TÂM SỰ CỦA MỘT NGƯỜI TRẺ BỊ BỊNH LUPUS.

LTS: Đây là tâm sự của một người trẻ  mới 17 tuổi, đang học lớp 12, năm cuối của trung học. Em muốn trở thành một cầu thủ chuyên nghiệp về môn Bóng Rổ nhưng thình lình cơn bịnh Lupus làm cho em không thể chịu được ánh nắng với các tia tử ngoại tuyến. Do đó, giấc mơ của em không thể thực hiện được. Nay em muốn theo học ngành Y Khoa để may ra tìm được phương cách chữa bịnh cho chính mình.
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 Young Patient’s Personal Statement

 Perhaps the most important influence that has shaped the person I am today is my traditional, family-oriented Vietnamese culture. My family has been a major source of support in all of the decisions I have made, and they fed me with all the knowledge, respect, and moral values that have been my guiding principles throughout my entire life. Not only do I try to earn respect from others, but I always push myself to be the best that I can be in every aspect of my life. I saw all the early opportunities that a good education can open up; therefore, I took advantage of it and distinctly tried hard to do well in school.

 Another important experience that has had a big influence on me the past few years has been high school. Going from intermediate school to high school was a significant change. Intermediate school was never time-consuming; I was able to take classes and also participate in sports and GATE programs. In intermediate school, I was in classes with the same set of students, so I was exposed little to people very different from myself. High school, on the other hand, is full of diversity. I have people of all ethnicities and abilities in my classes, and I have been lucky enough to meet quite a few of them. This experience has made me more aware of differences. Additionally, a variety of classes such as the Introduction to Medical Careers, in which we studied the differences in medical careers, also taught me the cultural diversity of belief systems, ethical values, and liberalized my world view.

 Looking back, I always knew that I wanted to grow up and become a professional basketball player; but I also knew my parents would not be pleased. Coming from an Asian family, I was expected to become a doctor. To them, the sports industry is too unsatisfying, too mediocre. But I saw things differently; I believe that the sports industry isn’t unsatisfying, but instead, fulfilling. Becoming a doctor requires a lot of work and dedication and it seemed like an impossible task. But, their approval also means a lot to me and their opinion has certainly influenced my direction of my career. But I have finally come to understand that I must pursue my own path. After some careful circumspection, I was sure that becoming a professional basketball player is, undoubtedly, the right career for me. Or was it?

 Unfortunately, the sports industry was not what nature had planned for me. During the summer of my junior year of high school, I noticed that I was easily getting exhausted from school work. My face grew weary as time passed by and rashes began to appear. The rashes increased in numbers and started appearing all over my body, which worried my parents. So, my mom decided to have me examined at the family doctor and the doctor informed us that everything is fine; it is just an allergic reaction. The doctor, then, gave me temporary medications for the rash, hoping that it would make the rash disappear, but the medications had the opposite effect. It kept me up several nights, shivering uncontrollably.

                My mom began to question the doctor’s credibility. Because of this, my mom became impatient with the lack of help she was receiving, so she drove me directly to the hospital the very next day. There, my mom sat beside me while I lay on the bed anxiously awaiting my blood results. I had a bad feeling in my stomach that something was wrong; maybe it was the chicken I had this morning. But I was wrong, it wasn’t the chicken, it was actually something worse. The doctor came in and informed me that I had depressing white-blood-cells. There I realized that going back home wasn’t so easy.

 I was kept in the hospital for the next couple of days for testing because the doctors were not sure what the cause of the rash was. I never felt lonely in the hospital; I had visitors almost every day. I had so much free time in the hospital; I even had the time to learn every nurse’s name.

                  One week after receiving the news, the doctor finally came to conclusion that I was diagnosed with Lupus, an auto-immune hereditary disease. The doctor described how severe Lupus was, what could happen if it wasn’t taken care of immediately, and how there is no cure for it. Stress and direct UV radiation only makes this disease worse; it could cause the development of new symptoms like arthritis. Not only does Lupus prevent me from contact with the sun’s rays, but it also forbids me from participating in sports activities.

                  There went my dream down the drain. After the news, I lay in bed trying to get the thought of the doctor’s words “no cure” out of my head. I was furious and depressed at the same time. I was furious that there was no cure for this dumb disease, but I was also depressed seeing my mom crying and pleading with the doctors for help. I wish there was something I could do that would put an end to this horrible nightmare.
 
                    Then, it hit me. I finally understood why I’m here in the hospital, diagnosed with this incurable disease. I realized that there is a cure for this disease; it just hasn’t been found yet. I was here to help people, make a difference, and find a cure for diseases like this. It was always my path to become a doctor; I just needed the push to make me realize this is my path. There have been times in my life that I didn’t have the confidence to believe that I could succeed in anything I set my mind to. Through much effort I have now come to a place where I know that no goal is too high, and this is why I am now applying to the schools of medicine.

                  I often wonder what kind of career I would be compelled to pursue if the events in my life had not resulted as they did. Perhaps I would have taken my passion for basketball to the next level and be pursuing a basketball career right now rather than applying to colleges with the ultimate goal of becoming a doctor. I can’t, however, change the past, and at least I can be thankful that I have been driven in a positive direction from the events that changed my life forever.

C. Nguyễn.
February 2009