Hello Everyone!!
It is so nice to meet everyone, and I hope that everyone has a great fall semester! My name is Jillian Baker and am excited to be in English 103 online. This class sounds like a lot of fun, and believe it or not, this is my first blog. I have taken 10 or 12 online classes here at MSJC in the past, but I have never blogged before and I enjoyed it! Anyway, since we are all trading introductions and fun facts about each other, I thought I would share some things about myself.
Believe it or not, but I am considered rare in the medical world! :-) I have a rare, autoimmune skin disease called Pemphigus Fo
liaceous. I know what you are thinking at this point...Pemphi...WHAT? It is a blistering disease of the skin where my antibodies go crazy and attack my skin cells, causing me to break out in large, open sores and blisters sometimes the size of baseballs (no joke). I have had this disease going on around seventeen years. What makes my case so rare is my age; I am 20 years old. There are only eight other people in the country with my same disease and I have the most severe case of Pemphigus of all eight. This is usually a disease of people in their seventies and eighties; this is not a childhood or young adult disease. It is a life-threatening disease with no cure or treatment. I have been on every drug in the book - from cancer drugs to malaria drugs, and nothing has helped me. When I was eight years old, my doctors started me on high doses of steroids and that is the only thing that has been able to control my disease and the one thing that has saved my life. However, it is a catch 22 drug - I need it to live, but it is slowly destroying my body at the same time. I am prone to all kinds of cancer, I had cataracts already, my immune system is severely compromised, I have osteoporosis (at 20!), I have weight gain from the steroids, stunted growth, and chronic pain (migraines, ear pain, and skin pain from the steroids). I also have something called "moon face." :-) The steroids cause my face to swell up like a balloon, which I have had all of my life. Right now, it has been difficult because my body will not fight infections and my life is at risk a lot due to its compromised state. For example, I caught pneumonia in June and had it in both of my lungs, and get this, I still have it! Since my body will not fight these infections, it takes me months to fight something a healthy person gets over in a few weeks.
liaceous. I know what you are thinking at this point...Pemphi...WHAT? It is a blistering disease of the skin where my antibodies go crazy and attack my skin cells, causing me to break out in large, open sores and blisters sometimes the size of baseballs (no joke). I have had this disease going on around seventeen years. What makes my case so rare is my age; I am 20 years old. There are only eight other people in the country with my same disease and I have the most severe case of Pemphigus of all eight. This is usually a disease of people in their seventies and eighties; this is not a childhood or young adult disease. It is a life-threatening disease with no cure or treatment. I have been on every drug in the book - from cancer drugs to malaria drugs, and nothing has helped me. When I was eight years old, my doctors started me on high doses of steroids and that is the only thing that has been able to control my disease and the one thing that has saved my life. However, it is a catch 22 drug - I need it to live, but it is slowly destroying my body at the same time. I am prone to all kinds of cancer, I had cataracts already, my immune system is severely compromised, I have osteoporosis (at 20!), I have weight gain from the steroids, stunted growth, and chronic pain (migraines, ear pain, and skin pain from the steroids). I also have something called "moon face." :-) The steroids cause my face to swell up like a balloon, which I have had all of my life. Right now, it has been difficult because my body will not fight infections and my life is at risk a lot due to its compromised state. For example, I caught pneumonia in June and had it in both of my lungs, and get this, I still have it! Since my body will not fight these infections, it takes me months to fight something a healthy person gets over in a few weeks.I admit, everyday is a huge challenge for me, especially with my chronic p
ain from my skin, and along with my pneumonia these past few months, but I cannot complain. I love life! God has given me grace to get through each and everyday of my trials and without Him, there is no way on this planet I could make it through the day. Living is a gift - I love seeing the sun rise and set. I appreciate each new day, and love meeting new people. I consider it to be one of life's joys. It is so much fun! I loved high school, but I was unable to attend much. In fact, I did not start school until I was in third grade and I had to play "catch up" for a while. I had to learn how to read and everything in third grade (and that was hard!). However, I was determined and I advanced to each grade level all the way to high school. I graduated from Vista Murrieta High School in 2007 with a 4.0 GPA and with honors. I hope that does not sound like bragging, but I really worked hard for it! And, I missed over 100 days of school! Furthermore, I LOVE college! It is great, and a lot more easier than high school. I have been attending MSJC since the fall of 2007 and have had a 4.0 GPA ever since. Online classes have really been such a blessing - without them, I do not know what I would have done! They are really great, and very convenient. :-)
ain from my skin, and along with my pneumonia these past few months, but I cannot complain. I love life! God has given me grace to get through each and everyday of my trials and without Him, there is no way on this planet I could make it through the day. Living is a gift - I love seeing the sun rise and set. I appreciate each new day, and love meeting new people. I consider it to be one of life's joys. It is so much fun! I loved high school, but I was unable to attend much. In fact, I did not start school until I was in third grade and I had to play "catch up" for a while. I had to learn how to read and everything in third grade (and that was hard!). However, I was determined and I advanced to each grade level all the way to high school. I graduated from Vista Murrieta High School in 2007 with a 4.0 GPA and with honors. I hope that does not sound like bragging, but I really worked hard for it! And, I missed over 100 days of school! Furthermore, I LOVE college! It is great, and a lot more easier than high school. I have been attending MSJC since the fall of 2007 and have had a 4.0 GPA ever since. Online classes have really been such a blessing - without them, I do not know what I would have done! They are really great, and very convenient. :-) Okay, so let's see....my likes and dislikes. :-) Well, I am an animal lover. I have a dog (a Shih Tzu named Queequeg), a bird (Peaches), and a rat named Speckles. I love them all to pieces! I love to play computer games and I LOVE to read! Being sick all summer with pneumonia gave me a chance to read....over 20 books! I actually love old Brit Lit pieces, romance, true stories, science fiction, anything really. Love Lord of the Rings, anything by Jane Austin, Debbie Macomber, and Nicholas Sparks! Wonderful... :-) I love English. It has always been one of my favorite classes since I could learn how to read. I love essay writing and journal writing - it is a wonderful way for 
one to express oneself. In fact, I love it so much I am planning to teach it! I want to teach community college English. I have one more semester here at MSJC and then I am planning to transfer to San Marcos and get my Literature and Writing Studies degree so I can teach. I want to teach online English too! I love it so much and want to pass that joy on to others.
one to express oneself. In fact, I love it so much I am planning to teach it! I want to teach community college English. I have one more semester here at MSJC and then I am planning to transfer to San Marcos and get my Literature and Writing Studies degree so I can teach. I want to teach online English too! I love it so much and want to pass that joy on to others.Let's see...my other likes are my weakness for mexican food and Irish food! Love it so much! And, I love seeing the sunrise....yes, you heard it correctly....being as sick as I am, I go to bed around 9pm everyday. I am a morning bird, not a night owl. I wake up with the sun! It is so beautiful. I love the winter and the spring seasons. They are beautiful and refreshing.
What I dislike...I dislike arguments, sugar in rice krispies, peanut butter and jelly, candy, and gum! I hate the summer time...too hot. It kills my skin. :-( And, I just do not like being out of school too long - I get too bored. I love learning something new everyday and when I don't learn something new, it bothers me.
Well, those are a few facts about me. It is so great to meet everyone! Again, I am excited to be in English 103 online with all of you! It sounds like it is going to be an enriching online, English experience, and I am really excited about it! Great to meet all of you!
God Bless!!
Sincerely,
Jillian
Jillian, what a blog this is! Wow, I am impressed not just with your physical strength in aversity, but also with your spirit! It is inspiring to see someone with such obstacles have such a wonderful view of life. I look forward to hearing more from you this semester!
ReplyDeleteWell hello miss Jillian! My sister says hi and asks how you're doing :)
ReplyDelete