Personal Narrative: A Career In Bernie's Life

At 14 years old I became a personal care attendant (PCA) for a man named Bernie. Bernie was diagnosed at birth with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare form of muscular dystrophy. He suffered a stroke almost 15 years ago that paralyzed him from the neck down, disabling him from ever leaving his bedroom. I started out feeding Bernie dinner and helping him take care of basic tasks such as cleaning the house and giving him medication. After a while I was suctioning his trach, putting fluids in his g-tube, changing his urine bag, and much more. Little did I know at 14 years old that this experience would have such a profound effect on my life and guide me to the career path that I am pursuing today. Through out my time working there I began to learn more about Bernie’s life. After graduating high school Bernie went onto college at Liberty University and graduated with a master’s degree in psychology and counseling. He went on to get married and had two sons. This is an individual that the doctors said would not live past the age of 5. Bernie did not let a

After moving away I did not get to see him for a while, yet I thought of him often. A few months ago I went back to pay Bernie a visit. When I entered his bedroom he had the biggest grin on his face. We talked for a while about life and what we had been up to. Just before I left Bernie told his PCA to open up a safe he had hanging on his wall right next to his bed. As she opened up the box I saw my senior picture from high school hanging up on the inside. He told me he thought of me frequently and was thankful for the time we spent together. After I got into my car to leave I immediately began to cry. In that moment I felt so thankful to have been apart of Bernie’s life and that we were both able to have a positive influence on each other. This reconfirmed more then anything that I want to become a doctor and dedicate my life to serving