"A Person's a Person, No Matter How Small"

By: Holly Kendall

Payton has never backed down from a challenge.

“Even when she can see that the the task may be difficult for her, she sticks it out, does her best and always figures it out,” said Amanda, Payton’s mother.

Standing at 37 inches tall, 7-year-old Payton sees the world from a different view than most.

Payton’s Birth

At 29 weeks of pregnancy, Amanda went to the hospital due to pre-term labor. As the doctors were in the process of stopping the labor, they found that something was wrong with Payton’s limbs.

“I was devastated,” said Amanda. “Not knowing and in pre-term labor, it was all scary.”

After seven hard weeks of the unknown, Payton was born at 36 weeks, super healthy and in perfect condition. The geneticist claimed that nothing was wrong, but after the test results came in, it was confirmed that Payton did in fact have Dwarfism.

Dwarfism is a condition of short stature due to a medical or genetic condition. It can be caused by more than 200 conditions, usually stemming from metabolic or hormonal disorders (WebMD). In Payton’s case, she was born with Acondroplasia, the most common form of Dwarfism.

A Rose Among Daisies

Over the years, Payton realized that she was different than the other kids. As her friends were growing taller, she was not. There came a point where it was apparent that Payton was significantly shorter than the kids her age.

“Sometimes people and kids stare at me, but mostly my friends and classmates help me,” said Payton.

Though some people treated her differently due to her size, Payton’s mother believed that they were also drawn towards Payton.

“I think people gravitate toward her. She is known by many and loved by lots. She definitely has her own fan club,” said Amanda.

A Real Champion

Despite her size, Payton has never shied away from trying new things. Since age 2, Payton has been going to Jan Thomas Swim School to master the art of swimming. When she arrives at the school, everyone knows who she is. All of the teachers say hi and give her high-fives of encouragement as she makes her way around the pool.

Becky Thomas has been Payton’s swim teacher since day one. She thinks very highly of Payton and loves swimming with her. They have developed a special friendship over the years they have swam

together.

“I love Payton! The beautiful thing about water is that it is a level playing field for all people. Whether you are blind, missing limbs, have Giant syndrome or are a little person, it makes no difference. Everyone can learn to swim and thrive in the water!  Payton is as capable as anyone else, however, it is her positive disposition that sets her apart from the crowd. To know Payton is to love her! Payton is a rockstar!" said Thomas.

Payton loves Teacher Becky, but loves that she can do what the other kids are doing even more. She feels invincible in the pool.

“I feel successful because I love my teacher, and I can be like other kids,” said Payton.

All the Same

Little Miss Payton may be small, but she is just like any other 7-year-old. She goes to school, has friends, is involved in popular hobbies and has a family that loves her.

“Payton is the light of the family,” said Amanda. “I feel that she brings a sense of unity to our lives.”

Because October was Dwarfism Awareness Month, Payton would like to send out a message to all those reading, curtesy of good old Dr. Seuss:

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

The Terminal Disease Affecting Many, but Noticed by Few

By: Holly Kendall

This is Allan Nef. He is the owner of a smog shop in Clovis, CA. He is a husband,
and father to four children. From the outside, nothing seems to be wrong.
Allan was diagnosed with M.S. at age 40, showing signs of the disease since age 15. 

MS. Do you know what that is? Surely you’ve heard of it. Someone around you has said those two letters before. It’s some kind of illness right?

Multiple Sclerosis. That’s what those two letters stand for. And yes, you are correct; it is an illness. Most people only know that much. But there is so much more to it.

Photo credit: Healthline.com

MS is a neurological disease where your body’s immune system attacks your central nervous system. Think back to when you were in your biology class. Remember that one lesson about the tiny neurons in your body that make up the connections from your brain to the rest of your body? See those little neurons have what we call myelin sheath, that helps speed up the signals from your brain that travel throughout the body.

Now why is this important? Why are you getting a biology lecture? Multiple sclerosis attacks the myelin sheath surrounding your neurons. The signals now travel slower in your body. At some point those connections in your neurons are cut off, and no longer work. This leads patients with MS into a wheelchair. The brain can no longer communicate with the legs.

M.S. patients develop scar tissue in the brain due to the loss of myelin in the neurons. 

Multiple Sclerosis affects over 2.3 million people in the world, with 200,000 new cases a year in the U.S. (National Multiple Sclerosis Society). Whoa. That’s a significant amount of people. There must be an easy fix since we don’t hear a lot about it right? Wrong.

There is no cure to MS. We don’t even know where it comes from! Is it genetic? Maybe. Is it due to the environment you live in? Could be. Most people have less than a .1% chance of getting MS, unless a parent has been diagnosed, raising it to 3-5% (Healthline). For reasons unknown, people that live in the Northern Hemisphere have a higher chance of getting MS than those in the Southern Hemisphere (National Multiple Sclerosis Society).

Photo credit: Healthline.com

Now, why should you care? None of this seems to apply to you. You should care because it’s affecting 2.3 million people. Research still doesn’t have concrete facts as to where the disease actually comes from. There may be a time in your life when you meet an individual with MS, a family member gets diagnosed, or even you yourself get the news from your doctor saying you have the disease. The more aware we are, the stronger we are.

Are there treatments? Yes, but they only help lessen the symptoms. The medication can postpone relapses, but ultimately, MS patients will die from the disease.

If the disease is terminal, what is there for you to do? Support MS fundraisers, donate to the research, become aware. With these small steps, you could ultimately make a difference in finding a cure. Let’s change MS from terminal, to curable.

Fragile X Syndrome

Are You A Carrier?

You’ve probably heard of autism, Down syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. These are some of the most common intellectual disorders.  There is another disorder as common as these that you have probably never heard of:  Fragile X.

About Fragile X

Fragile X syndrome affects both genders, but is more prevalent among males. The genetic condition is not fatal, but there are major health concerns associated with it. Fragile X causes intellectual disability, various physical characteristics along with behavioral and learning challenges. Males tend to exhibit physical features like large ears, a long face and soft skin. This syndrome can also showcase behavioral characteristics such as ADD, ADHD, autism and autistic behaviors. those diagnosed with Fragile X can be overloaded by sensory and auditory stimulation, leading to increased risk of aggression. Females with Fragile X have the same characteristics but usually less severe.  

Experiences with Fragile X

I met Dillon when he was only 15 years old. I quickly noticed there was something different about him.  He wore the same faded jeans everyday and the same t-shirts on rotation: WW Smackdown, The Beatles, and one striped shirt with little holes in it. Dillon loved movies and quoted them all day. Whenever a movie was on his mouth fell open and he became totally absorbed in it. 

          

Dillon was the first student who ever hit me. At the end of one day all the students were packing up and making a lot of noise I noticed his hands were in tight fists. Before I could react, he punched my arm hard and quick. After a few minutes, the shock worn off, I talked with him and noticed his mood had changed and there were tears falling down his dirty cheeks.

Dillon had Fragile X.  Every time he was over-stimulated by sound or movement, he became overwhelmed and would lash out. When he calmed he was aware of his actions and appeared humiliated.

Dillon often seemed scared and confused, and I’m pretty sure his parents were too. There were no resources to help them understand and help with Dillon's condition.  Dillon’s inability to properly express himself led to physical aggression, and he was ultimately transferred to a new school for students with violent behavior. I believe if he had been able to gain access to services that met his needs, he could have soared.

Kids like Dillon deserve a better quality of life and to be treated with care and kindness. Fragile X affects more people than you think and there needs to be better resources for families affected.

Statistics, 

-          Approximately 1 in 3,600 to 4,000  males are affected

-          Approximately 1 in 4,000 to 6,000 females are affected

-          Approximately 1 million Americans carry the Fragile X mutation

-          Approximately 1 in 468 men are carriers of the Fragile X premutation.

-          Approximately 1 in 151 women are carriers of the Fragile X premutation.

      Obtained from: https://fragilex.org/fragile-x-associated-disorders/fragile-x-syndrome/

      Are you a carrier?

      

      

Overposters

A Guide for the Overposters: Writing the Unwritten Rules of Social Media

This is for the 1% of your friends responsible for 99% of your feed, a special group of people still getting the hang of Facebook or Instagram. We are quick to unfollow them, but maybe they just don’t quite understand the rules. 

To help, we have put together a guide of the unwritten rules of social media. So before your next big muting session, consider ways to share with your overposters any of the following tips:

1. Frequent Facebook updates are a no-go.

We all know that we check Facebook regularly, but when done it shouldn’t be advertised. Save those witty statuses for another day, friend, we’re still busy liking your first one. However, if you’d like to consistently share your thoughts, this next one is for you:

2. Twitter is a safe place to post as often as your heart desires.

This is the place to share your wit. Are you a standup comedian looking for a place to practice some of your material? Or maybe a mom with a hilarious kid, and you want to share the things he or she says. There is room for you on Twitter.

3. Keep content light.

An occasional post about something you believe strongly in is okay, but if everything you write has an emotional, political, condescending (etc.,) tone, you are probably making your followers uncomfortable. We want to know how you think and feel, but remember, the internet is forever. Some feelings shouldn’t be published.

4. Keep content original.

Recycling the funny joke of another Tweeter may be tempting, but it’s annoying and technically a crime punishable by law (don’t worry too much about that though). It’s easy to try to chase favorites, but just like in dating, if you are being yourself the good ones will come to you. When you like a joke, retweet it!

The next rule is very similar to #3, but there is an important distinction:

5. No manual retweets!

We know you aren’t trying to take full credit for our tweets when you do this, but putting our tweet in quotation marks and posting it yourself just seems fishy. For the well-seasoned tweeter, nothing is more annoying than someone piggybacking on your genius without actually giving you the credit for it. Also, with each new update Twitter makes manual retweets harder, so trust us on this one.

6. Don’t (properly) retweet or share too often.

Now that we’ve learned the importance of a ‘real’ retweet, make sure it isn’t done too often. We’d also like to remind you that this applies to Facebook, too. “Sharing” too many posts that you have seen and liked will drive the people who love you crazy; they are friends with you for a reason!

7. No more than one photo of your kid (or you) per outfit.

This rule is mostly applicable for Instagram and Facebook. We can tell your kid (or you) is (are) cute from the angle of the first photo you posted. We promise. If you don’t believe us, see rule #2 and sign yourself up for a Twitter account.

8. No pic stitches!

Here we’ve got a rule that is pretty exclusive to Instagram, but an important rule nonetheless. You know that you’ve only got one post a day, but let’s say you took 3 incredible photos today that you want to share! DON’T smash them together. With or without the cheesy white border, Instagram photos are already small. Use your pixels wisely by choosing your favorite of the three and sharing that. Bonus: with the new update you can even share photos that aren’t perfect squares, so get to Instagramming! (... Just not too often.)

For the pros:

9. Keep your stories short and sweet.

Do you have a Snapchat? Chances are, if you don’t yet, you will soon. So we figured we’d throw in the cardinal rule of this newer app for you savvy snappers. Here your friends want your constant selfies, but keep those Snapchat stories under 50 seconds long. Especially if you are at a concert.

And now we’d like to note that all rules were meant to be broken. We’ve given you 8 rules as a guide for more polite social media habits, but understand that sometimes exceptions will need to be made. Just remember, they should be exceptions, because we’ve given you the rules!

Now tell us! Did we miss one? Do you disagree with us on any of these tips? Have you shared one of these rules with a friend? Give us your story at ***class email address***.