User:Crystalhays

=Analytical Writing=

Personal Essay
It was September of 2007 and there I was standing in my new home, a dorm room at Central Washington University. I had just graduated high school and had waited all summer for this day to come, I had so many emotions running through me but I was mostly just so excited to be going away to college and being on my own for the first time. I also was excited because Central had a fashion marketing program and fashion was the field that I was looking into studying. So there I was in poe dunk Ellensburg, Washington living my dream of going away to college. As classes started to take off I found that I really was enjoying being away at college and I also really liked my classes. About 2 weeks into the quarter I started noticing a wide variety of weird things happening to me, such as, sores in my mouth, bumps on my legs, and severe stomach pains which at first I thought they were just from the stresses of going away to college. All of these things were starting to make it very difficult to enjoy all of the fun things about college life. I would wake up, go to class, and then go straight back to my room to finish any work I had and then I would go straight to bed or just watch movies for the rest of the day. On top of this I was making trips back home almost every weekend to see my doctor so that we could try to figure out what was wrong with me.

Christmas break came along and I was still not any better, I was actually getting worse and I had weighed 95 pounds. I was relieved that I was going to be able to go home for a few weeks and hopefully get better and figure out what was wrong. Well break was just about over and still nothing, although I was now seeing a gastroenterologist but it was just hard to schedule appointments with the holidays in the way. I was definitely not well enough to go back to school; I could hardly get out of bed so I had to make the decision to take a medical leave for winter quarter. I was upset but at the same time I was so sick that I knew it was in my best interest to stay home for the quarter.

Starting in the month of January 2008 I underwent test after test until mid- January when I was diagnosed with a severe case of Crohn’s Disease. When I was diagnosed I was scared and confused because the only thing that I really knew about it was that I would have this disease for life, but more than anything I felt so much relief just knowing what was wrong with me and that we were going to do anything and everything to get it under control. One big decision that still had to be made was if I was going back to Central for spring quarter. After many discussions with my parents and doctors I had to make a very hard decision to not go back in the spring but instead go to a college closer to home and live from home just so that doctors’ trips, meals, and family support were more convenient.

For those who don’t know Crohn’s disease is a lifelong autoimmune disease (when your immune system attacks the healthy cells in the body destroying the tissues) that affects the digestive system. Immediately after I was diagnosed I was prescribed with a medication called Imuran, which is designed to suppress over active immune systems. This medication alone saved my life and got me well again. Although there are a few negative side effects of the medicine, they could not compare to how bad I was feeling before.

I personally feel very conflicted over the subject of prescription drugs, prescription drug companies, and naturopathic practices. There are plenty negative opinions about prescription drug companies and many of them I agree with. One main concern that I have about prescription drug companies is the public advertising on TV and billboards because I think that we are sending out a negative message to the youth and that would be, “have a problem, take a pill.” One solution to this problem is to just ask your doctor for the generic brand, it is not only cheaper but then you are no longer supporting the major drug companies, and most doctors are more than willing to prescribe the generics. Another solution is to educate kids about prescription drugs and the proper usage.

Although there are many negatives to prescription drugs and their companies you need to sit down and think of the entire positive that they do in people’s lives. Every single day people are saved from pain and suffering because of prescription drugs. They have allowed people, such as myself, to get their lives back on track when they had none. People who have not suffered through a major life changing medical experience do not realize the impact that it has on every aspect of your life and well being. If it were not for prescription drugs many of us would lives half as long, and much of that short life could be suffering from illness or disease. To this you would argue that naturopathic would be the way to go, and as much as I agree that there are many safe and effective naturopathic practices out there, many times it is a risk to the patient. In cases that the patient is extremely sick it can be very dangerous for them to rely on only naturopathic methods due to the fact that they take so long to work, some patients have even cost their lives because they have refused to seek proper medical attention. Using only naturopathic methods also discards the use of many tests and procedures done to diagnose certain diseases. Another issue with naturopathic medicine is that many insurance companies do not cover the cost of going to see a naturopathic doctor and they sure do not cover the costs of the herbs and supplements which can become very spendy. Many naturopaths focus on the root cause of the illness and not just treating the symptoms, which I believe is very effective and a smart approach to medicine. Although if a person is diagnosed with a disease that they will have for life then there is no real cure for the root cause, therefore the only way for these patients to live a normal life is to treat the symptoms.

I am constantly struggling in my personal life with this topic more than most, just because how much of an impact that it has on the way that I live my everyday life. On one hand, if it were not for prescription drugs I may not be able to live as full of a life and accomplish as many things as I have due to a lifelong disease. But on the other hand, I understand the negative impacts that prescription drugs have on this world. From personal experience and by talking with many types of doctors, conventional as well as naturopathic, I believe that the best solution to this problem is a combination of natural and conventional treatments. The patient would take the natural route when possible but when it becomes a risk to their health and life they would seek conventional medical attention, which is what many practicing naturopaths will recommend. My hope is that people will read this and it will give them something to think about. I believe that it is important to look at all sides of a situation and not completely come to a conclusion so easily when the issue affects so many people’s lives in a huge way.

Self Assessment
Throughout this quarter and class I feel like I did pretty well. There were a few minor things with the group project but it didn't set me back. Not only did I learn a lot from writing the papers, I also felt that I learned a lot just in the class in general. I felt that all of the videos and articles that we watched were very relevant and interesting. I enjoyed doing the personal essay because it really allowed me to sit down and think through a topic that I otherwise wouldn't even spend a second of my day thinking over. It opened my eyes and got me to realize how important some of the topics were to my everyday life.