J. Sandusky, 12th Grade English, Mrs. Ganges, Donelson Senior High School, Nashville, Tennessee, May 15, 2010~

This is an essay about myself.  Seems a lot of my essays have to do with myself or my health struggles.  I don't want you to feel sorry for me when I share these stories; I just want you to see how difficult it is for me to do things that most people take for granted. 

I also want to share in my joys.  I have had plenty of joyful experiences in my life, so my life is not all bad, even with having a progressive neuromuscular disorder (in my case, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy).

I cannot do nearly as much as I used to because my body has grown so much weaker; however, I still see the good in life.  Every day I wake up is a positive step in the right direction because it shows that I have such a strong will to live.  I breathe with a respirator and need help with my toilet, my dress, getting around, etc., but even with all that, I still consider myself blessed.  Very much so.

Let's see.  I have a family who loves me and supports me in everything I do.  It is because of them that I have been able to achieve far greater goals than what my doctors in the past pinned on me.  For a kid who was told "he'd never live past his fifth birthday" or "a kid who would probably remain a vegetable" after having a stroke and meningitis (twice!),  I think I am doing pretty good for myself.  I am going to be 18 years old in nearly six and a half months, so I've beaten the odds by say, 13 years.  I am also still talking, singing (though not nearly as much as I did; kind of hard to sing with a respirator breathing for you!), and enjoying life to the full.

I have done many things and seen so much of this country.  I've been to Alaska several times, and this fall, we might be going on a cruise to the Caribbean.  We would probably go to somewhere like Jamaica or Mexico (Playa del Carmen and Cozumel).  This would be my third cruise, and the first one to somewhere other than Alaska.  :)

I have met many famous people:  President Bush and his wife, Laura, and his daddy, George, Sr., and his mama, Barbara.  Al Gore.  Mike Huckabee.  Loretta Lynn. Garth Brooks.  Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, David Archuleta, David Cook, and several more "American Idol" constestants.  Kaitlyn Ashley Maher.  David Christian Militello.  Neal E. Boyd.  "Celtic Spring".  Terry Fator (all were on "America's Got Talent").  The late Michael Jackson.  Dolly Parton.  Too many people, too numerous to list them all.  Met them when we traveled to different places or saw them in concert.  Had my pictures made with all of them; have these piccys in a scrapbook I keep by my bed.  I look at them daily and am amazed at what I've seen/done in my nearly 18 years on this earth.

I have petted real life cheetahs and got to see the "inner-workings" of our local television and radio station.  I got to try out my hand at storm chasing with some real-life storm chasers (saw some tors and took some amazing pictures of storm clouds as well as lightning; what an exciting experience that was!).  I got to pet some dolphins and ride in a HUMMER limo more than once.  I got to meet Maury Povich and the gang of "The Today Show" when we'd gone to New York City several years back.  That was cool, but it sure looks different without the Twin Towers gracing the NYC skyline!  It just looks so ... so ... empty!

I have performed at several big events:  the CMA Festival.  The Grand Ole Opry House (several times).  The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, LeCajun Cajun Music Festival, Courrir Du Mardi Gras Lafayette, and Festivals Acadiens in Louisiana.  Performed at the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree and at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge; also hobnobbed with some of the big time country stars on Music Row.  That was exciting, as was recording my own CD when I was something like six/seven years old, just starting out in the music biz. 

I could very easily have "the big head" by now when I list all of these accomplishments, but our parents always reminded us that even though we may have fun performing, our education (and good grades) come first; if we got below a C, then we couldn't perform (or play on the computer or watch television or go play outside) until our grades were brought back up.  It was especially dificult for me because I was "blessed" with serious learning disabilities that tested my patience and my abilities to perform specific assignments.  I did get the extra after-school help I needed, and if it weren't for that, I would have never graduated, which I will be doing in just a few short weeks!!  :) 

I am soon to be an official high school graduate.  I will soon have the diploma to prove that claim.  Whoever knew that a boy that was destined to die before he even began kindergarten would be getting his high school diploma in front of thousands of happy, clapping people 12 years later??  It was only because of God that I will accomplish this; this was one of my biggest life goals, and I have reached it with flying colors!

I am so proud of myself I could just bust with pride!  :)

What does the future hold?  Hard telling, but I do know this much:  if my past life is any indication of what my future may be, then I'd better strap on my helmet, hold on tight, and be prepared for the ride of my life!  I just might live long enough to see a cure for people who suffer from muscular dystrophy or other terrifying, terrible diseases that have plagued mankind for years (or even centuries)!  Oh, to think of getting out of my wheelchair and actually walking is something I've held dear inside my heart since I was a little kid!  Now we may be on the brink of a cure for not only MD, but diseases like cancer or polio!!  Wouldn't that be awesome if a cure was finally discovered after so many years of frustration??

I also know that Jesus is coming back soon, and the worst thing that can happen to me is this:  if I die tonight, the worst thing that can happen is that I wake up in Heaven, looking up at the face of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!  I would also be healed of my muscular dystrophy/other health problems, and I would be happy and whole again.  I would not only walk again:  I'd be able to run, skip, jump high into the air, feed myself, breathe without any tubes or hoses or without fighting for breath, and do so, so much more!  I would be a normal kid again, something I wasn't when I lived on Earth!

In addition to all of the above, I do know that marriage is definitely an option:  I have a steady girlfriend in Rebekkah Rachel Cohen, who is two years younger than me, but has had her own health struggles as well, sometimes even more than what I went through.  We may never have children (due to my MD if we did get married), but we could always adopt children and raise them as our own!

What keeps me going when life threatens to abandon ship?  My never-ending faith in God and learning to trust in Him in all things because I know that He will get me through even the worst life experiences!  He promised that to His Chlidren when His Son, Jesus, ascended into Heaven after the Resurrection, and He still promises to do this even now, when He comes back.  I have been a Christian now for nearly 11 years, and God has done some amazing, incredible workings in my life!

Now I am thinking of going into the missions field (perhaps work with poor disabled children here in America), and I am also thinking of having my first car.  While I would like a HUMMER, anything would be good, just as long as it drives and has four wheels and a good working engine!  LOL

So that is how I keep myself going: staying busy, doing all I possibly can to keep from getting sick or ending up in the hospital again, and relying on family, friends, and above all, God.  If I didn't have them in my life, my life would be far, far different than it is now.  I am indeed blessed, and I can't thank God enough for all that He's done for me.

*The end.*