Acute Asthma Personal Statement

The precious rhythm of a child's heartbeat isn't easy to hear. From the time I was in ninth grade, if not before, I knew I wanted to be a pediatrician. Specifically, I want to be a pediatric lung specialist. I want to be able to listen to children’s heartbeats and understand what that rhythm is telling me. Starting at a young age, I have had severe health challenges that put me on this path. This challenge has contributed to who I am now in addition to what I desire to one day become.
When I turned seven years old I was diagnosed with acute asthma and my condition became more severe and problematic as I grew older. In the ninth grade I had health issues and was missing many classes. I was starting my high school experience with a reputation for having attendance issues and falling behind in my classes. Instead of enjoying classroom discussions, I had to get packages of assignments delivered to me and I had to learn the material on my own. That same year I was hospitalized for what seemed like the longest week of my life when my acute asthma escalated to bronchitis and pneumonia simultaneously. Spending so much time in the pediatric unit sparked high levels of interest within me. During that week I was given the opportunity to witness doctors who exhibited determination, mercy, concern, sympathy, and absolute devotion. For the first time in my life
I wasn’t able to participate in sports growing up, but I was determined and focused to become a cheerleader, and I did. I have learned to accept that asthma is another part of me. It made me stronger, it allowed me to accept the good and bad, and used it to my advantage. Although this journey was challenging, it is the very thing that enabled me to develop my unique strengths over time. Today, I am proud of my experiences and accomplishments because they have proved to me that I am an individual who is involved, boundless, and won’t let anything get in the way of my