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***.

College Students Who Are Parents

Written by Will Glade and April McLane

Frat parties, prep rallies and late night cramming sessions are all things you would expect to see on a university campus here in the United States. But for a few among the student population, they are living a different lifestyle while attending college.

There are 4.8 million students in the United States that are trying to raise children while attending school, which is--surprisingly--a quarter of the undergraduates attending a university.

Infographic by Omar Trejo

Hans Linton, a student at Texas A&M said, “I wasn’t pulled away for all the social things that happen when you’re single.”  He said that he was focused and that there was a sense of obligation towards his work. This is an unseen benefit to those raising a child while attending an institution of higher education.

Many don’t realize the struggle that parent-students have while studying and trying to raise a child. When people think of traditional students, they think of the students partying on the weekend only to spend many late nights in the library during the week. As a parent, this sort of lifestyle is impossible while trying to be both a parent and a student. The ability to balance both school needs and the child’s needs is a difficult one to find.

Jane Doe, a current mother of six and student, said, “I’ll wake up at 5 in the morning so I’m not doing it all day long. Helps take the pressure off the children so they don’t feel it as much.”

Doe was worried about going back to get her degree due to the problems it could create with her family life. Although there are difficulties, Doe also said that she has gained time management skills which have allowed her to balance both aspects of her life.

Photo by Micah Wilkes

Many of these parents are single mothers and fathers who have to take care of their children and improve their academic situation to be able to provide better for their families. Students who have children are more likely to have low-incomes. According to a study done, single-parent students tend to have incomes at or below 200 percent poverty level.

This means that many of these students struggle to afford to pay for care for their children while they are at school. Many schools do not offer services for students who are parents.

This group of students often go unseen while on campuses around the country. It is easy for this minority to be absent in the minds of the other students and faculty on campus, and makes it hard to identify and provide for their needs.