Personal Essay

I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a chronic type of arthritis, when I was
fifteen. Before I was recommended to a rheumatologist, I saw an orthopedic surgeon and sports
medicine doctor; both who sent me to multiple weeks of physical therapy, sidelined me from
sports, and prescribed me anti-inflammatory drugs. They all explained to me that my pain was
just overuse and would get better with time and rest. After being held out of sports for almost all
of my freshman year of high school, I finally saw a rheumatologist. I had many diagnostic tests
done, including X-rays, MRI’s, and blood tests which subsequently lead to finally getting my
correct diagnosis.
Although it was good to know what the real problem was, my life was flipped upside
down. I was furious with everyone around me and didn’t know how to deal with the disease as
well as myself. For many months, I would cry for hours and always thought I would never get
better. Within the first few months of my diagnosis, I had a hard time finding a treatment that
worked. The first one I tried was a steroid injection into my sacroiliac joint at the base of my
spine; this had no effect. Following the steroid injection, I was put on a biopharmaceutical called
Enbrel for a while but experienced no difference pain wise. After consulting with my
rheumatologist about the next best option, I was recommended to go on Remicade: a
medication that has to be administered through an IV once a month. I’ve been on this for almost
a year now and so far it has been working wonders for me. I have seen a lot of improvement,
physically and mentally.
Even when I was feeling better, I didn’t know how to tell my friends that I had arthritis,
which almost every teenager thinks of as an “old person's disease.” With the help of my family, I
was able to introduce the idea of having arthritis to my friends through a fun and festive 5k
called the Jingle Bell Run. The first year I participated, I raised the most money and put together
the largest team for that location; the following year I was named the youth honoree. Soon after,
I was asked to be interviewed with ABC 7 for their segment “Rising Star” to share my story on
what it’s like to be a teenager with this so called “old person’s disease”.
With all my ups and downs, my resilience, determination, strength, and passion for
finding a cure improved. I had and still do have to keep a positive outlook on everything and
constantly remind myself that everything happens for a reason. Still to do this day, I keep
persevering through all of the medication trials, times where I don’t feel my best, and I am
always looking for way to fundraise and make the public more aware of this “silent” disease.
When I was first diagnosed I was insecure and scared about what people would think of
me. Looking back on it now, almost 3 years later, I understand why I felt the way I did; I had no
one to talk or relate to, I wasn’t on a medication that worked for me, and I was just getting used
to my new lifestyle. Once I realized that everyone was on my side, praying for me to get better, I
started to feel more comfortable sharing my story with others. Having AS and experiencing the
journey I have gone through already has sparked an interest in physical therapy for me. It has
made me recognize that I want to give back to others who are recovering or dealing with similar
things that I am.
Score of 5 (90-100%) This narrative demonstrates consistent mastery, although it may have

minor errors.

· offers insightful thinking and original ideas.

· is developed through skillful use of techniques appropriate to the task.
· is effectively structured, focused, and coherent.
· demonstrates effective style through purposeful language and sentence structure.
· demonstrates command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage.

Score of 4 (80-89%) This narrative demonstrates adequate mastery with occasional lapses in

quality.

· offers generally clear thinking and ideas.

· is developed using techniques generally appropriate to the task.
· is generally organized, focused, and coherent.
· demonstrates appropriate style through varied language and sentence structure.
· generally demonstrates command of conventions of standard English grammar
and usage.

Score of 3 (70-79%) This narrative demonstrates partial mastery, but it has one or more flaws.

· offers thinking and ideas that may lack depth or originality.

· is developed unevenly using techniques that may not be appropriate to the task.
· may lack organization, focus, or coherence.
· may demonstrate inconsistent style, including some vague language or sentence
errors.
· may show weaknesses in use of conventions of standard English grammar and
usage.

Score of 2 (60-69%) This narrative demonstrates little mastery and is marred by one or more

weaknesses.

· offers thinking and ideas that are unclear or inconsistent.

· shows limited development with little attention to techniques appropriate to the
task.
· is poorly organized, lacking focus and coherence.
· demonstrates ineffective style, including simplistic or incorrect language and
sentence structure.
 · contains errors in conventions that sometimes hamper meaning.

Score of 1 (50-59%) This narrative demonstrates a lack of mastery and serious flaws. Formatted: Indent: First line: 0", Space Before: 6 pt,
Line spacing: Double