Dying On Your Own Cross: A "Good" Friday!

What makes a 'good' day? Some people may say it's when everything you have planned for turned out well. For others, it's when you're given more opportunities to do more in your life despite of your circumstances. This is the 'good' friday of one extraordinary girl you are about to meet.

KELLEY SPERRY: NOT JUST AN ORDINARY GIRL

Kelley Sperry has a rare medical condition called Parry-Romberg Syndrome. This condition causes a deterioration of the muscles and soft tissue of the face, and in cases such as Kelley's, extreme pain and even stroke. Yet through all of this, Kelley Sperry keeps on going and going... Just like the Energizer Bunny. And it's this perseverance that makes her really extraordinary.

An A and B student at her school, Kelley has the same dreams and aspirations that other girls her age have. She wants to dance... She wants to be pretty... She wants to be popular... and she wants to be a cheerleader. To achieve these though, she has to contend with a life filled with doctor's appointments, and pain medications.

At age nine, Kelley finally received a name for what she knew was happening to her face. Doctor after doctor had misdiagnosed what was happening. That's common in rare diseases. They saw physicians who didn't even know how to spell Parry-Romberg Syndrome, let alone how to treat it. Surgery was suggested, however her family chose not to pursue this option. Various pain medications were tried, to little or no avail. Instead of a "miracle cure," Kelly Sperry endured. She endured pain, awkward glances from strangers and the self-conscious doubts that go with her disfiguring condition.

Her family endures too. They endure the visits to physicians, the comments of others, the fear that Kelley will have another stroke, and the other stresses that this condition causes within the family. Often when a child is ill, the siblings suffer because of the extreme amount of time and attention paid to the illness. The Sperry family is no exception. But through it all, a strong mother and father guide the family in the right direction. Kelley's father, Jay, a paramedic, makes it a point to not only spend time with his "Kell Bell", but also with her brothers.

After Kelley's story appeared in the "Rocky Mountain News", the family was inundated with messages of support, but none had more meaning than one from Karen Osborne, the parent of a student at Kelley's school. That message gave Kelley the chance to do what other little girls only dream of... to be a cheerleader. Osborne had arranged to have one of the Denver Bronco's cheer leaders visit Kelley. When she arrived one Friday, however, she wasn't alone. Five other Bronco's cheer leaders came along with her. They brought an official Broncos cheerleader uniform and an invitation to join them on the field for a Broncos game.

Since the original story in the "Rocky Mountain News", Kelley has suffered a fifth stroke, but she's determined to keep on going. After all, she's an inspiration to everyone who hears her story. In Kelley's eyes, however, her story can be summed up in this one sentence that Kelley left on the computer one morning: "KELLEY SPERRY IS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER GIRL...EXCEPT SHE HAS A DISEASE."

From the article of Adelle Vancil Tilton

Abdominal Epilepsy?

The other day, I encountered an uncommon medical diagnosis, abdominal epilepsy. Maybe I was absent when this was taught in med school or maybe it was mentioned but it just didn't register in my memory bank. Anyway, for those colleagues who haven't heard of this as well, here's what I found out about it, so that next time you are faced with a weird abdominal pain, you will think of abdominal epilepsy as a differential. There are many medical causes of abdominal pain; abdominal epilepsy is one of the rare causes. From a medical perspective, the term epilepsy refers not to a single disease, but to a group of symptoms with numerous causes. The common factor in all forms of epilepsy is an excessive electrical excitability of the brain. The increased excitation is called a seizure and may manifest as a partial or total loss of consciousness and muscle spasms or other involuntary movements. Many conditions can produce epilepsy. For example, a genetic predisposition is...

"Ganacity"

If there's one word that I will never forget from my AGSB experience, it's "ganacity"! A word frequently mentioned by our FinMan professor. What does it mean? It's a combination of the tagalog word "gana" (appetite, zest) and the english suffix "city" which converts an adjective word into a noun. 'Ganacity' therefore refers to one's state of desire or interest in something. I am sharing this because I feel that my 'ganacity' for what I am doing now is spiralling down, and it is so difficult to reverse it back up or just to keep it at a maintained level. It is becoming a struggle on a day to day basis. I am hoping that night and day will alternate fast so that this battle will end soon.

The Beauty of Giving

It is heartwarming to read how people are coming together to help and support all those involved in this war against the corona virus 19. Indeed, the blessing in this crisis is the transparency of people and the willingness to help those in need without a second thought. We have proven once again that we can care beyond ourselves. Hopefully though, this selflessness goes beyond the end of this pandemic. Giving sincerely is powerful not only for the heart but also for the mind and soul. It provides an intrinsic reward that’s far more valuable than the gift. It’s ‘finding one’s self by losing it in the service of others. As we nest in the comforts of our home, let us continuously find ways to help others in even small and meaningful ways.

Tooth and ENT Doctor

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