Learning To Help | Teen Ink

Learning To Help MAG

By Anonymous

   I can describe my father as if he were sitting next to me. I remember his smile, his eyes, and his dark curly hair. I also recall my father taking his medication and following the doctor's strict diet. One day I asked him, "Why do you take those pills, Daddy?" He looked into my eyes and said, "Nothing to worry about, sweetie." Not long after that my father passed away.

I was nine years old when he died. Since I was young, my mother did not explain why my father had died. Years later, my mother told me he had a heart attack caused by diabetes. I always wondered why he had left me; he was young and strong.

My life changed after my father's death. I wondered if I could do something to help people like my father. I promised that I would aid people suffering from diseases like diabetes. This is my mission, my sole purpose in life.

During the summer of 1996, I participated in the High School Health Careers Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School as a means to accomplish my mission. I spent four weeks at the Worcester State campus and travelled every morning to the University of Massachusetts Medical School. There I took three classes, biology, math, and communications. After lunch, I interned with a cardio-thoracic surgeon. I observed several bypass surgeries. Once a week I went to the cardiac clinic and talked to recovering patients. This was the most fascinating part of my internship because I saw the other side of medicine: the relationship between patient and doctor.

My four weeks at the school have been embedded in me. I met people who were in the "battle" I would soon join - against disease. I learned how some diseases can be stopped before they start, by turning off the gene that carries the information. With new

medical techniques, I hope to help those in need.

I hope when I become a doctor, I can find a cure for diabetes. When I fulfill my purpose, I will know that another child will not go through the ordeal of losing a family member to diabetes. tf



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This article has 4 comments.


i love this so much!

on Jun. 10 2011 at 5:17 pm
IsobelFree DIAMOND, Hamilton, Other
71 articles 20 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
"As long as there is open road, the familiar has the most formidable competitor." - Anonymous

Please, be respectful. This girl lost her father. Don't go telling her that it's mostly caused by people aging and being lazy, and don't go belittling what her dad had. You didn't know him or his situation.

on Apr. 4 2010 at 5:36 pm
AnneOnnimous BRONZE, Peterborough Ontario, Other
3 articles 0 photos 146 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself."
— John Green

I have diabetes- type 1, which is probably not what your dad died of. he probably had type 2 which is a lot different. That is caused mostly by aging and being lazy, pretty much. the type I have is harder to deal with. I got it when I was 1, so my parents had to inject their little baby with needles for me to survive. I nearly died when I got it, because nobody belueved i could have it.

on Apr. 4 2010 at 9:21 am
HeatherBee BRONZE, I Live In, Texas
1 article 0 photos 1979 comments

Favorite Quote:
Go on and try to tear me down. I will be rising from the ground, like a skyscraper

Love is louder than the pressure to be perfect

that was gooooooooooood. n congrats on it gettin published:) i hope a cure is found soon