Surgery and Academics by Leighton

Surgery and Academics by Leighton - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

When I was a senior in high school, so about 10 months ago, I underwent multiple surgeries due to autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. This condition that I have ultimately led to my having chronic pain condition that I still struggle with at times today. On February 5th, 2024, I underwent a nerve block procedure to help relieve my chronic pain. I ended up missing about one week of school alone after my nerve block procedure. It was my senior year of high school and I started to struggle in my classes due to the time I missed at school. After about a week of missing school I started to develop a side affect from the procedure that ended up causing another medical condition. Due to this, I missed even more school due to what was happening to my body. I was a senior who was failing my classes because of how much I missed. With the help of my teachers and my school, I ended up not failing and being able to graduate in June of 2024. To do that though I had to overcome what was going on with my body and ask my teachers for help so that I could graduate and attend college in the fall. I am now doing a lot better and I am almost done with my first semester of college. If it wasn't for my desire to graduate despite everything that happened I wouldn't be where I am today.