difference improving the health of my patients and the health of our