Orthoptics Personal Statement

Empathy towards people with disabilities is a quality that I consider has been deep-seated in me since an early age. For example, when I was ten years old, while watching the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) telethon, I was moved to do a fundraiser in my community. All the money raised was sent to the MDA. This made me aware that we can all contribute in some way or another to the good of others. Later on, after completing my high school, I decided to pursue a degree in Physical Education and recreation for children with disabilities. Working as an Adeptive Physical Educator gave me the opportunity to change the lives of many students. The years invested in this occupation brought me great personal and professional satisfactions that still follow me to this

The records have been reviewed. The member is an adult male with a birth date of 05/16/1973. He has a diagnosis of bilateral degenerative myopia. His treating provider, Amy Camarota, OD, recommended treatment options on 03/18/2016, one of which was scleral lenses, which the member opted and paid for on 04/01/2016.

It was when my mother was rush to emergency room due to a chest pain that started my interest in wanting to help people live a healthier future. I remember my mother’s frustration because she could barely speak English a0nd was unable to communicate to the nurse. As a bilingual child, I would help translated the level of pain, comfort, and her concerns to the nurse. While I accompanied her in the hospital, I valued the amount of strenuous work and responsibilities that nurses have to uphold. Knowing that there was a language barrier, I admired how the nurses never showed any signs of frustration, but remained calm and collective. Being by my mother’s side, demonstrated how I myself could make a positive impact in someone’s life one day. The

Volunteering for the Special Olympics was an incredible experience, while interacting with the athletes I learned to be more appreciative and I saw genuine happiness. I was given the amazing opportunity to volunteer at this event because I am a part of Grace club. Grace club is an organization in my school that helps and interacts with kids who have special needs. One of the club's main goals is informing others about the disabilities these children have and how to properly interact with them. It also works towards building respect for people with disabilities and changing the public's perception of these disabilities. I decided to join Grace club for various reasons, but the main reason I decided to join the club was because I would be able to help and interact with these children. I believe lots of compassion and patience is needed when interacting with these children. Volunteering in this club and the Special Olympics fulfills my needs of helping

I helped build a ramp for a man who was in his late 60’s, wheelchair bound, and on oxygen; he had not been able to leave his house in months. After completing this project, he stated that he wished he were in better health so that he could help with projects similar to this one. One of the other “projects” I worked on was going to the Timothy House, a shelter for families without a home. Timothy House helped

Growing up with my grandparents had helped me determine my decision of pursuing a career in the medical field. My grandparents were Chinese farmers who would always reaching out for our neighbors and providing them with life needs. By growing up with them, I obtain their personalities as well. They taught me to be humble, responsible and caring. I remember a quote by Stephen Richard, “When you reach out to those in need, do not be surprised if the essential meaning of something occurs.” This quote was later proven by my own experience, which I would get this indescribable gratification I get after helping someone. Therefore, I wanted to become someone who can reaching out for others as my grandparents ever since I was little. Being in the

The biggest influence of my life has been the Dr. Bill Neches Heart Camp for Kids. Heart Camp is a weeklong summer camp for children who live with Congenital Heart Disease. I have been attending this camp since the age of eight and have worked as a junior counselor the past two years. As I have grown older and learned more about my heart problem, I realized that I wanted to work with children who are faced with similar trauma. By attending Heart Camp, I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak with many nurses who work at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Not many teenagers have the opportunity to have a personal connection with people that save lives every day. By attending Heart Camp, I have met dozens of health professionals that I am

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

Being close to her sparked my passion for helping people, especially people with special needs. She taught me that it’s ok to love someone who is “different.” Seeing how much of a difference therapy made in her life, and her family’s life, instilled in me that I want to make a difference in people’s lives. I witnessed first-hand how difficult it was for this family to carry out everyday activities and the profound impact that therapy had on their lives.

My personal experience gives me emotional strength and purpose to serve the vulnerable sections of society through pediatric health care. Growing up in a remote town in

In my time at the internship I have gained many experiences that I will always value. I have worked with a variety of patients, although all children. They ranged in a disabilities and syndromes. I have seen children with autism, intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, Down syndrome, Torticollis, premature infants, pediatric feeding disorders, and numerous others. Each child has been unique in their self as well as how occupational therapy aided them. Each treatment plan was different and I learned much for their variance.

As vital organ of vision, the eye, allows us to learn more about the world around us more than any other organ or senses. Sight, the physical sensory experience and vision, the metaphysical concept of how our brain interprets images both work harmoniously and play a huge role in our everyday lives. However, almost a billion people are either blind or visually impaired simply due to not having a pair of glasses. Being able to lead people in the direction of good vision is what developed my interests.

When I first decided that I wanted to further my education in nursing, I was inspired by my job as a Home-Health Aide. At the age of sixteen, I started working for a company called Miracles In Motions. I worked with individuals who are mentally and physically disabled; assisting them with all their daily needs. One day on my job, I was introduced to Mr. Peloquin, a man with Cerebral Palsy. I introduced myself to him and he began telling me stories about himself and his disability. I could tell that he enjoyed my company and he expressed that he does not get to tell his stories often. The story that really caught my interest involved his recent hospital visit. He told me how mistreated he had been by the hospital staff due to his disability; there was no interaction from the health professionals, and he was not treated like a human being. He stressed to me that he hated the way he was treated and that this was just one of multiple similar situations. Conversing with Mr. Peloquin that day gave me a heavy

In my community many people do not understand the struggles of kids with serious illnesses and the financial and mental toll it has in the parents. To have more understanding of the problem I encourage people to volunteer at hospitals to gain more knowledge about the problem.

My experience at Operation Breakthrough was not life changing, but made me strongly consider working with underprivileged children. The reason why it did not “change my life” is because I could relate to most of the children there because I was in their shoes at several points throughout my life. One of my classmate’s and I went to a preschool class, and interacted with the kids in many different ways. We talked to the children about whatever the hearts desired, played an educational bingo game with them, and went to recess with them. When I played tickle monster tag and who’s that stomping on my bridge, I got to learn many things about a few of the kids.