Crohn Disabled Man Seeks Government Grant For Better Life Prospects
by Tino Smith
When I was in high school I had plans of going to college and pursuing an education along with possibly a career in baseball. Since I was going to college on a baseball scholarship, this seemed to be a distinct possibility. I also loved boxing and had been training in all sorts of fighting disciplines since I was six. But my favorite fighting style was boxing, and I thought I had a shot at becoming a professional boxer. But before I even finished high school I was stricken with a genetic disease that affected my immune system and subsequently began destroying me internally and emotionally. The disease that turned my life upside down is Crohn's Disease; and most people that are afflicted with this disease have it in a mild fashion compared to how acute and chronic my condition is. Doctors, family, and friends have never understood how terrible my disease is. I was in severe pain 24/7 and experiencing diarrhea 10-20 times a day. I still made it to college at the University of Pittsburgh. In my final semester, though I became so ill I had to leave school to undergo an ileostomy. This procedure was supposed to fix everything for up to seven years, but the ulcers started growing on a new section of my intestine before I was discharged from the hospital. Since then I have been too sick to go back to school and have had to apply for disability. It is very hard to live off of $400 a month. I am not a lazy drunk drug addict who doesn't want to work and so applied for disability (like some of the "disabled"). I want to have a life and a career, but I am unable to function normally due to this disease I have. Living with a terrible disease is stressful enough, but on top of that I have to survive on less than $5,000 a year. If there is grant money available, I am certainly in need. I am a good person who still wants to become something in life, but the odds are stacked against me. I got on disability as a last resort, not because I am lazy. So any monetary help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
      Go to the Accessible.org Home page. 
|
