Sometimes you forgive people simply because you still want them in your life.

Jason's Paediatric book I borrowed for my attachment. Visitor sticker from Shepherds Down School (school for disabled children)

Went for my disability school visit today. I don't think I can find words to describe how I felt when I saw the children in my class. I was assigned to sit in on the ages 7-11 class. The kids in this class were disabled in a way, some physically and mentally, some had autism, one had Down's syndrome but ALL had difficulty communicating and speaking. It was really heart wrenching to read through their medical files and see how life turned out for each one of them since birth. The initial pathology they presented with never went away, instead, it either got aggravated or added on with some other disease.

If only I learnt sign language properly, or Makaton, I would probably be able to communicate (somewhat) with them. But then again, almost all of them had Profound Mental Learning Disability (PMLD). An 8-year old kid from the class scared me a little when he suddenly came up to me and put his hands on my face and touched it while blinking his eyes vigorously. I learnt later from the teacher that that was his way of communicating and reacting to things. I gave him a hug (before he pushed me away though but it was worth it while it lasted).

Learnt and saw a lot of rare cases today as well : Lissencephaly (where the brain is totally smooth instead of having ridges), West Syndrome (epileptic disorder in infants- this 10 year old kid in the class had to wear a hard helmet as he would have drop seizures at any time of the day, up to about 5 times a day), Angelman's syndrome (mental and physical retardation, constant smiling and happy mood)- btw, Colin Farrell's son was diagnosed with this, etc. Lots of reading up to do!

It made me feel really thankful (not saying I'm only thankful when I see children like that) that my brother and I were born normal and healthy, reaching the developmental milestones when appropriate and being able to communicate well in a social setting.

Today's visit was truly an eye-opener. Made me consider specialising in Disability in Children. Ah well, we'll see where life leads.

Just realized this post is so medical and well, not my usual kinda stuffs, but it really touched me in some way and I thought I'd like to share it with you guys!

Dinner tonight for Southampton International Medics Society (SIMS) handover to new committee. Did I say? I'm the newly elected treasurer of the society! (:

xoxo, elvyna.