A Brief History of Me...
Let's see if I can sum up 21 years in a nutshell. I was born in Brooklyn, NY on February the 26th, 1990 to AnnMarie and Kenneth Kominski. I have an older sister, named Melissa, who I am now very close to. When I was two, I was diagnosed with a disease called Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA - Now known as Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis JIA). No it's not the child's for of Rheumatoid Arthritis though they do share some similarities (I'll eventually be writing a post on JRA, so keep an eye out). I was put into a rehabilitation center in Valhalla, NY, called Blythedale Children's Hospital, to learn how to walk for five months. I walked out of there with no more than a limp which disappeared when I was put on a medication called Methotrexate. When I was four I was diagnosed with a condition in my eyes called Uveitis, which was caused by the JRA. Being a lucky little girl, I had the rarest form of both diseases. After so many surgeries done by a man who knew nothing of my disease, on my eyes, my left eye eventually hemriged and left me with a scarred over cornea and my right eye had limited vision. I am now happy to say I have a wonderful doctor who is hopeful for my eyes, though I will never have 20/20 again (unless some miracle treatment comes out). I've had two corrective jaw surgeries at age fifteen and age seventeen, because I had an under developed jaw thanks to my friend JRA. Despite the medical stuff and disability my childhood had it's happy times, especially when I was with my family.
For most of elementary school I was homeschooled because of my disability. New York State gave me a hard time and I couldn't get into a "Special Education" class (I hate that term "Special Education"). I had a great home instructor though, who found a school for the disabled in the Bronx called The New York Institute for Special Education (Again with the special ed. Plus the word institute in association with the disabled is a bad word choice). I was above average when I began at NYISE, when I was ten. I attended the school for eight years. I combined two years of high school and graduated a year earlier than I was meant to. Despite the bad choice in name, I loved the school. The people there drove me nuts so naturally, they were like my second family. Unlike "regular" schools, I was accepted there. I had friends, I was social, I went to prom... basically, I got to do all the things that "normal" kids do. I learned more than just academics there. I learned independence, tolerance and advocacy.
A bit about my personality as a kid. When I was really young, I was destructive and a trouble maker. So you can imagine how I drove my parents and sister crazy. Breaking dad's knick-knacks to using my sister's make-up to draw on the walls, I was a thrill to be around. I calmed down as I got older, but I was still rebellious. In high school I was very nerdy; always had my nose in a book. I was an interesting specimin as a kid.
Your Thoughts...
dustytoesSep 27, 2011
GuestSep 25, 2011