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Jimmy groans and rolls over in his bed to turn off his alarm, which shatters the silence. As he rolls out of bed, he thinks about all the things he has to remember to do today. In addition to making it to his classes on time, Jimmy has to remember to take all of his medication and pack enough food to get him through the day.
Junior Jimmy Ness suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. Approximately one out of every 2,000 babies is born with this disease, according to Hereditary Diseases by Fern G. Brown.
“I don’t really like having it (CF),” said Ness. “I’d rather be normal like everybody else. But it’s what I’ve got, so I have to deal with it.”
CF is inherited and is not contagious, but there is no cure. Most people who have inherited this disease don’t live past their late thirties. CF is caused by a defective or abnormal gene in one of 23 pairs of chromosomes given from the parents. Approximately one out of 20 Americans carry the gene that could produce the disease. If either parent is a carrier, the infant has a 50 percent chance of inheriting the disease.
For most people, mucus is thin and slippery and helps clean out the dust and germs from the lungs and breathing passages. But a person with CF produces abnormal amounts of thick, sticky mucus that dries out air passages in the lungs and interferes with breathing. CF can also block the ducts of the pancreas, preventing digestive juices from reaching the intestines. Food passes through the body without breaking down. The patient doesn’t receive proper nourishment, so in many cases, patients are physically smaller than their peers.
“I have to take six pills every time I eat and I have to use my nebulizer (a device into which you breath) five times a day,” said Ness.
Ness’s nebulizer is a device somewhat like an asthmatic inhaler. When he breaths into it, the nebulizer emits a medicine that helps clear his lungs and breathing passages so that he can breath.
“Sometimes when I’m driving around and stuff people look at me funny because I look too small to be driving,” said Ness. “I just get comments on how small I am.”
Patients with this disease generally have less energy than others, and get sick frequently. Many stay home and have tutors instead of going to school. . But not Ness.
“I really admire this kid,” said teacher Ted Keller. “He sits in my class every day and tries just as hard as all the other students in the room.”
Ness frequently gets tired, and the slightest cold can make him more sick than others. Ness has to make frequent trips to the hospital — but he keeps pushing on.
“I just get up and go,” said Ness. “I’ve got nothing to really motivate me but life, I guess. It’s just something I’ve gotta do, so I do it.”
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