Immortality. There was a time in my life when I thought that I was immortal. When I only thought of my life and myself. But when a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little boy walked into my life I was forced to think of someone else for once. He showed me that helping others has much greater rewards than only helping yourself. A four-year old made me realize that there is a world beyond my own and if you don't take a look around once in a while you may be missing out on living.
At the age of 18 I thought that I was on top of the world. I had been working as a lifeguard at Lifetime Fitness Club in Shelby for about a year when I was walking the indoor pool deck and noticed a mother and her child in the lap pool. I nervously strode over to the
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After and examination and some X-rays, the doctor came back into the room to talk to me. `Never in a million years was I prepared for what he told me. I drove home in a daze, I just couldn't believe it.' <p>When I got home I called my husband and told him that he should come home right away. When he got home he pulled in and asked where Trevor was and I told him that I had put him down for a nap and that the girls were outside playing. We sat down at our kitchen table and, with tears streaming down my face, I told Ed, `The doctor thinks that Trevor has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.' Emotions completely overwhelmed us as we sat in silence staring at each other in total disbelief. He finally broke down and we cried together until we heard Trevor upstairs. That moment will haunt me for the rest of my life. I have never felt as helpless and lost as I did then. <p>Neither of us could eat nor sleep nor talk to each other for a long time. A month had passed and we finally decided that if we ever wanted to save our son's life then we were going to have to be stronger than ever. Through DNA testing on June 25, it was confirmed that Trevor had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). We began researching DMD and found out that over 100,000 boys are affected in the United States alone. The muscle wasting disease kills nearly two boys every day. Between the ages nine and eleven, over 98% are
Time moves forward, and only forward. It’s a circle – we are born, raised, we live, then we die. But have you ever imagined what would happen if you were endowed with immortality? What if you could not die no matter how many decades had passed, while the world around you keeps changing and everyone else keeps aging? Would it be wonderful to live forever like that? Then you should take a look at Tuck Everlasting, a novel written by Natalie Babbitt in 1975 which focuses on the negative side of immortality.
The Odyssey is an epic composed by Homer, an early Greek storyteller. This epic was the basis for Greek and Roman education. Epics are long poems marked by adventure. The main character in an epic is an epic hero.
Why would someone want to be immortal if they cannot share their life with others? Sharing with others is what life is about. Making connections and relationships
In the biography Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, a troubled adolescent boy named Louis Zamperini revolves his life around his running career. Starting at such a young age, running had many impacts on Louie’s life. The high demand of training kept Louie distracted from making unintelligent choices he had previously been making. Running changed the young teenager he was and the man he was going to become.
The publishing of the book, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, not only brought light to an incredible story but also to the incredible need for change in legislation and governing bodies within the research system. Since its release in 2010, there have been various policy introductions coming from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Among one of the greatest is titled, “Human Subjects Research Protections: Enhancing Protections for Research Subjects and Reducing Burden, Delay, and Ambiguity for Investigators.”
My mom, Kailli and I were spending our first week of summer in the hot dry sun of Palm Desert. As we were planning out our agenda for the next day, we came across a brochure for the Taquitz falls three miles deep into the hot Palm springs desert. We had to see it with our own eyes to believe it. A waterfall in the middle of the desert seemed bizarre, so the next morning we set off for our hike at six in the morning. After a couple bumps in the road we finally began our hike
Attention Getter: Many young boys lives are slipping away from them, being claimed by one selfish disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, while FDA officials in the U.S. stand back and watch it happen.
The 2005 documentary “39 Pounds of Love” follows Ami Ankilewitz of Israel on a journey across the United States. Ankilewitz is determined to attain his persistent desire of finding Dr. Albert Cordova, who incorrectly diagnosed Ankilewitz with muscular dystrophy and gave him only five years to live. Ankilewitz was born in Texas in 1970. After noticing her son was playing and interacting differently than other children his age, Ankilewitz’s mother took him to be evaluated. There she was told her precious child would not live even to his teen years. As the movie shows, 39-pound Ankilewitz (who is now 34 years old and correctly diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy) began using a wheelchair and microphone to assist in his daily living.
Individuals who inherit this disease will have a rapid progression of symptoms. Walking becomes difficult and skeletal contractures and muscle atrophy follows. They also usually need wheelchairs by adolescence. Half of the receivers of the disease unfortunately develop some form of mental retardation and most never make it past their teenage years. Currently, options for a treatment of muscular dystrophy are limited. Physical therapy may slow down the progression of deformities. Such devices as wheel chairs, crutches, or secondary orthopedic limbs may permit mobility. There are also a few medications that can help relieve pain and stiffness in the muscles. The Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy Research and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh helped fund a research project for the disease. The research, carried out by Johnny Huard, Ph.D., is looking fairly successful. Scientists are isolating special
Zeus, most likely the most renowned god of all gods, the mighty god of lightning has taken part in some of the most widely known myths of all times. Zeus has taken part in many Greek and Roman myths alike, either as Zeus or as his Roman counterpart of Jupiter. Unlike most gods in mythology though, Zeus is the main character in almost all of the myths he is mentioned in. Whether the myth is about his epic clash against the Titans, his fight against the Giants or even about his extramarital affairs, Zeus always seems to come out of these conflicts unaffected and triumphant. When examining Zeus’ character though, it is important to note that Zeus is a god that exhibits human characteristics throughout most of his myths. Growth is one of the
What are people willing to do to maintain a healthy mind and body? A former emperor of china, Qin Shi Huang, killed himself trying to live forever by consuming age-stopping mercury pills. In the 1400's Pope Innocent VIII believed by transfusing three young boys blood into himself he would absorb their youth, he died in the process. In the 1800's Leonard Jones ran for president with the promise to achieve immortality, he believed this would be accomplished through prayer and fasting, later that year pneumonia led to his death.
The use of creditable and appropriate resources is important for educators because all internet should be adept at critically evaluating information (Rankin, Stallings & London, 2005, p.380). To ensure that information is unbiased, accurate, and up to date and clear to the reader the educator should evaluate each resource that is going to be used (Rankin, et al., 2005, p. 280). Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass (Muscular Dystrophy Canada, 2015). The Muscular Dystrophy Canada has developed a web page available for those effected by muscular dystrophy and their caregivers. It is located at the web address www.muscle.ca. Information on this site
Prior to the 1980s, there was minimum knowledge relating to the causes of muscular dystrophy. However, in 1986, researchers discovered a gene, soon to be named dystrophin, on the X chromosome. The gene, when mutated, reacted by causing Duchenne muscular dystrophies. During 1987, the protein in relation to the gene discovered a year early was officially classified and named dystrophin. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) develops due to the mutated gene failure to supply active dystrophin. This minimum amount of dystrophin affects the body by developing muscle damage and continued weakness from early life.
Homer’s epic The Iliad, is a great tale of war and glory. It takes place during the last year of the ten year Greek-Trojan war. The Greeks have been fighting with the Trojans for quite some time, and just when peace seemed like a possibility, the youngest prince of Troy, Paris, acts out selfishly and steals the beautiful wife of Menelaus, Helen. This instigates the fighting again. Throughout The Iliad, Homer tells of two heroes, both similar, but also very different in their character; the great and powerful Greek, Achilles, and the strong, loving father, Prince Hector of Troy. In Homer’s The Iliad, Hector and Achilles differ as heroes in regards to pride, duty, and family love, the latter being self-centered and prideful, while the
Plato has roused many readers with the work of a great philosopher by the name of Socrates. Through Plato, Socrates lived on generations after his time. A topic of Socrates that many will continue to discuss is the idea of “an immortal soul”. Although there are various works and dialogues about this topic it is found to be best explained in The Phaedo. It is fair to say that the mind may wonder when one dies what exactly happens to the beloved soul, the giver of life often thought of as the very essence of life does it live on beyond the body, or does it die with it? Does the soul have knowledge of the past if it really does live on?