This world is a mysterious place full of unknowns. While many of us will face adversities and hardships throughout our lives, it is the way in which we respond to these times that determines our success. The above statements are things I have come to realize throughout my college experience. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amanda Dulaney, and I am a 21-year-old Applied Biology graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. For as long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for the pursuit of knowledge. Whether at school or at home, I fondly remember enjoying and embracing the challenge of learning new information. While I found interest in every subject, I was particularly fascinated by the scientific studies of the human body. Thus, I knew I wanted to use my gift for education to embark on the journey of becoming a doctor. However, this hobby began to take on a new meaning for me as my life took a rather unexpected turn.

I was a seventeen-year-old senior when my life was permanently altered. I remember the day like it was yesterday. The sun was shining, the sweet smell of flowers blooming beside me as I walked with my family on one of our favorite trails. All was well. That is until it wasn't. In what seemed like an instant, my legs started to feel oddly wobbly as if they were going to give out from underneath me. I also felt bitter pangs of nausea well up from within me. While I decided to press on for quite some time without saying anything, I started to notice a thudding sound in my ears. My heart was racing so fast I was certain it was going to stop. Confused, I still continued to walk as a strange wave of dizziness presented itself. It was at this moment that I knew something was wrong. The severity of my symptoms caused me to be rushed home, where my condition continued to deteriorate. Unable to move or hold my head up the next day, I sought immediate medical attention. The experience I had at my local ER is one that I will never forget, as it was the first time I was rudely dismissed by a doctor. Upon entering the room, the doctor did not introduce himself and seemed quite annoyed as he sat down beside my bed. He harshly asked me to recite my symptoms, only allowing me to speak for a few moments before interrupting me. "I will order a blood panel, but I already know what this is," he said. When the blood results were analyzed, the doctor returned with a grin and told me all was well. He instructed me to go home, sit down, and think about what I could do to bring meaning to my life. I considered this for a brief moment and looked at the vitals monitor on my right. While laying down, my heart rate was at 178. My stomach sank. This doctor, who I was supposed to trust, was attempting to manipulate me that this was normal. To him, I was just another teen girl battling a classic case of anxiety, and he had no interest in entertaining my concerns. After returning home, my symptoms persisted. This forced me to visit more doctors. Many of them also dismissed me. In between visiting over ten different doctors and specialists, I never missed a day of school. Even when my symptoms left me feeling powerless and drained, I continued to push myself academically. I attended a college preparatory high school that was academically demanding. I did dual enrollment and was taking a variety of college courses. The rigor of my college courses, coupled with my high school classes and daily responsibilities, left me having to study all day and night. My average workday was fifteen to twenty hours long, and I only received a few hours of sleep per night. Not only was I determined to become the valedictorian of my graduating class, but I also didn't want to give up my dreams of becoming a part of the medical field.

I am very proud to say that I was successful in maintaining a 4.0 GPA and achieving valedictorian. Still very sick, I gave my speech that May and was excited for the next chapter of my life. I continued to go through many medical tests that summer, which supplied me with my first diagnosis. I had three large nodules on my thyroid. They called it a toxic multinodular goiter. Due to their size and suspicious nature, all three of them were biopsied. While the biopsy results suggested that the nodules weren't fully cancerous, the cells were not normal either. The nodules were put on watch for a few more months, where I would soon undergo another biopsy. During this time, I began experiencing tightness and pain near the base of my neck. I was also struggling to swallow food. After analyzing the thyroid ultrasound, my doctor informed me that the nodules had changed shape and calcified, which were characteristics of cancer. However, this doctor was also dismissive to a certain extent and was unwilling to do anything about the nodules at that time. He also suggested my symptoms were originating from a psychological origin and taking care of the abnormality most likely would not help me get my life back. It was at this point that I felt completely alone. With no one there to help guide me through the toughest time of my life, I learned how to cope with being ill every second of every day. And then, one day, a phone call came through. It was my mom. I swiftly answered and what she said next still haunts me to this day. "The doctor called," she said. "He says you need to receive a total thyroidectomy. He thinks it would be a good idea to remove it before it's too late." I had been attending Embry-Riddle for two weeks at this point, still adjusting to my new "normal." I muttered out a solemn "okay" and scheduled the surgery for three months later. As a result, I was instructed to defer the semester to allow time for myself to heal. However, I was more determined than ever to return to school and finish what I had started years ago.

The surgery was successful, and I was placed on a thyroid hormone pill for the rest of my life. After receiving the surgery, my life changed for the better. My symptoms were less severe, and I returned to college that spring. However, I was still very ill. In between classes, I remember struggling to walk without feeling dizzy and out of breath. Sometimes it would take me twenty minutes to walk to class just to avoid feeling faint. It wasn't until I visited a neurologist that I was diagnosed with two different health conditions called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS). Although I was trialing many different forms of symptom management, many of which left me even more ill than ever, I still continued to make school my top priority. While there wasn't a day I felt normal or healthy, I refused to let my circumstances define me. I continued to achieve a high level of excellence, where I graduated as valedictorian of my college with a 4.0 GPA just two years later.

Since graduating from Embry-Riddle, I have already taken the steps necessary to become accepted into The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. In between more doctor and hospital visits, I dedicated hundreds of hours studying for the MCAT test. I am also currently looking to gain more experience in the medical field by inquiring about jobs in medical labs. However, since graduating, I am becoming more aware of the financial strain that student loans are placing upon my family. Due to their life's circumstances, my parents were unable to attend college and began working immediately after graduating high school. My dad is a meat department manager at a local grocery store, and my mom is a leasing consultant at an apartment community. As a result, they were not able to pay for my schooling outright and took out many loans to ensure that I would be able to attend school every semester. Although my parents have dedicated much of their free time working through DoorDash to keep up with the loan payments, I will not be able to pay for medical school tuition. However, I am completely aware that the cost of most things in this world is increasing. That's why I ask you to only spare what you can. Just one dollar from every person that interacts with my story would make a tremendous impact. Not only would your generous contribution allow me to continue on to medical school, you would also help to make a difference in my parents' lives as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to engage with my story. I am profoundly grateful and honored to have been given this opportunity.