Hey Guys,
Hope everyone is having a great week! Also stay healthy! I have unfortunately been chilling with sickness for the past few days but hopefully it goes away soon! College dorms are something else aren't they? Anyway, today I'd like to talk about my first encounter with a brain disorder, one that claimed the life of someone dear to me. Before the diagnosis, I had no idea what Neuroscience was or what type of brain diseases existed but it is ultimately what sparked my interest in the field.
Coming from an Italian-Greek household, family is something that is cherished deeply and i've aways had extended family over growing up for as long as I can remember. My grandmother lived with me my whole life and was, as a result, a second mother to me. When I was going into my first year of High School, one of her doctors noticed something off about the way she walked and sent her to a Neurologist to get looked at. It was then that we learned she had Parkinson's Disease, a brain disorder that results from a dopamine neuron death in the substantia nigra.
My Grandmother had always been a strong woman, taking care of my mom and two uncles on her own after my Grandfather died due to heart failure. When I was younger she would take me to work with her and we would go play in the park afterwards. She was very active, always refusing to sit down, always trying to clean every last square inch of the house, and always dancing to some Sinatra. I looked up to her, and when I found out she had Parkinson's I took a special interest in neuroscience. She used to tell me about her doctor visits and would have me look up symptoms and causes for the disease. I found it all fascinating but I hated the disease so much. I looked up videos of Michael J. Fox after he had parkinson's and was scared for what it would do to my Grandma. The years following were miserable for me. I slowly watched as the disease ate away at her strength. She would shake constantly and drag her feet while she walked. She didn't have the strength to do all the trivial household things she used to do and she would fight her fatigue to do it anyway. I picked up her medicine whenever she needed refills, i'll never forget the name "Carbidopa-Levodopa". The disease claimed her life early second semester of my Freshman Year and I swore to accomplish what i promised my Grandma, to become a doctor that specialized in neuroscience and treat my patients better than her doctors had treated her.
This was my first encounter, and this is my motivation.
Hope everyone is having a great week! Also stay healthy! I have unfortunately been chilling with sickness for the past few days but hopefully it goes away soon! College dorms are something else aren't they? Anyway, today I'd like to talk about my first encounter with a brain disorder, one that claimed the life of someone dear to me. Before the diagnosis, I had no idea what Neuroscience was or what type of brain diseases existed but it is ultimately what sparked my interest in the field.
Coming from an Italian-Greek household, family is something that is cherished deeply and i've aways had extended family over growing up for as long as I can remember. My grandmother lived with me my whole life and was, as a result, a second mother to me. When I was going into my first year of High School, one of her doctors noticed something off about the way she walked and sent her to a Neurologist to get looked at. It was then that we learned she had Parkinson's Disease, a brain disorder that results from a dopamine neuron death in the substantia nigra.
My Grandmother had always been a strong woman, taking care of my mom and two uncles on her own after my Grandfather died due to heart failure. When I was younger she would take me to work with her and we would go play in the park afterwards. She was very active, always refusing to sit down, always trying to clean every last square inch of the house, and always dancing to some Sinatra. I looked up to her, and when I found out she had Parkinson's I took a special interest in neuroscience. She used to tell me about her doctor visits and would have me look up symptoms and causes for the disease. I found it all fascinating but I hated the disease so much. I looked up videos of Michael J. Fox after he had parkinson's and was scared for what it would do to my Grandma. The years following were miserable for me. I slowly watched as the disease ate away at her strength. She would shake constantly and drag her feet while she walked. She didn't have the strength to do all the trivial household things she used to do and she would fight her fatigue to do it anyway. I picked up her medicine whenever she needed refills, i'll never forget the name "Carbidopa-Levodopa". The disease claimed her life early second semester of my Freshman Year and I swore to accomplish what i promised my Grandma, to become a doctor that specialized in neuroscience and treat my patients better than her doctors had treated her.
This was my first encounter, and this is my motivation.
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